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I had 3 Keough's grizzly hackle that I bought from Barlow's for $29.00 each. Since it was just sitting here and I didn't see me using it, I put it on ebay just to see what would happen. I listed it in both fishing and hair stylin. The three sold for $595. Skip was right, everyone wants them.
I've been tempted!!!!!!!!!!!!! But what happens when you do need them????????
your not the only one tempted to do this....I bought like over 250 dollars worth of feathers from crazy angler awhile back. And bought a bunch from barlows myself... lol
Great profit margin, makes a guy get itchy. I have some pieces that I bought a while back that were cheap cuz they were odd sizes, probably trade them for a side image rig now. Hmmmmm there's a thought.
Advice from a old geezer who has seen this sort of thing before. Sell now make your profit then buy what was on your wish list but just out of reach. Use that to make more of what you need. This hair thing is a fad that will last maybe a year or so longer. Remember Mood rings, Pet Rocks, Hula Hoops that aught to tell you how many of this fads that I have seen. When this fad is over there will be a glut on the market and I will be able to pick up what I sold and maybe better than what I sold.
Have I followed my own advise you bet and have reaped some nice profit. Now have a couple of nice crappie rods that I wanted some cash for more tying material and still have a few necks and saddles to tie with. With what I kept I will still be able to tie for a long time.
Redman
Nice profit hunter.:o
I'm with Redman, sell some and make some $$$ while they are hot. It's not going to last forever. Not all feathers are selling. The feathers in the highest demand are your long grizzly saddle feathers.The longer the feather the higher the value. There's no need to sell the whole saddle at once. Sell them in lots of 10 or 20. I sold 15 pink grizzly saddle feathers and it more than paid for the price of the saddle and there is still hundreds of feathers left. I turned around and bought four crosscut rabbit skins for what I got for the feathers. I think it's a good deal.
Yes anything with bars sells.
If I had any I would sell high. I have seen these type of crazy fads before, sell while the iron is hot. Funny thing I was in the little fly shop in my small home town today at lunch and just happened to mention to the owner about this feather craze, he said he had a woman in yesterday from California wanting to buy all the feathers he had the good ones like they are after. I was buying some flashaboo he said she had a little braided hair piece about 3 inches long with about 3 pieces of flashaboo in it she showed him and said she gets $40 for them. The hell with fly tying you guys should start making little hair pieces and sell them on ebay. Get free hair at the barber shop.
I for one don't want to get too caught up in this craze. Just got out of a job and retired for like the third time. Going to let you young guys have all the fun on this one. Me I am going FISHING.
Redman
Keep in mine when this is over it will still take about 2 years for things to get back where they were supply wise. I have not sold any and probably will not. I have been building my supplies for over 5 years now and really don't want to loose any ground. I have a good many saddles and capes and I am talking very nice long thin feathers and some great capes. Probably will never use them all, but if I want a feather off one for some fly of jig I have dreamed up, then I want to still have that option. Most of my Saddles are 15" - well over 20" long.
Skip
My wife said Steven Tyler from Aerosmith an American Idol judge started it during last season's show when others took notice of the feathers in his hair.
Actually it started as far as I know from the year before on Idol when one of the girls started wearing some earrings made using the long saddle feathers and there was another girl started a business of making the huge earrings and sold them all across the country with accounts in high end stores fro West to East coast and still has a web site and I suppose still sell them. Along the way someone got the idea to include them as hair extensions so don't think Steve actually started it, but I do feel sure he added to the popularity.Quote:
Originally Posted by eriksat1
Her web site has been open for more than 2 years at least so take a look. Plus her earring even made the cover of Hareline Dubbin catalog last year along with some flies. Little did they know then it was the start of all this.
Owlita Feather Earrings
Skip
Skip you are right it will take awhile to build back up the stock. Most all of the birds that had a feather over 8 inches long have been harvested. The neighbor and I have started to raise laying hens to have fresh eggs. So far after a bag of chick feed and two bags of hen scratch. a chicken coop and our initial investment in birds plus time in watering and care. 4 months in we still haven't seen a egg and we still have and will have immature birds for at least a year yet. We will start to get eggs hopeful soon. These birds have started to become pets as well as pest at times.
With my experience with chickens I will pay for my feathers as I have and have a greater appreciation of the guys that supply us with them.
Redman
Yes chickens don't always make it as easy as it would seem. Time is on their side and the guys that raise them for fly tying and actually have the great bloodlines, like the oval stems that Denny has are special. His birds have had no outside blood introduced into them for over 40 years. Also not something I totally understand, but there is a difference in birds that come from true genetic stock. This chicken thing sometimes guys think and say a chicken is a chicken, but not always true at all and just because a chicken is a chicken doesn't mean it's one that is good for tying.
Their is a science to the special birds that make for good tying feathers.
Skip