Are Predator Call Underpriced

[THO Game Calls]

So what do you think?   

Jerry mentioned this in another post here today and it got me wondering  - again -  Are Custom Predator Calls unerpriced?

Most of your top notch duck call makers sell their calls for between 50 and 75 bucks IF and it's a BIG if, they make their own tone boards.   The ones that use Echo or Grassy Creek or some other companies tone boards usually go for 30 bucks or so. 

Turkey Pot Calls can be had pretty easily for 35 bucks, and that is with some fancy wood.   The box calls can get a little more pricey, but standard hunting stryle box calls pretty much run around 50 or so?

So, how does a call maker set his price, and what is the call buyer willing to pay?

Do you think the guys who buy calls and then resell them help or hurt the hobby? 

Is it that predator hunting is coming of age so to speak?

Is that going to leave the average man out in the cold, having to buy plastic calls from the Mart type stores if he wants a hand call?

Al
THO Game Calls
www.thogamecalls.com
The Custom Call Makers Supply Store

[Hawks Feather]

I will let some others reply first, but I will be back to give my answers later.  (The truth is that someone may say something really profound and the I can say, "Yea, like so and so said."   

Jerry

[BasinBoy]

shit. i thought it said over priced lol so i accidently said no. but i mean yes to the underpriced thing. i think im gonna shut up now . lmao

[studabaka]

I think the question is painted with too wide a brush. Some are over priced, some are under priced. A call is not a call is not a call, so to speak. There are many elements that could / should , and in some cases do drive price..... The sound, the usability, the craftsmanship, the artistry, the artist, and the availability...... These couple with the buyers elements of field use, pleasing to have, collectability, bragability.

Basic functionality is benchmarked by inexpensive production calls. Some premium could probably be justified by better sound/usability, but probably the largest price premiums are not about basic call functionality, they are about the art/artist/craftsmanship....... and those are qualitative attributes that would be hard to pin down.

So since I can't choose yes and no...... and I do include an ecaller in my bag of tricks, but certainly not to the exclusion of hand calls.....  ....... There appears only one indisputable correct answer.

[FinsnFur]

Your a trouble maker  :roflmao:

I'm kinda with Stu.
What one maker sells a call for might be a ridiculous price for another call maker to follow suit with. When a custom call is bought, the buyer is getting so much more then a custom call. The makers reputation coupled with the style, elegance and uniqueness is what sets the price, that's what is being bought.

The issue comes with a long time maker selling a real piece of art for $50 bucks and then someone starting out see's it sell and follows suit with his/her price.

But as to the majority of the calls THAT I SEE being sold. Yeah the majority of them are under priced in my opinion.

[BasinBoy]

ya what jim and stu said

[HaMeR]

Just like Stu said.  I think for the most part they are priced to what their buyers are willing to spend. Some of the calls that are being put out today are wonderful creations of time & creativity coupled with quality craftsmanship & high end finish techniques. I think a signature has a bearing on the price as well. I think you should all sign em!!

JMHO

[ninthinning]

Calls are priced just right.  I view a lot of the market through Ebay.  I have purchased beautiful flawlessly checkered duck calls for $35 to $65 that are as good as any of our predator calls.  Its a myth that modern duck calls go for more than comparable predator calls.  There is a guy on Ebay named Faigly who carves spectacular duck calls and sells them for about $35. All these calls have hand made custom tone boards.  In the Fall prices go up and its hard for a predator call maker to keep up with demand, hunters seem to catch a fever and cost is no object .  Now, in the middle of summer its hard to sell a hundred dollar call for $35.  We seem to be operating in a nearly perfect supply and demand market that determines price.  Basinboy is right,  all custom calls should be signed.  Adds value and shows pride.

[Bills Custom Calls]

You guys haven't seen my hand writing

On an average call I wouldn't expect to sell my calls for the same price as what most of the artist on this board get for theirs.
Although  I will spin one by accident that looks a lot better then the average one and would like to get a few more dollars for it

Yes Al  Some predetor calls are underpriced

[Todd Rahm]

I think duck calls are over priced.  :roflmao:

Stu nailed it and Ninth added the finishing touches. 

[blacky]

I know absolutely nothing about predator calls but do know a little about turkey calls and figure the same qualificatins for pricing apply.

If a callmaker has been around for a while and has a reputation of producing top notch products, offers good service and earned the reputation as a Master of the Art, I think he can set his own price especially for collector type calls. His signature and date on the call only increase the value for a collector.

