The Taxidermist's Guide to Working with Tanneries

By MountChief Editorial Team|Updated Mar 2026

Your tannery relationship is one of the most important business relationships you have. More than your form supplier, more than your eye manufacturer. A great tannery makes your work better and your timelines predictable. A bad one makes your customers angry and your business chaotic.

Tannery delays account for 65% of timeline extension conversations with customers. That means more than half of the difficult conversations you have about late mounts aren't because of anything you did. But they still land on you.

Shops with documented tannery tracking get 20% faster turnaround on average. That's not a coincidence. It's the effect of accountability. When your tannery knows you're tracking every shipment, every expected return date, and every communication, they treat your work with more care. And when delays happen, you catch them early instead of discovering them when a customer calls in March asking about the cape you shipped in October.

This guide covers everything about working with commercial tanneries: choosing the right one, building the relationship, tracking shipments, handling delays, and using documentation to protect your customers and your shop.

TL;DR

Volume discounts are available at most commercial tanneries for shops shipping 20+ capes per month.
batch that was supposed to return in 12 weeks and is now at 14 weeks gets flagged, and you proactively contact the tannery for an updated estimate.
Shops with documented tannery tracking get 20% faster turnaround on average.
Tannery delays account for 65% of timeline extension conversations with customers.
If you have: a vague memory of shipping a batch sometime in October and a note that says "12 hides to [tannery]," your claim is much weaker.
Your tannery relationship is one of the most important business relationships you have.

Choosing the Right Tannery

Most taxidermists stick with the first tannery that works for them. That's understandable. Switching tanneries is disruptive, and finding a new one requires research and a trial period. But using the wrong tannery costs you more over time than switching costs you once.

What to Evaluate in a Tannery

Turnaround time. Not the advertised turnaround, the actual turnaround experienced by taxidermists you talk to. Call three taxidermists in your region who use the tannery you're considering and ask: "What's the actual turnaround, not what they tell you, but what you actually experience?" That answer will be more accurate than any quote you get from the tannery itself.

Hide quality. This is the most important variable and the hardest to assess without trying the tannery. Ask for samples if possible. Look for even tanning throughout, no harsh or brittle spots, good stretch and softness on the finished hide, and no chemical residue or odor problems that will affect your finishing work. A poorly tanned hide creates problems all the way through production and into the finished mount.

Species capability. Not all tanneries are equally capable across species. Some are excellent for deer capes but mediocre for elk. Some excel at fish skins. Some handle bird work. Some specialize exclusively in big game. Know what you're sending and ask specifically about that species.

Communication. Does the tannery have a portal where you can check shipment status? Do they respond to emails and calls within a reasonable timeframe? Will they proactively notify you when a shipment comes in and when it's ready to return? Good tannery communication is as valuable as good hide quality, because you can't manage your customer expectations without it.

Pricing and fee structure. Tannery pricing varies by species, service (tan only, pickle only, full soft-tan), and volume. Get a current price sheet and compare it to your current tannery. Volume discounts are available at most commercial tanneries for shops shipping 20+ capes per month.

Loss and damage policy. What happens if your cape is damaged in processing or lost? What does the tannery actually cover? Get this in writing before you ship your first batch. Most commercial tanneries have liability limitations in their service agreement. Know what those are before you're in a dispute.

Asking the Right Questions Before Switching

Before you commit to a new tannery, have a direct conversation with their customer service or account contact. Ask:

What is your current turnaround time for [species you primarily send]?
Do you have portal tracking for shipment status?
What is your process when a hide is lost or damaged in processing?
Do you offer volume pricing for shops shipping [your estimated monthly volume] capes per month?
Who is my specific contact if I have a question about a specific shipment?

A tannery that can answer all five clearly and confidently is worth trying. One that hedges on the damage policy or doesn't have a portal is showing you what the relationship will look like when something goes wrong.

Building the Relationship with Your Tannery

Once you've chosen a tannery, the quality of the relationship determines a lot of what you get out of it. Tanneries that handle dozens of taxidermist accounts will naturally give more attention to accounts that are organized, consistent, and communicative.

