Labelled skins
Found this info about how labelled skins work on another trapping forum. Thought it might be a good read for others.
Here are some direct quotes from the NAFA Auction catalog regarding labels. This information is in each catalog produced by NAFA. These are the catalogs the buyers use at the sale. Presumably, the buyers read all the info at the front of the catalog.
NAFA Northern Wild Fur Labels
The NAFA Northern label represents the world's finest wild fur. It is exclusively offered through North American Fur Auctions.
NAFA labels are available only from NAFA at the time of clearance of purchases. (THat is when the buyer has paid for the goods and the goods are shipped to the buyer".
Labels are issued as follows -
One label per -
15 NAFA Northern Beaver, lynx, coyote, otter
20 NAFA Northern Lynxcat, red fox, raccoon
40 NAFA Northern Sable
50 NAFA Northern Wild mink, muskrats
Labels are not issued for other wild fur species. A similar label is also issued for ranch fox and ranch
It is cloth with gold thread. It is 4.25 inches long x 2 inches wide.
You will see at the left end there is a code (G 32172). This is a unique code that can be traced back to the pelts it was sold with. There are several security features in the label to protect it from being copied.
The label comes with a little hang tag booklet that explains about the label. Here is a picture of the whole works.
So what happens is this. The buyer buys a bundled of labeled skins. Say he buys 500 muskrats. When he pays for the goods, NAFA gives him 10 labels. One label for each 50 skins. NAFA records who got what label numbers for which fur.
The buyer sends the pelts to a dresser and when the pelts are dressed, they are sent on to a furrier to be made into garments. When the garment made from these labeled pelts is finished, the furrier can sew one of the labels into the garment. When the garment is displayed in a fur salon for sale, the hang tag is attached to the garment.
NAFA reserves the right to inspect any/all garments that carry the NAFA Northern label to verify the labels were used correctly. Whether they do or not, I don't know.
Bottom line- labels are a NAFA marketing tool to make the buyer of the fur coat feel warm and fuzzy.
Any questions?? LOL
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