DU dinner decoys

Andy Grant

Andy Grant

Well-known member
A last months DU Banquet they had a few decoys and other scuptures which were quite beautiful, BUT they were made of resin. Of course they were molded off great carvings, but I didn't feel like dropping $200+ on a resin anything. Not when a guy can buy a working wood or cork decoy that is a lot more durable and could actualy float for the same price. I realize it is a fund raising event, but all the items are sponsered and paid for by local businesses before hand.

Sorry for the mini-rant, but I just would like them to have real decoys in wood, cork or even two-part foam.
 
Then get on the local du board as a donation soliciter and get after it. Those resin cast dekes probably cost the chapter about 50 bucks and non hunters think they are wonderful. If you were to try to buy the decorative carving they were cast from you'd be into the thousands probably.
 
They are already after me about being on the board/committee. I am planning on doing something with local chapter later this spring. I have ideas about a youth event.
 
Andrew,

The cast resin decoys are to the carving world what prints are to flat art. In some respects, it helped ruin a portion of the market for handcarved decorative birds, because why would anyone pay thousands for a handcarved, detailed bird when they can get the "same thing" for $99, and most people who come over to their house will never know the difference? It may not hurt the Godins, Shroeders, Barths, Sprankles, etc., but the new carvers who are in the notch or two or three below them took it square in the shorts.

And, guys like Godin, Brunet, etc. could carve one "master" and have a thousand cast birds, "handpainted", sold, and come out ahead.

I'm with you; I'd rather see good, handcarved birds than resin - it isn't fraud, but I do think people sometimes believe they are getting more than they really are.
 
i had an argument with a guy at a table one night about just this. he bought one of those p's.o.s. and i told him "jeezze i could have carved you a working decoy for 1/4 of the price of that one and it would be worth more money then that thing down the road". he was convinced that his resin thing would be worth more then twice what he paid for it later. now i have not seen one place that dealt with this resins like decoy dealers do with hand carved decoys. they're not worth any more then what the du committes pay for them.

its something thats just going to keep going on. here in vermont there are some hunters that will buy the working birds over the resins and i usually do pretty well at banquets getting just about as much at auction as the resins do. this year i have a decoy going to all 14 banquets in vermont.

eddie
 
The committees are buying these resin decoys for $20 to $80 each. If you can find hand made decoys for that, buy them up and use them at the events. At our events in the past, the resin decoys actually brought more and we much cheaper to buy than the working decoys. Crazy but true.
 
Before anyone jumps to bite my head off - I support Ducks Unlimited (past committee chair) and have a house full of their prints -

but anyone who thinks that something they buy at a DU auction (unless it is an original piece) is going to appreciate is one of those people that P.T. Barnum mentioned in one of his famous quips. The resin pieces hold down production costs for DU and allow them to raise more money for less, simple as that.
 
Bill is right.
You do not go to a dinner and think "I am coming home with an asset that will some day make me a rich guy when I sell it at auction." You get that from the effort that your cash created in what is left of the wetlands that we need to grow and hunt the ducks in. Many who attend the dinners are not "Hard Core Waterfowlers" and they love having a nice knock off of some sweet decorative bird. Same with the prints. My son felt like he won the lottery when I told him to offer his goose print he won to the nice lady that just got a box of E Allen unpainted mallard ducks. She was happy to trade for a print and we started his black duck rig and had one heck of a fun painting party.
I love the dinners that get real working birds and I own a few that cost me out the a$$ that ride in my rig, but if your committee does not have generous carvers who will give birds at a deep discount is is hard to justify filling an auction with real gunners if the birds must be bought at street price. The object of the dinners is to raise cash for conservation work. The committee has to cater to what the most folks want at their event.
 
Bob, you make a good point, and maybe times have changed.

I know when I was a kid, carvers donated birds, either on a percentage "split" with the chapter, or outright. One donation might equal three or four commissions, so it got their name and work out there, and helped create the market. People who were disappointed at not getting the auction bird talked to the carver afterwards... Again, I'm not talking about the Sprankle/Godin/Schroeder level of carver, but those down the ladder a little.