Be a Good Shipper

The most impactful thing you can do to improve your tannery relationship is ship clean, well-prepared specimens with accurate documentation. When a tannery employee opens a box from your shop, they should find:

Hides that are fleshed, salted (or frozen if you're shipping fresh), and well-prepared
A packing list with your shop name, contact info, and a list of every hide in the shipment with job numbers
Clear labeling on each hide (ID tag tied or attached) matching your packing list
Any special instructions for specific hides written clearly on the packing list

Tanneries that receive clean, organized shipments from a shop consistently give that shop better service. It's a simple truth. They're more careful with your hides, more responsive to your questions, and more likely to proactively communicate when something comes up.

Establish a Regular Shipping Schedule

Rather than shipping hides whenever you accumulate some, establish a regular schedule: every two weeks, every month, whatever frequency works for your volume. A consistent schedule lets the tannery anticipate your shipments, and it gives you a clear cadence for tracking returns.

When your tannery knows a box from your shop arrives the first and third week of every month, your account has a rhythm. That consistency is noticed.

Give Your Tannery Contact a Name and Use It

Most commercial tanneries have account reps or customer service contacts. Find out who yours is and build a working relationship. Send them your packing lists by email so they have advance notice of what's arriving. Follow up by email when a shipment arrives to confirm receipt.

When an issue arises (and at some point it will), having an established contact who knows your name, your shop, and your shipping patterns makes the resolution faster and less contentious than being a cold caller asking about a missing cape.

Tracking Every Shipment

This is where most shops fall short. They ship a batch, write a note, and hope. The note gets buried. The shipment date gets fuzzy. By the time a customer calls asking about their elk cape, the taxidermist is guessing at when it actually shipped.

What to Log for Every Tannery Shipment

For every batch shipped, you need a documented record that includes:

Shipment date: the specific date the box left your shop
Carrier and tracking number: so you can verify delivery if the tannery denies receiving it
Tannery contact: who received or confirmed the shipment
Contents list: every hide or skin in the batch with your job numbers
Expected return date: calculated based on the tannery's current turnaround quote at the time of shipment
Confirmed receipt: a note or email from the tannery confirming they received the batch

That last item is important. Don't assume a box was received. Confirm it, and log the confirmation.

Logging Returns

When a batch returns from the tannery, log the return date immediately and cross-reference against the expected return date you recorded at shipment. This creates the data you need to evaluate tannery performance over time and catch patterns of consistent delays.

Also log the condition of returned hides. If a cape comes back with processing damage, document it the day it arrives, with photos. That documentation is what makes a damage claim actionable. A claim filed weeks after a cape returned, with no contemporaneous documentation, is much harder to support.

Using MountChief for Tannery Tracking

MountChief's dedicated tannery tracking module handles all of this automatically. Each job record has a tannery section that logs:

Shipment date and batch number
Expected return date
Tannery confirmation status
Return date and condition notes
Any tannery communication attached to the record

The overdue report flags any cape whose expected return date has passed without a logged return. You see it without having to remember to check. In peak season with 80 capes at multiple tanneries, that automated visibility is the difference between organized and chaotic.

For how to set up the shipment tracking workflow in detail, how to track tannery shipments walks through the process step by step.

Handling Tannery Delays

Delays happen. Even at good tanneries, peak season volume, staff changes, equipment issues, and supply chain problems can push turnaround beyond what was quoted. How you handle delays with customers depends on how early you catch them and how you communicate.

Catching Delays Early

The best time to catch a tannery delay is before your customer calls you asking about it. That means actively checking the status of overdue shipments rather than waiting for a customer complaint to prompt you.

With documented expected return dates logged in MountChief, the overdue report shows you what's late the moment it becomes late. A batch that was supposed to return in 12 weeks and is now at 14 weeks gets flagged, and you proactively contact the tannery for an updated estimate.

That updated estimate goes to the customer as a proactive communication, not as a response to their frustrated call.

Communicating Delays to Customers

The script is simple: be early, be specific, and be honest. Don't wait until a customer calls. When you know a cape is running late, send an update:

"Your [species] cape shipped to [tannery] on [date]. The tannery is running about [X] weeks longer than expected due to high seasonal volume. Your updated estimated return is [date]. I'll send you another update when it arrives back in my shop. If you have questions, reach out anytime at [contact]."

That message, sent before the customer asks, turns a potential complaint into a non-event. The customer might be disappointed, but they're not angry. They know where their cape is, why it's delayed, and when to expect the next update.

Customers who feel informed accept delays. Customers who feel ignored about delays don't. The tannery delay is outside your control; the communication is entirely within yours.

