Driftwood - Page 2

I have done a bit of selling of driftwood myself. Here is a favorite place to sell of mine: Taxidermists.

I have found taxidermists they are a good market for driftwood pieces. They use them for making mounts.

It is fairly easy to hook up with them. Give them a call. They are either interested or not. Many source out thier own stuff. Others are too busy and cant find the time. Many will ask for photos or samples. If they want samples, chances are they are buyers bring them a nice variety they can pick through. You can normally sell a few unique or desirable pieces every time you show up. Many will have a few pieces of various sizes around to show off thier quality of work. By seeing what type of stuff they use, you can try to cater more to their tastes.

You may not get rich selling to them but they do go through a lot of driftwood doing fish mounts for smaller pieces and bigger pieces tend to be used for wildlife mounts. The one piece of driftwood that tends to be higher price is stuff that is bigger diameter (4" or more) and around 3-4 feet long. These bigger pieces are harder to find as many sink and dont make it back to shore. Also if you can find logs, these sell well to as they will cut sections out of them or use them for bigger mounts.

Also, as mentioned above the pet stores. There are two things that make a difference on price with them. Many of the animals need the wood boiled or sprayed with a special chemical made for the type of animal. Untreated driftwood can contaminate and ruin their stock, or possibly sicken their animals.. It is better to spend a little and be able to advertise them being properly treated / cleaned. This will show knowledge and interest, but also that you are probably in it for the long haul and worth their time.

A prime example is reptiles or birds. There are mites and bacteria that can sicken or kill an animal if they are not prepared properly. If you go talk to a shop specializing in birds or reptiles you will find they usually sell the chemicals needed to treat the driftwood. If not, ask them to order it or where you can buy it. Most shops will keep it on hand if they buy driftwood, so can at least show you a container to start you on your search.

The second thing is size and unique pieces. Run of the mill stuff normally will not cut it. Look at the stuff they sell, look at the terrarium sizes and items they sell and plan accordingly. If in doubt ask them to give you ideas on dimensions and shapes.

Ask them to sell it on commission so they don't have to put out cash. This is a major reason that many shops wont touch it. It can be expensive to buy and they are not guaranteed to sell any of it. You take the risk out of them opening a new market by doing this. If it sells well you will find you get calls more frequently to deliver and possibly they will just purchase a set quantity of it from you.

If all else fails, barter. I used to supply one pet shop with driftwood in exchange for pet food and supplies. I used to average about $50-$75 a month on my 3 cats, and my other half's 6' Red Tailed Boa between food, litter / bedding and misc care supplies. It may not be cash in hand but if stops you spending money it is still money you can spend elsewhere. That is same thing as cash in hand to me.