African trophy exports,,, anyone use this company for shipment of trophies back to the United States. What's your impression, how did you pay them? Wire money or credit card

No.

My taxidermist did the export/import in 2014. His sister quit and she did that part of the business.

In 2019 I used AHG Trophy Shipping. They exported and shipped. I did the import myself.

What i have found.

Everyone has their hands out.

Have you talked to your taxidermist to see if they have someone that they use to combine customers shipments for the best price.

I know my taxidermist have places to take your raw trophies to for the dip and pack plus the shipping. It helps to reduce the costs. There are different importers and ask your taxidermist who they recommend.

Shipping is expensive, and mot want kick backs to get your business.

AHG is a division of African Hunting Gazette. The owner, Richard Lendrum, operates the business on the basis of searching out the best deal for shipping from the taxidermist to my city, Calgary Alberta. I do the importing myself.

As a generalization, the taxidermist your items are taken to for processing, either just dip/pack & ship or whatever level of work you want done there, have shippers they commonly use to get your items to the US port of entry. Unless you know are aware of and want to use a specific Africa to US shipping agent, it's likely just a good idea to use the agents the taxidermist is familiar with.

There are several US based receiving companies that will clear your items thru US Customs and USF&W and then hire/coordinate the US based shipping/freight forwarding company from the port of entry to your location. Two of these are Coppersmith Global Logistics and Flora & Fauna and the Wildlife Gallery if you have your final taxidermy work done with them.

Yes, it does seem as Bawana338 said, it is is pretty common that the majority of ALL business that I've had experiences with in RSA, Namibia and Botswana provide some level of extra payments back to the referring business. Seems 10% or less is the normal amount.

On the flip side of that, is it really that much different than US companies/businesses that offer referral/finders fees or promos of referring a friend and get a discount on your bill etc. Not trying or intending to support/justify any of it. It is just what it is.

My dip and pack services were provided by my safari operator (Royal Safaris, Ltd. in Arusha, TZ). I used Safari Specialties Importers to ship and clear my trophies through customs and ship to my taxidermist. Pretty simple, but a bit pricier than anticipated - though I had a lot of animals to transport.

Bottom line is everyone has their hand out and wants a pound of flesh. It will cost about half the actual safari costs to get trophies back- and that’s before you pay the taxidermist. By the time you pay everyone, you will greatly exceed the cost of the hunt. Learned that lesson long ago and quit bringing things home. …