In other words, if I decided to make predator calls today, I couldn't wouldn't demand the price of a person who has earned the right to set his own prices.

[Todd Rahm]

Ole Cypress, while unintentional, stirred up the same conversation, so to speak at HM, and it just happens to have bonus material. 

http://www.huntmastersbbs.com/cgi/cgi-ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000226

[FinsnFur]

Ohhhhhhhh man, I love bonus material!

Good reading Brian 

[Todd Rahm]

Yeah, Brians doing stand up job, and man I only wish he would speak that freely here.   

[bearmanric]

i feel my call's are under priced. but not by much. when you get a call from me you get a lanyard reed kit. Reed core and band and my card then i send priority $4.60 and convermation. but i'm happy. i have sold over 25 call's in the last week. mmy elk horn call's they do great cow-calfnd predator sound's. only one call on pm .here is a picture of the elk predator call's.  it's hard to sell anything over $30.00 becauce alot of us predator caller are blue caller worker's. the call's being made here are incredible. just awsome stuff. Rick

[awh]

I agree w/ Stu on this one as well. Can't say it any better than he already has.

[CypressSlough]

Ok guys, I've been out of pocket since Monday morning. I just got home this afternoon. I'm gonna put my 2 cents in here simply for the fact I started my callmaking career with duck calls. First off, alot of the duck call buyers out there are higher society people so to speak than the "average" predator call buyer. Duck hunting is seen as an elitist sport, and with comes the need for the best and highest priced equipment they can get their hands on, including calls. This is the one of main reasons for the higher prices for duck calls. Along with the ever popular calling contests. Duck calls and duck hunting are in the public eye more than predator calls and hunting. The Wings Over The Prairie Festival in Stuttgart, AR holds several calling contests during the week long event. This event gets national recognition. You have several hundred guys fighting for a spot in one of the contests. Couple that with the hundreds of contests nation wide, and the thousands of hunters that don't compete and you have a heck of a customer base. If you could do that with predator calls, the same advantage would arise.

Do I think predator calls are underpriced? I do to an extent. There are alot of calls out there that should be commanding higher prices, and alot that I think are overpriced. It comes down to the reputation, ability, creativity and attention to detail of the callmaker. All of these things are present in alot of the predator calls being made today. Therefore, they should be selling for the prices they are worth. Most of the predator calls are basically being given away at the average prices. At the prices I sell them for, I barely break even. I usually make enough to replace the materials I've used and pay for the electricity and equipment maintenance. The way I see it, as long as predator hunting continues increasing and calls keep improving, call prices will follow suit. I think most callmakers are keeping their prices down to keep from decreasing call sales. If the calls are worth it, they will sell at higher prices.

Custom calls are not just a tool to aid in hunting or collecting. They are a part of the maker. You have the priviledge to know the person behind the calls, and you know he put his heart and soul into making you happy. For me as a call collector, that is worth as much as the call itself, and it gives me a sense of pride and appreciation for the callmaker. For those reasons, I gladly pay what the call is worth. If you can't appreciate that fact, then buy from Walmart.

Stu, Jim and Ninth all made some good points.

At the same time Ninth, ALOT of the guys selling calls on Ebay are there just to sell calls. I'm not saying all the guys selling on there couldn't or shouldn't get the higher prices. I've sold several duck calls on there before, and they sold at my normal prices. The flawlessly checkered calls that sell for $35-$65 are way underpriced. Most makers do and should charge that much just for the checkering alone. If anyone hasn't hand checkered a call before, you have no idea how much work and patience is involved. A 3-4 panel checkered call will have 2-3 times the amount of time in the checkering than the entire call does. As far as calls being priced right, they are priced just right for someone that buys and re-sells them. I'm not trying to stir anything up Ninth. I'm just stating from a sellers point of view, they are priced right, but not from a makers point of view.

Todd, I usually try to watch what I say. I tend to stick my foot in my mouth at times. Not to mention, somethings are better left unsaid.

Brian.

[Coulter]

I wasn't going to reply here, but I must say that Brian hit it square on the noggin'. The calls we make are only worth what we can sell them for. Duck hunters...and as we all know, turkey hunters are a different breed than predator hunters. I know in my neck of the woods most of the duck hunters like to think they are in the upper ranks of society, many of them are business owners, or have an income far greateer than my own The fact is they thrive on outdoing one another. Heck, now that I think about it, the guys in Trout Unlimited are the same way...doctors, lawyers, insurance co. owners, etc. - At least in my locale. If the market would bear an increased price on predator calls then they are most certainly underpriced. The mentallity seems to be fairly common among the predator hunters in my neck of the woods that looks don't kill a coyote. This comes from predator hunters as well as trappers, a vast number are bargain shoppers.