One of the flat artists in the area used to donate a few prints, and then do an original watercolor or pencil sketch at the event that would be auctioned off towards the end of the night. It wasn't a big piece, but it was still original artwork...

If the chapter is paying street price for a handcarved decoy, I can see where they would be more attracted to the cast birds.
 
Bob, you make a good point, and maybe times have changed.

I know when I was a kid, carvers donated birds, either on a percentage "split" with the chapter, or outright. One donation might equal three or four commissions, so it got their name and work out there, and helped create the market. People who were disappointed at not getting the auction bird talked to the carver afterwards... Again, I'm not talking about the Sprankle/Godin/Schroeder level of carver, but those down the ladder a little.

One of the flat artists in the area used to donate a few prints, and then do an original watercolor or pencil sketch at the event that would be auctioned off towards the end of the night. It wasn't a big piece, but it was still original artwork...

If the chapter is paying street price for a handcarved decoy, I can see where they would be more attracted to the cast birds.
Click to expand...


First let me say I'm not a big DU guy. I have donated a few things to different groups for auction and have always been satisfied with what they have made form them. I think it has as much to do with what part of the country they are in as it does what it actually is.

Now as far as what Rick says I think he is right on the money when it comes to the whole art market. 'Limited Edition' prints may have made 'popular' art more accessible to the public but I bet it has put a big hurt on originals from less known artists. There should be some law that doesn't allow 'Limited' to mean 5000 or more. Add to that the sad marketing skills of some who will sell their work for pennies on ebay and it isn't surprising many have little idea what 'original art' is and what it takes to create it.

I like prints, and this is not about them being bad, they just are not what many believe them to be. True limited editions are very nice things and are a far cry from a lamp shade with a Terry Redlin on it but sadly many don't know that, or care I suppose.

Tim
 
I used to donate several decoys to DU and Delta chapters all over the country. No doubt it is for a good cause, but I too have to pay for my materials. I figured that I would make up my cost by the donated decoy generating sales. The biggest problem is that pretty much none of the folks that the decoys were donated would distinguish between the handcarved decoy and the resins. Therefore not creating a market for the person donating the handcarved decoy.
Alot of what I see is the committee members have their hands out and will hound you to death about donating something, but they are quick to forget you after they get what they want. It's something that needs to be changed. One chapter up north had a handout telling about each item that was donated. That was class and it wouldn't take much to type something up showing who donated what with a small summery about the donated item. When the item comes up for auction what was written about the donated item would be read. It would take up less time than some auctioneer screwing around trying to act like a comedian and the rewards would help everyone in the long run.
If you want people to donate items yearly then you have to make sure that those folks can afford to keep donating.
Just my thoughts.
 
Lee, that is not a new problem. My father donated a few birds, and after the second bird or so it seemed like from the day after the banquet until about a month before the next one, he didn't exist. Then he'd get a phone call asking what he was going to donate that year.

I think a summary of the auction items is a good idea, especially if you have specialty items like handcarved decoys, calls, etc. It would take a little more paper, but might help some people understand what they are getting.
 
sounds to me like the folks running some of the banquets you guys go to are very unappreciative of the people that donate. every banquet i have gone to, 5 different ones in VT theres a program with every donated item listed along with the person or business that donated it and their address (if its a business). in vermont at least the folks here take a little pride in knowing that they bought a decoy from a local carver. at every auction the auctioneer would talk a little about the decoy and then would ask the carver to stand (if present) to be acknowledged. usually after the auction i would get folks coming up to me to buy the mate or to order a working rig. the deal i have worked out with these banquets is i get a check for 25% of what the decoy goes for at auction, that covers my cost of production. my birds usually go for $80 to $190 and sometimes i donate a pair usually going 'round $110 each at auction, so it works good for both parties.

eddie
 
Ed, any luck with the FOX?
Did you ever find a copy of the book or do you want me to send it up on loan?
 
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