knifemaker3 Posted November 8, 2003 Report Share Posted November 8, 2003 Hi Guys, I've got a question for all of you jig tying guys out there. I have been tying round and bullet head buctail jigs in 1/16, 1/8, 1/4 oz. with simple one color heads and one color or combination colors of bucktail for white bass and crappie. I've been selling these for 35-45 cents apiece depending on quantity sold. I've noticed this last spring when in a bait shop some of this type jig of a lesser quality tie and just a raw lead head going for 65 cents a bait. How much are most people selling this type jig for? I've seen some online going for @ $1.00 apiece. I've gained a fair following of fisherman who want my jigs. I don't want to loose them by raising my prices, but I also don't want to be getting less than the normal market for them either. So, I thought I would ask you other guys who sell jigs for advice. Thanks, Craig Blankenship a.k.a Knifemaker3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumpy Posted November 9, 2003 Report Share Posted November 9, 2003 I tie marabou jigs for family and friends. 1/32 and 1/64 oz are their favorites with a bit of sparkle from flashabou or the like. Steelheads seem to gobble them pretty good. The bait shops sell them for $0.89 to $1.00 each. My price is $0.50 each or $5.00 a dozen. But if they don't stock up and get caught short while on the water it's a dollar a piece. Plus they got to buy lunch! I use nickle and gold plated jigs at $0.20 each so I am hardly covering cost. I think I can tie about 18 jigs a hour. At 40 cents each I can't see how you are breaking even. I just started tying bucktails for walleye 1/8 and 1/4oz. That's a lot more difficult a tie than working with marabou IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlebear Posted November 10, 2003 Report Share Posted November 10, 2003 Knifemaker, I have been making baits for about 30 years.. Its a little more than a hobbie but I still feel like its just that..I know what your feeling.. I been there many times..but truthfully you just got to figure all your cost, tack on what you want for your labor and not worry about what anyone else is selling stuff for.. I haven't made inline spinners that small in a while.. I mostly make muskie size bucktails..I have developed a wholesale price(10 or more at a time) and retail (one at time) sales..for baits as small as yours I'm sure the numbers would be much higher..25 or 50 for wholesale but the idea is the same.. I will say this.. if your not making anything on your baits your way to cheap.. dealing with lead and paint is not all that good for your health.. you must at lease make enough to cover the cost of having a safe place to develop your baits..plus covering the cost of your products good luck and good fishing Littlebear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celticav Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 Very well put Littlebear, I agree with you completly. Heehee, I think the biggest problem is that this stuff is a "labor of love" that we would do even without people buying our creations, WE JUST LIKE MAKING IT!!! Take knifemaker for example, seems obvious that he is a crafty individual, just from what we know of him he crafts fishing lures and knives... obvious he likes working with his hands and creating new and unique stuff. I bet your hand-tied jigs are of exceptional quality and probably something unique about them that sets them apart from the average stuff on the shelf. If you are even questioning that your prices might be too low... then I think your prices are too low and could be raised a little and still be competitive, JIM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knifemaker3 Posted November 13, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2003 Hey guys, Thanks for the replies. One thing you've gotta understand about us hillbilly people here in the ozarks. Stuff like eyeballs, dots, blots, etc. on our whitebass jigs just don't impress most of us. That's why I don't make most of my jigs very fancy on the paint jobs. But, I am going to start up a "designer" line of jigs for more discriminating customers Again, thanks for the replies. I'll start posting some pics of my jigs when I get time to make some up. Got Deer season all this next week Take Care! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlebear Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 Guys, I really don't think any of us are in this for the money..believe me they are easier ways to make money than making fishing lures by hand.. I do it because I love fishing and I love to teach..I am a former Muskie guide and before that I was a bass club pres. for 15 years..my real job is building car and boat interiors.. I build bait just to pay for my fishing site and to hear about fish caught on my baits..when someone catches a fish of a life time and they caught it our bait..I'm as thrilled as they are.. here is one of my spinnerbait heads..http://www.kentuckyangling.com/images/newh8.jpg this is a 1 oz head.. I make 30 different baits 4 are topwater hard baits.. 2 are crank baits.. 1 is a lipless crankbait.. my spinnerbait range from 1/32 to 2 1/2 oz.. like you said they are a labor of love.. for me the exciting part isn't selling them.. its hearing about catches made with them.. here is the finish baithttp://www.kentuckyangling.com/images/spec05.jpg this is a in-line spinner 7" model http://www.kentuckyangling.com/images/spin56.jpg whats you think.. it's also fun to share ideas.. Littlebear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
