Selling flies

[FlyTyer15 0]

Hey to all of the commercial tiers or anybody who sells flies. I have a few questions for you. How and where do you sell your flies? How did you get the people to who you sell to? I'm looking to start selling flies and wanted to know.

 

Thanks.

[Crackaig 0]

I doubt you will get a lot of direct answers to that question. Being self employed means you have to earn your money 4 times over! First you have to find your market and sell into it. Offering something that is different from those already selling there. Then you have to produce your product. Then you have to get paid for your product. Then you have to do the accounts. They are all work but you only get paid for the one lot of flies. Four hours spent tying can easily take up 16 hours of work to end up with the pay for 4 hours of tying. To work out how much you are being paid do you divide the cash by 4 or 16? Having done the leg work (and still doing it) to establish a market for my flies I'm not likely to give that away for free. You are asking people to shoot themselves in the wallet.

 

That said, you are not the first to raise this question. If you do a search on selling flies you will find a lot of information. Including much that you need to know about taxation.

 

Cheers,

C.

[flytire 0]

if youre thinking of selling flies dont forget about the tax man. he'll want his share.

 

read this. "Tying for Dollars"

 

http://www.flytyer.com/index.php?id=45&option=com_content&task=view

 

can you sit down and tie 50-100 dozen in a week/weekend? better learn how to tie flies!

[flytire 0]

How did you get the people to who you sell to?

 

YOU have to take samples of the flies you ti to various fly shop and do a little marketing. fly shops dont come to you unless you sold flies there before and they want you back. poorly tied flies wont get you a return engagement.

[kimjensen 0]

I'm not a commercial tyer, but you can start by selling flies on forums. Be honest to your self and try and make pretty flies. Uncle Ken would be a good example on what not to try and sell. Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of uncle Ken, but just so you have an idea.

 

Actually it wouldn't surprise me if he could sell those flies :-)

[mikechell 0]

I think you'll find this is a "rain on your parade" thread.

 

You don't get people to buy from you. You get shops to buy from you.

You might be able to sell enough flies to pay for your own flies by selling to individuals at a flea market or something.

 

Flytire said you'll need to PRODUCE ... 50 to 100 DOZEN ... 600 to 1200 flies.

Well, I don't know if you'll have to put out THAT many to break even or even make a profit, but if you're making a desirable product, you'll definitely need to keep up with demand.

 

Just to put things in perspective ... how long would it take you to tie a Pat Cohen "Punk Rocker"??? They are VERY unique, very cool and a work of art.
He charges less than $30.00 for one of those flies.

Go to a fly shop and see what they are charging for the flies in their displays ... you won't make much money.

 

But hey, go for it if you're retired ... better'n sitting in front of a TV or in a bar.

[cheech 0]

Quality is key... Everything else will follow.

 

You need to make sure that the people who buy from you (individual or shop) can look at your fly and say that they would rather buy it than the stuff that is already in the shops.

 

Next, you really should focus on selling to individuals instead of shops, because it really isn't worth your time to sell flies for $8 per dozen. Once you get a following, you can start charging a bit more for your flies. If this all works out, you can then start quoting prices to people that reflect what your time is worth. If the quality is there and you offer something unique, you can typically make a bit of cash on flies.

 

Case in point... The other day I got a frantic message from a guy that NEEDED a couple custom flies within 3 days. I was swamped with work, family, other orders etc. What was my time worth? $15 per fly. He didn't bat an eye.

 

Cheech

[mfs686 0]

Try setting up at shows. I was helping out a friend of mine at a gun show and I set up the vise to attract attention to his table and help pass the time. Used to do the same thing for my dad as a kid when he would set up at HAM radio swap meets.

[notenuftoys 0]

I've looked into commercial tying a little bit, and here's some things I've found (some might be duplicated from previous responses).

 

1. You won't make money tying pheasant tails, prince nymphs, copper johns and all the common patterns. The fly manufacturers have those pretty well locked up at price you could never match, and most are very good quality.

 

2. You might have a chance with a few producing patterns that work well in your local area. Do you have some original patterns that can produce? Sell them - you could probably get a little more money for known producers.

 

3. Turning a hobby into a job is the fastest way to kill the fun. Now, instead of experimenting with new patterns, materials, or spending time tying flies for different species than you normally fish, you have to crank out flies on demand. How many can you tie in an hour? How long can you sit at the vice at one time? Can you sit there for 4 hours straight cranking out the same pattern over and over and over and over? Try it a few times to test your endurance and patience.

 

I have immense respect for all of you that tie commercially. I know it's not easy.

[Christopher K 0]

Sorry to derail this post a bit but I have a question. I've been tying commercially for a few years now. I'm only 16 so I'm not required to pay tax yet, and I once I register I won't be making enough to be required to pay income tax anyways. Recently I've been hearing about the discounts a lot of companies offer to commercial tyers and have been considering registering my business to be eligable for them. My question is, is there any specific tax on fishing products in Canada like there is in the states?

[Crotalus 0]

Sorry to derail this post a bit but I have a question. I've been tying commercially for a few years now. I'm only 16 so I'm not required to pay tax yet, and I once I register I won't be making enough to be required to pay income tax anyways. Recently I've been hearing about the discounts a lot of companies offer to commercial tyers and have been considering registering my business to be eligable for them. My question is, is there any specific tax on fishing products in Canada like there is in the states?

 

you may want to check into the tax thing now. The taxes that everyone references are excise and sales tax moreso than income taxes. No matter what your age is i don't think that you are exempt from excise or sales taxes.

 

Excise tax in the US for manufacturing of sporting goods which covers fly tying is 10%, additionally if I sell to someone in my state I am required to collect 6% sales tax. I have no idea how Canada works.

[cdnfishguy11 0]

Sorry to derail this post a bit but I have a question. I've been tying commercially for a few years now. I'm only 16 so I'm not required to pay tax yet, and I once I register I won't be making enough to be required to pay income tax anyways. Recently I've been hearing about the discounts a lot of companies offer to commercial tyers and have been considering registering my business to be eligable for them. My question is, is there any specific tax on fishing products in Canada like there is in the states?

 

In Canada you are not required to register for an HST number if your annual revenue is under $30 000. However you ned an HST number in order to write any expenses off against your income (assuming your making money)

 

Once you do Register your business (with service ontario) you will be required collect tax on everything you sell, and will be required to report on it at the end of the year.

 

Most companies will not sling you deals if your not ordering a large amount. Just because you have a business name and number means nothing to them untill you are ordering a large amount and it is profitable for them to do so.

 

Talk to fly shops around you and make friends with them ...where are you located?

 

 

[cdnfishguy11 0]

And as everyone has previously stated.... Tie YOUR OWN patterns!

 

I sell patterns for all species and styles of fishing.... I make the more money and sell more of my patterns, thats what people know me for and remember me for!

[Christopher K 0]

I'm just in Richmond Hill, I have a friend who get's half off wen buying from hareline just for having the number, doesn't need to buy in bulk so I thought I'd give it a shot. Do I need an HST # to get s a SIN #?

[BassMouth87 0]

Just start placing a few medium sized orders here and there and then ask the company about commercial discounts...I do not tye commercially but get commercial discounts from a company after placing a few medium sized orders over the course of 6-8 months. Tying commercially will kill the passion for MOST people quickly...I know my last hobby that I spent 4 years perusing like a madman was promptly killed two years after trying to make a career out of it. Personally if I ever sell flies it will be hand to hand sales, every dollar going into my pocket.