Did I get taken?

[philintheblank]

I sold my Coyote pelts (6) that i shot, to a fur buyer instead of shipping to the auction. this was my first time selling pelts. 5 were heavy, and the other was semi.

the guy gave me 50 bucks a pelt. some people seem to think I got the shaft becuase the average price was 76 or 77 dollars in the earlier sales. but after looking at the fees and royalties for selling at the auction, it seems like for a non-member can expect to pay about 15 bucks. The fur buyer also said my pelts were a little darker and that the preferred colour is more pale and that they wouldnt fetch as high of a price. and i can also admit thati did not do a perfect job skinning them, fleshing was good, but there were some errors in the skinning. all in all, i think i did alright for myfirst season
so do you guys think i got a good price?

[Bigdad013]

I think you did ok. Less hassle than an auction, never know, they may sell for way less at an auction. Plus he has to make a buck on them as well. I think you can sleep well over it.

[Bound2Fish]

I dont think you were taken. Even you feel like you were paid a fair price considering the pelts and fees. All in all I think you both made out ok, and like the last poster said, he also has to make a bit of money as well. I wouldnt stress over it, plus you didnt have to waste your time and money with the auction.

[nekred]

Good deal!....

[sourdough doug]

An auction is just that , an auction. At the same time, the same can be said for buyers. They too are speculating on what the sale will bring. If you have dealt with the same buyer, year after year, you will know whether he is fair with you. In time with him, you will be able to dicker for an xtra $, if you know your grading. In the mean time, you got your money and can spend it much sooner that waiting for your fur cheque.....now how much more fun is that...

[philintheblank]

Thanks for the posts,

I was pretty happy about my 1st fur sale... but then you get the ***holes that like to take the wind outta your sails by saying stuff like " i heard of a fuy buyer paying 50 bucks per whole frozed yote, so you wasted your time"

not sure how a fuy buyer could pay that for frozen dogs and make a living. i may be a noob but i got some common sense. its also funny how those people never pony up a name or phone number when you ask them about it though.

thanks again forthe input

[blackie9999]

you can just go to fur auction sights and see what the pelts are selling for on average from previous auctions.from the fur harvesters last auction the average price was 44 for western yotes with eastern and central getting half that or less.the high was 92 but must have been big or something special so based on that you did well at 50 per pelt.

[Wilbur1005]

you did well. The central issue is to keep doing it. In the 1980's it was easy to make 3 to 4K selling raw pelts. Gas was the greatest expense. Get the book Hunting Predators for Hides and Profits to improve your pelt preparation techniques. The real key is to skin and flesh slowly and ignore most of the other stuff others will tell you. You will know when you have done a good job.

[H380]

You may or may not have gotten taken .. It all depends on whether or not you are happy with the price you got .. Having said that it's nice to go to auction and have more than one offer on your fur . We averaged $102 on our dogs at the FHA March sale , top was $140.. yes they were good ones , but the poorest in the lot was $85 . I won't be selling any to fur buyers , been there , done that . I realise they have to make a buck too , but not at my expense . I'm not in it to make a living , so playing the auction game is a bit of a rush .. could get taken , but if you have quality , usually not . Try FHA or NAFA .. You might be pleasantly surprised .