If you tie commercially
How can you amke any money at it, in the face of this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sealed-Box-1...#ht_3397wt_922
A doz umpqua stimis in a sealed box for 6.99 plus 1.95 shipping?
How can someone who ties commercially make a go of it? This same fly is 1.50+ in the fly shop.
no wonder I haven't seen anyone selling flies through the For Sale board for a long time...
"Trust, but verify" - Russian Proverb, as used by Ronald Reagan
Almost nobody makes a living tying production patterns commercially anymore. At most production patterns are "gravy" on steak & potatoes made doing something else (in my case, guiding and shop work). Doing specialty trout flies helps some too. The few full-time commercial tyers make their living doing custom steelhead and saltwater flies. Most of the rest make maybe half their money tying flies and the rest "expertizing" ala AK Best, aka the money is in writing about fly tying and giving talks. There's some money in royalties if you are a contract designer, but not a lot unless you're Mike Mercer or John Barr. My royalties from MFC last year on about a dozen patterns amounted to one month of rent & utilities.
Also, I suspect those Umpqua flies must be overstock they got from Umpqua for pennies. I'd need to check our wholesale cost, but on most Umpqua flies it's more than twice that per dozen.
By not trying to compete with it!
Notice though that that is a starting bid. Not the final price. That can't be much different from the price that a shop would pay for those flies to be able to sell them at $1.50 each.
Personally I haven't tied an order of Stimulator's for about 10 years, the last ones I tied were for a customer going to fish one of the Irish Loughs at mayfly time. He couldn't get them elsewhere in the colours he wanted. The likes of Umpqua wouldn't be interested in an order of 3 dozen. Thats where being able to talk to your tier comes in.
Some years ago I was demonstrating a fly at the Chatsworth Angling Show. Two men watched the demonstration: which took me about 20 minutes to tie and explain the fly. At the end one of them asked if he could have the fly. I said if you see the lady there she has a box of them for sale. He asked me how much they were, I replied,
"One pound fifty each." To which he said,
"I can get a fly over there for fifteen pence."
"Well," I said, "You should go over there and see if you can get one like this." He huffed, and stomped off. The other man asked me how many were in the box. I told him about two dozen. He asked if he bought them all could he also buy the one I had just tied.
"Of course." I said, "Just one question though, sir. You tie flies, don't you?"
"Yes," He said, "But I know I could never tie that."
In all my years tying commercially, I've probably sold more flies to other tiers than non tiers.
Often I get asked, usually by someone trying to be cleaver, "Do you tie flies to catch fish or fishermen?" On one occasion the perfect answer occurred to me, and I've used it ever since.
"I've never had a fish pay me for a fly."
It isn't easy to make any money at the tying game, especially when there are reasonable tiers doing it to cover their materials cost. Thats why I will not try to sell through eBay any more. Also the flies imported from Kenya by one UK company, have a unit cost when they arrive in the UK of less than I can buy a hook for.
Fortunately for me I do not subscribe to modern society's belief that "ambition" is just another way of spelling "greed". If I turn round from my tying bench I can see the sea, I can walk to the local loch to fish, I can get by working part time in a local store, and tying orders of flies. It's not high living, but I'm happier than I have been in years. My ambition for the next couple of years is to start doing some guiding, enough to give up the job in the local store.
Cheers,
C
I have had people say "Why don't you sell some flies on ebay?" Well because I see flies listed at $6/doz. on there, that aren't even selling at that price.
I think the short answer is "you can't make money tying flies."
Not unless you are a media figure who could charge ten bucks a fly.
"I've never had a fish pay me for a fly."
Great quote AlanB!
There are completed auctions on fleabay for less than the starting price of that one.
"Trust, but verify" - Russian Proverb, as used by Ronald Reagan
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