Overseas fly tying not as bad as I thought

[BrookieChaser]

My condolences, Biggie.

 

[lv2nymph]

That's a shame big, sorry to hear that.

 

[mikesl]

a little OT, but stay with me here....

I was on a train in Germany a few years ago, sitting in the bottom level of a double-decker coach. It was crowded and the only spots left were next to a fridge / chest where every 10-15 minutes a hardworking young man would come to restock his supply of snacks and drinks before hustling up and down the stairs to the upper levels to sell people snacks. It was summer and he was sweating from the hard work, but he was hustling nonetheless. One of my fellow travellers was a stereotypical german 30-something perpetual college student / hippie, and he took a moment to ask this hard-working snacks guy, who incidentally was of turkish descent, whether he felt exploited by "the man" since he was having to work so hard for what was assumed to be a meager wage. And the young man said "what? no, not at all, I'm happy to have a job to help pay for my college expenses"

So for me the point is.... what may seem like a crap job and exploitation to us spoiled / fortunate americans may be a great way to achieve a better life for someone from a place like africa. That rich-poor gap is unfortunate, and any one fly tying operation in a poor country could still be exploitative, who knows, but in a globalized world, we have to be careful not to project and not to judge too quickly based on our own local values.

It would be one of those great ironies if rich people took their business elsewhere because they were concerned about the assumed working conditions.... and as a result the little village fly-tying industry in africa failed to make it, and the workers went back to subsistence farming....

 

[laszlo]

Kenyans may be OK you have to beware of those Nigerian fly tyres. I once got an email from a Nigerian fly tyer .....................

 

[mike_richardson]

Mikesl you sum up why I posted this actually.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Quite often I get some e-mail from a gent in Africa claiming he has millions of dollars in an estate and needs someone one to look after and spread the monies around wisely.....

Biggie: There should be some paperwork on it somewhere.

My condolences to you and family for the loss of a friend.

 

[troutbert]

How much do you think the tiers are getting per fly tied?

The flies are selling online for what? 50 cents a piece?

Both the wholesaler and the online retailer must make a profit. And the hook and materials cost some money. And it costs some money to ship the hooks and materials to Africa, and to ship the flies to the US, and from the wholesaler to the retailer.

So, starting at 50 cents and subtracting all those costs, what does the fly tier get for his labor, per fly?

 

[mikesl]

I would bet they get very little in the wholesale channel, maybe 5-10c a fly... but that would still represent one of the better cash salaries for a day's work in some parts of the world.

And of course the manufacturing shops get more dealing with the end customer direct than with the middlemen, hence the letter looking for direct customers / buying groups.

I wouldn't be all that surprised if, in a few years, someone running a small african fly tying business was a member on this forum, and took order inquiries by email / PM with a strong referral business.

I love buying specialized, locally tied flies from a small fly shop for $2 a piece... but I think there is room in the market for this kind of direct semi-custom flytying business, it's just a matter of communication infrastrucutre and the spread of internet access, etc.

 

[mike_richardson]

$2 bucks a piece seems high

 

[attackone]

mike_richardson wrote:
$2 bucks a piece seems high

nope, in most shops thats the going price

 

[tyeager]

I feel locally tied patterns going for between $2 and $3 is the norm now.....even zebra midges are at least a $1 a piece

 

[mike_richardson]

Wow. No wonder people buy overseas stuff. I doubt I'd everu pay more than a dollar for nymphs and 1.50 for streamers.

 

[krayfish]

I've seen simple patterns at the shops for $2 - $2.25 each, $2.75 for more advanced flies / stoneflies. Articulated streamers $4 - $5 each. Bass Pro and Cabelas charge $1.75-$2 each

 

[mike_richardson]

I gotta ask krayfish, whats up with the avatar? pm if necessary. LOL

 

[BradFromPotter]

mike_richardson wrote:
$2 bucks a piece seems high

High? I got that back in the mid to late 90's when I had my shop.

 

[Leteras]

I get those emails from time to time I just delete them to be honest. Without actually knowing who your dealing with or the fact that some of them could be scams. I would stay away from them.