One of my buddies still has yet to buy one of my calls, it is not that he doesn't have the money. He has plenty of it. He told me what the problem is with selling my calls. He said they are to nice looking. Well heck, I'd be happy to lop off the end of broomstick and stick a reed in it, but that just ain't my style. I had another guy ask me to use poplar in making some calls so that he could buy them cheaper and sell them in store to the amish folks that frequent it. Well, that ain't gonna happen either. I make my calls with a sense of creativity, if people like them they will pay the asking price, if they don't then I'll just hold on to them for another time or donate them to a worthy cause.

The bottom line is just what has already been stated here. Predator calling is an up and coming sport that hasn't captured the eye of the elitists yet. The elitists, in my opinion, probably never will jump on the predator calling band wagon. It is much easier for them to kill a limit of mallards, or fill a turkey tag. Predator hunting involves a lot more than sitting in a blind and waiting for another flight to come through, or calling in that elusive Tom. There is a lot more involved in predator hunting...equipment, legwork and knowledge of your quarry that many aren't willing to commit the time or funds to without some guarantee of instant gratification.

Disclaimer... This post was not meant to offend any waterfowl, turkey, deer, quail, squirrel or snipe hunters - or trout fishermen. I actively participate in all of the above and also make calls for all of the above (accept snipe, squirrel, quail and trout ) each of these sports also requires a thorough understanding of your quarry to ensure success, but it is much easier to come by than that of predator hunting. Trapping also falls into the same class as predator hunting, until you actually go out and truly try to become proficient at it you have a huge learning curve that many are not willing to undertake.

Enough rambling for me...next

Steve

[mightyhunter1962]

I'm going to start off saying that I really don't know if I deserve the right to say yes or no to the question being asked since how I have never used a predator call . I have never persued the sly yote that so many of you are persuing and making the call's to do so .I have only been a member of the fins and fur forum  for a week or so and would not know any of you if I were to run over you in the middle of the street. I have however looked at many of the fine calls made on this forum by some really "talented" call makers and would say that in my opinion that some my be overpriced a bit but the majority i would say are underpriced. I answered this by saying Al was a troublemaker for asking the question. Not knowing Al and any of the rest of you would be unfair to say that too. Al, as many of the rest of you guy's are very helpful and welcome a stranger with open arms. The talent and strive for perfection is amazing by all that i have seen and with that in mind I can say that each of you seem to pour your heart and soul into the calls that you make,not for the mighty dollar, but for the self-achievment that it brings to you to make it come to life and to believe in yourself as being the best you can be. As far as paying $150.00 for a duck call, i never have and never will, I can find a cheaper made call and tune it to call just as many ducks as the high dollar one. There has to be a medium to everything as far as standards go.Can you make a call for $10 bucks and pay for the materials, electricity, wear and tear on equipment and feed your family plus pay the bills? I can't. Can you make a custom call, sell it for $50-$75 or more  knowing you did your best for the customer to make it  a "custom"  That is what they are paying for, a callmakers talent and dedication for perfection. Just my 2 cents.

[CypressSlough]

Something else needs to be considered too. Most of the duck and turkey callmakers, I've dealt with, add shipping charges after the selling price. I don't know of a single predator callmaker that does. We include it in the "cheap" price. We've absorbed the gas price increase and postal increase, along with the increased shipping charges for our tools and materials. Those increases cost us several dollars more than it used to, but the call prices haven't reflected those increases, yet. For me, it costs about $13 total to ship a single call Priority Mail, by the time you add up the shipping charge, gas to and from the Post Office and packaging materials. Predator call buyers are getting an even better deal than they thought.


Steve, like I stated on HM, it's just as easy to make a call look nice as it is to make it ugly. You shouldn't be asked to compromise on quality and craftsmanship to appease certain people. If they won't take the quality you offer, it's their loss, not your's.


Maybe we need to start up  "Predators Unlimited, Dedicated to the Sport of Exploding Coyote Guts". This would bring the sport to the national level and increase our customer base and call prices.  :roflmao:


Brian.