Escalating with the Tannery

If a return is significantly overdue and the tannery is unresponsive, escalate through your chain of contacts. Start with your regular contact. If that doesn't produce results, ask for their supervisor or operations manager. Be firm but professional. You have documentation of the shipment date, the contents, and the quoted return. Present that documentation clearly.

"I shipped batch [number] on [date] with [X] hides. Your quoted turnaround was [X] weeks. That puts the expected return at [date]. We're now [X] weeks past that date. I need a specific status on these hides and a confirmed return date."

That kind of specific, documented inquiry gets a response where a vague "where's my stuff?" does not.

When a Tannery Loses a Hide

It happens. Hides do occasionally get lost or mixed up at commercial tanneries, especially at high-volume facilities during peak season. When it happens, your documentation determines what you can recover.

If you have: the ship date, tracking confirmation, the tannery's receipt confirmation, and the specific hide details (species, your job number, the ID tag it was shipped with), you have a legitimate claim. The tannery is responsible for covering the replacement cost of a hide lost in their facility.

If you have: a vague memory of shipping a batch sometime in October and a note that says "12 hides to [tannery]," your claim is much weaker.

This is why documentation isn't optional. It's the only thing that protects you when something goes wrong.

Evaluating Tannery Performance Over Time

A tannery that was great three years ago might have changed. Ownership changes, volume increases, and staff turnover all affect quality. Evaluate your tannery's performance annually.

Track and review:

Actual turnaround time vs. quoted turnaround time over the past 12 months
Hide quality consistency (any recurring issues with specific quality problems)
Damage incidents and how they were resolved
Communication responsiveness
Pricing changes and whether they're justified

If you see consistent delays (actual vs. quoted exceeding 20% regularly), recurring quality issues, or damage claims that were handled poorly, it's time to consider alternatives. Finding a new tannery is disruptive but worth it compared to years of compounding timeline problems.

Building Redundancy: A Backup Tannery

Most shops have one primary tannery. That works fine until something happens: the tannery has a major fire, ownership changes and quality tanks, or they hit capacity and start turning customers away. Having a secondary tannery that you've tested and trust, even if you only use them occasionally, gives you options when your primary isn't available.

Send a test batch to a potential backup tannery once a year, even if you don't need to. Evaluate the quality, the communication, and the turnaround. If your primary ever lets you down, you're not starting from scratch.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I choose the right tannery for my shop?

Talk to other taxidermists in your region before making any decision. Ask specifically about actual turnaround vs. quoted turnaround, hide quality consistency across species, and how the tannery handles damage claims. Visit the tannery in person if possible, especially if you're considering sending high-value elk or bear hides. A trial batch of five to ten average deer capes will tell you more about quality and communication than any sales conversation.

How do I prevent tannery delays from ruining customer relationships?

The answer is early detection and proactive communication. Document expected return dates for every shipment. Run an overdue report regularly. When a return is running late, reach out to the tannery for an updated estimate before the customer asks. Then send the customer a proactive update with the revised timeline before they call you. A customer who hears about a delay from you first is almost always more understanding than a customer who had to call to find out.

What should I document when shipping hides to the tannery?

For every batch: the shipment date, carrier and tracking number, a contents list cross-referencing your job numbers to each hide, the tannery contact who confirmed receipt, and the expected return date based on the tannery's current turnaround quote. When the batch returns, log the return date and condition of each hide. This documentation chain is what makes damage or loss claims actionable and what gives you data to evaluate tannery performance over time.

How does this apply to solo taxidermy shops?

The principles in this guide apply to solo shops just as they do to larger operations, though the scale differs. A single-person shop may have lower absolute volume but faces the same documentation, compliance, and customer communication requirements. The practical advice here scales down to any shop size.

What is the most common mistake taxidermists make with tannery relationship guide?

The most common mistake is treating tannery relationship guide as an afterthought rather than building it into the standard workflow from the start. Shops that encounter problems in this area typically did not establish clear processes before season, which means every situation becomes a one-off decision rather than a standard response.

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Sources

National Taxidermists Association (NTA)
US Fish & Wildlife Service

Get Started with MountChief

Tannery visibility is the biggest operational gap at most taxidermy shops. MountChief's tannery tracking gives you a running log of every shipment, expected return, and actual return so you always know where every hide stands. Try MountChief to bring the tannery portion of your workflow under full control.