This article was originally published in the January 2019 issue of the Northwoods Sporting Journal.
It’s fur selling season. For trappers who spent late fall and early winter working hard to catch, skin, stretch and dry a pile of quality fur pelts, the last piece of the puzzle is figuring out where and how to market that fur.
In the good old days of the fur boom, selling fur was easy. Local fur buyers operated in most rural areas, and it was usually a short drive to find a buyer who would cut you a nice check for your troubles. Today prices are lower and the market is much smaller than it once was, and most of the old country fur buyers are gone.
So how and where do you sell fur? First, let’s consider what type of fur you plan to sell. Most trappers today sell raw fur, which is a pelt that’s been skinned, fleshed, stretched and dried. While that’s the most common form sold, it doesn’t have to be your only option.
If you can find one near you, some fur buyers still buy carcass fur, or fur ‘in the round’. Basically that means they take the entire animal. They do all the work of skinning and prepping the hide, and of course you get a much lower price for the fur. However, for trappers too busy with a job or other activities, selling fur in the round can be a great alternative to not trapping at all.
Another alternative is to sell green fur. This is a pelt that’s been skinned, but not fleshed, stretched and dried. This is commonly done with beaver, which are relatively easy to skin, but a lot of work to flesh and stretch. Some trappers will skin the beaver, fold the fresh pelt up, bag it, and put it in the freezer. This is a great option for those too busy running large traplines to spend time at night working on pelts.
Raw fur (skinned, fleshed, stretched and dried) requires a great deal of work, but if fur is to be shipped out for sale, it’s a must. Raw fur is resistant to rot and has a shelf life of months if stored properly. Many states hold annual fur auctions, where trappers bring their raw fur pelts to be bid on by several fur buyers. And then there’s the ultimate auction – the international auction houses up in Canada, North American Fur Auctions and Fur Harvesters Auction, which market raw fur throughout the world.
Many trappers enjoy going through the entire process of handling their fur until it’s dried and ready for market. Producing raw fur allows a trapper the greatest amount of flexibility in marketing. Raw fur can be sold to local fur buyers, shipped to regional buyers, sold at state trappers association fur auctions, and sent to the big international auction houses. And if a trapper doesn’t like the price, they can tan that raw fur and access an entirely different market – the specialty fur trade.
With a few years of low fur prices, many trappers have sent many of their pelts out to be tanned, or tried tanning themselves using DIY home kits. Tanned fur pelts occupy a very small niche in the overall fur market, but they can be sold at fairs and trade shows, local shops, or online through sites like Ebay and Etsy. Tanned pelts can also be cut up and sewn into hats, mittens and other small items. If done right, trappers can greatly increase their profit from fur with some flexibility and ingenuity.
Fur is a valuable product derived from a renewable natural resource. Trappers provide a valuable service to wildlife species by harvesting surplus furbearers each year and keeping populations in check. But low fur prices make it difficult for trappers to keep at it. Weighing the different options and being flexible in how we market our fur will continue to be an important part of staying active in the trapping world.
Jeremiah is an avid outdoorsman, trapper, and author of “Fur Profit: A Trapper’s Guide to the Modern Fur Market”. You can find Fur Profit and more at his website, www.trappingtoday.com.
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