Ozark Taxidermy

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Should you bring your mount to Ozark Taxidermy?
YES: If your #1 priority is getting the best looking mount available, even if it costs a little more and takes a little longer, then we're the taxidermist for you! We always use the finest materials available and the most current state-of-the-art techniques. Our favorite customers are easy-going folks who want to be treated like we expect to be treated in return -- like family. If that sounds like you, we'll look forward to meeting you. And you'll get a mount to hang on your wall that is truly museum-quality.

We made a small mistake a few years ago that the failing economy has ballooned into a giant mess. If a new customer was not able to make a 50% down-payment, we allowed them to chip away at their bill by making payments as they were able. That worked out fine in the beginning, but when customers started losing their jobs, having their hours cut, and/or having their health insurance premiums doubled, suddenly those payments stopped. And when those mounts were completed, those customers couldn't afford to pick them up. This interruption in cashflow brought our ability to buy materials and supplies to a screeching halt, and we began falling behind. Over the last two years, things have gotten worse instead of better.

In the 7 counties around Rolla, almost 40% of families are struggling due to someone being unemployed, having to work part-time instead of full-time, or someone working a low-paying job they're over-qualified for, because a job in their career field isn't available. And in Phelps County, nearly 1 in 5 are now living below the poverty level. Those are real numbers, and it's matched by what I'm seeing among my established customers. And those customers' financial struggles have been passed on to us in the form of slow cashflow, which means we are now RIDICULOUSLY far behind.

So, what does this mean for you? It means that there are only a couple of things I can promise you. Promise #1: You'll absolutely love your mount when you get it back -- real museum-quality work is what we're known for. Promise #2: Count on it taking at least 18 months to get your mount back. The actual turn-around time will be based almost entirely on the numbers quoted above. As those numbers drops, the bills will get paid more quickly, and things will move along at a more respectable pace. If those numbers increase, then things will get worse.

But, if your #1 priority is to get an amazing mount that blows away every other mount being done in the region, and if you can be patient and not nag, harass or yell if things are moving more slowly than you'd like (and if you can put 50% down on the bill when you drop off your trophy), you'll be glad you came here, and we'll be glad to see you.

Just in case the paragraph at the top of this page doesn't make it clear, let me try again right here. This website is not about bringing in every single potential taxidermy customer in the region. We're a small operation, and our target market is a very specific kind of outdoorsman: easy-going and patient, and expecting the very best quality mount available in the entire region. If you're one of those elite few, then you've found the right place.

Since early 2008, the economy has had us spinning our wheels. With so many people being unemployed or underemployed, we've had a lot of customers who have not been able to pay their bills. When that happens, we have trouble buying supplies, and the process grinds to a halt until that money finally comes in. Even so, we continue to plod along and make progress, and our dedication to museum-quality remains intact. And as the economy recovers, things should continue to improve in the taxidermy business as well. Most of our customers have had enough mounts done during their lives that they understand that taxidermists get into situations like this, and those customers have been very understanding and patient. But a few have made life really difficult to enjoy, to be quite honest.

So, if your only focus is getting the absolute best-looking mount available in the entire region, and if you're willing to be patient to get that mount, then you've find the right place -- we'll be looking forward to meeting you! If not, then we're just not to place for you.