Fur auctions vs traveling fur buyers

Born2hunt96

Born2hunt96

Member
This is my second year putting up fur and its only December and i have doubled the amount of fur i have put up already compared to last year. Last year i sold all at once at the end of the season to Petska and was not really happy with what i got for my furs after talking to people and seeing what they got. He said i did a really good job putting up my fur and he was impressed being that it was my first year. i live NE Kansas and got $3 per coon (that was fine to me because they were stretched too wide on my yote stretchers and were shotgunned) and $30 each for my yotes. That might be decent numbers but i hear of people getting a lot more for put up fur. I hear that you can get better prices if you "ship your fur off to the auctions" but was wondering if thats true or not. Is it worth the effort? Just looking for some experienced trappers/hunters who could point me in the right direction! Thanks!
 
Also i already know that my coon prices were so low because i used my yote stretchers and they were shotgunned. I made some actual coon stretchers this fall and started using my .22 instead while calling them!
 
Traveling buyer, one person making an offer no pressure.
Paid now.
Numerous stops/offers to fill orders
At auction numerous buyers competing for your fur.
Paid with in a couple weeks
potential to fill orders with one stop.

If you are in NW Kansas the Colorado Fur Auction is only a couple hours from you.
We are the largest offering of Coyotes in the lower 48 states with the largest buyer participation. You can place a minimum bid on your fur. If it doesn't sell you can take it some where else. But we average 97%+ clearance.

Different areas of every state produce different types/quality of coyotes.
My western Colorado coyotes from my county averaged $25 more than my buddies 40 miles north.
 
The only way to know for sure, is to get an offer from a local buyer and then ship to auction and get what they get from bidders (minus commissions and yearly membership dues). Of course it’s too late to take the local offer then... Dun both for 40 years. Like the auction for value. Like local buyers for the experience...it’s always a fun interesting time in their shops.
 
Originally Posted By: K9SNIPERThe only way to know for sure, is to get an offer from a local buyer and then ship to auction and get what they get from bidders (minus commissions and yearly membership dues). Of course it’s too late to take the local offer then... Dun both for 40 years. Like the auction for value. Like local buyers for the experience...it’s always a fun interesting time in their shops.

Im sure it would be! The fur buyer in my area is actually a traveling fur buyer so he shows up with a big trailer, gives me an offer, and then hes on the road again! not much for small talk haha
 
Originally Posted By: gotspotsTraveling buyer, one person making an offer no pressure.
Paid now.
Numerous stops/offers to fill orders
At auction numerous buyers competing for your fur.
Paid with in a couple weeks
potential to fill orders with one stop.

If you are in NW Kansas the Colorado Fur Auction is only a couple hours from you.
We are the largest offering of Coyotes in the lower 48 states with the largest buyer participation. You can place a minimum bid on your fur. If it doesn't sell you can take it some where else. But we average 97%+ clearance.

Different areas of every state produce different types/quality of coyotes.
My western Colorado coyotes from my county averaged $25 more than my buddies 40 miles north.


Isnt that about an hour west of Burlington? Is is just for coyotes? I also put of coons and the occasional badger or fox
 
Correct about an hour from Burlington. We accept pretty much all raw and tanned fur, antler,
skulls,claws, etc. everyone is welcome to buy, sell or just come and get an education on what different fur from different states/areas look and feel like. Last year we sold coyotes from 18 different states. This sale will bring upwards of 50 buyers from all gamuts of the industry. Probably the best opportunity in the country to learn about fur and fur handling.
 
An auction house charges 11% commission I believe. They have a big incentive to get you top dollar and buyers have the opposite incentive. If there are a lot of buyers they will tend to be more reputable because they need your skins and are competing.
 
Originally Posted By: MCaryAn auction house charges 11% commission I believe. They have a big incentive to get you top dollar and buyers have the opposite incentive. If there are a lot of buyers they will tend to be more reputable because they need your skins and are competing.

On top of commissions NAFA/FHA also charge drumming, handling, and transport/shipping fee's to the seller. Plus once you ship to them you loose all control of your fur, it stays there until sold or disposed of/
 
I like NAFA. $1 gets all your pelts shipped...no matter how many you load into they're trailer. Think it's 50-75 cents to drum a coyote? 11% commission is a bit steep I think, but they have dozens of buyers who will compete for your pelts. It's the only place I've gotten over $100 for a single coyote...
 
What is the difference between something like the auction in colorado vs shipping to NAFA then? do the buyers at the colorado auction turn around and sell it again to somebody else? Im just concerned i got taken advantage of being that last year was my first time
 
Some of Colorado's buyers are middle men, some are end users, some are folks looking to tan and resell. Once you ship to NAFA your fur is at their mercy. They get to pick the value.

At Colorado you can choose a minimum value, if that price isn't met you still have your fur to send else where or whatever you choose.

We will also negotiate between you and the buyers to try and get your fur sold if the minimum isn't met.
 
I think it would be cool to actually go and watch my furs be sold off but on the flyer for the colorado auction it says that the fur has to be there a week before.. dont really want to make the 2 hour drive twice! maybe NAFA would be better...?
 
At the NAFA your fur may not sell, could be several auctions before they accept the bid. I just received a check from last year's fur, which finally sold at the last auction. My partner and I usually send the top 20-30% of our furs to auction, sell the rest local.
 
Originally Posted By: Born2hunt96This is my second year putting up fur and its only December and i have doubled the amount of fur i have put up already compared to last year. Last year i sold all at once at the end of the season to Petska and was not really happy with what i got for my furs after talking to people and seeing what they got. He said i did a really good job putting up my fur and he was impressed being that it was my first year. i live NE Kansas and got $3 per coon (that was fine to me because they were stretched too wide on my yote stretchers and were shotgunned) and $30 each for my yotes. That might be decent numbers but i hear of people getting a lot more for put up fur. I hear that you can get better prices if you "ship your fur off to the auctions" but was wondering if thats true or not. Is it worth the effort? Just looking for some experienced trappers/hunters who could point me in the right direction! Thanks!


Im going to look you in the eye and say that if you got $3 for shotgunned coons, and $30 for n.e. KS coyotes that buyer was going above and beyond to take good care of you.



You have to try all the different options available to you, it's just good sense, but I'm betting you'll circle back around and realize just how good that is when you get some more experience.
 
Send a couple to groenwold’s if you don’t agree on a price they will ship them back to you .I ‘m getting ready to ship a few this week to test the market but they been pretty good to me on coyotes.
 
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