good job don you tell them...

I started this thread. I am NOT concerned about making that much money. I love approaching my trap, wondering if I outsmarted a wild animal. Yes, I'm not an idiot and I do want to get as much money as I can out of it but I just want to trap and have fun, really that's all that matters in the end guys.

Haaa, I am a little smarter than that! Most I know work off of bank notes If you don't make money then why do it? Tell everybody that. I am fully aware of buyers can put a set price on their lots. I do taxidermy to make money,why don't you buy furs to make money? I never said it was easy and no I would not do it and that is my question. It is not easy as you stated,there is no money in it,so why do it?

And I will add one more thing. It is like the stock market,reading the market. You might not make any money this year or last year BUT when they sell, you will make money.Period. You are buying as an investment for later sale.

I am NOT buying that's the thing, I'm selling. Trapping isn't my career, nor is anything related to the fur industry. I realize alot of you guys have hundreds of traps out, spend all year and all your money towards it. Good for you. And you should be worried about how much money you get out of it. But for me, its a hobby. HOBBY

I don't understand what your first sentance means tbn. Also don't know what you mean by bank notes that everybody uses.

I do understand the part about making money though. You can bet your last nickle that I buy fur to make money.

If you really think that the buyers that are buying fur this year, have any idea how much profit they will make per hide, then you are wrong in your thinking.

Sometimes there just is no way to explain things to people that don't have a clue as to what they are talking about.

As far as being 100 percent positive about how much profit you may make, the direct sale to the end user is about as close to being on the money , than any other typ of sale. But believe it or not, more than once I have seen a deal between buyer and end user broke by the end user. It don't happen all the time, but it can and does happen.

TrapperNE, I can confirm what the guy from Wisconsin told you. I just got back from the Groney's truck in town. I haven't set anything yet, but went to see what the prices would be. I saw a guy bring in two coons, one of which was a really nice one as well as a muskrat. Groney paid 15.00 for the big one 3.00 for the small and two buck for the rat. All of these were on the carcass. Saw it with my own eyes, and am a little more excited about getting going.

Well Don,I can appreciate your clalmness and patience with my statements. I get wound up at times. I didn;t say everybody works off of bank loans but I know several that have and do.

thanks don for writing what you did,maybe tbn will understand it 1 day as the fur business is not even close to the taxidermy business as to how much a person will make in the end...

tbn, ain't no sence me getting worked up. That is what gets threads deleted. Once they get deleted then we can no longer discuss the issue.
I suppose that there are quite a few people that buy fur, that probably borrow money to work with.

Funny thing about borrowing money is this. When I was just a grasshopper, I asked the banks for a loan to buy fur with. They wouldn't have nothing to do with giving me money. So I had to buy and sell about once a week to keep operating.

Well funny how things worked out after a few years of doing that. The bank manager asked me one day if I would like to borrow some operating capital. I just looked at the man and asked him where he was when I really needed him.

tbn, you are absolutely clueless

What I am saying is, if your not going to get at least a 20% increase, lower if your in the fur council, over what the local buyer is paying, your not really gaining much.

As for the stock market and others you mentioned, that game is played out over decades, where even with treasuries your money could double in 36 years, the fur market is by nature short term. Taking the safe money vs. taking a risk that can backfire.

A couple of things that have been said but not real clearly in comparing selling to groney
First it has been mentioned he starts out high and then drops right off.I sent some coon to auction last year and it was the same thing there,mid twenties down to a buck fifty.Both averages ended just about the same with no fees with groney.
Second the no value fur.Mark and others have already stated that in buying fur there is going to be some that is not worth messing with.I have taken some pretty rough looking stuff to groney (try to salvage every thing I can)and only had one possum he didn't want (last year).Same thing with the auction houses selling those junk furs for nothing just to get rid of them(I don't think they have any way of rejecting them from the trapper)
Third The sorting or grading groney does.I also sent some rats to auction last year and they ended up in maney grades/lots.The auction houses try to get lots with all the furs looking the same as that is what the buyers are looking for.With groney it seemes there is three or four lots/piles he puts them in,however that means only three or four prices and agian the averages come out almost the same +/- a little with no fees.(much higer tops at the auction house than with groney but still the same average)
The same thing with the quality.Groney may look like he is JUST SORTING FOR AN AVERAGE but with the boy and I we usually have more than one lot of each type of fur(mine,his,ours) I have a lot to learn about grading fur but I can tell the difference in the quality of each lot and the averages of each lot are always different some times by quite a bit.
I will send some stuff to auction agian this year(I love to listen to the live broadcast as they sell and nafa greg taught me so much about putting up fur it now gives me the option to send it there)but most all of oure stuff will go to groney.We end up having a lot of good conversations with others at the truck and are happy with what we get paid.
There will be those that can honestly say they do a lot better shipping.Just like any thing else for certian grades/colors/sizes ect certian markets will always do much better than others.The thing for each person is to try out whatever way they have to market there fur and see what one is right for them.

c hartman

Well sniffpuppy , you just clue me in then.I am all ears. You buy fur for no profit also?

To answer the question of how much money I put into fur every year it is well into the six figure range. The fur industry is my career.

What I see is fur buyers want to get your fur as cheap as they can, auctions want to get as much money for your fur as possible. Fur buyers are usually behind on the fur market as the auctions set the price trends.

Do you work for NAFA?.............Ringtailtrapper

No, not at all.

thank you Mink99 for your honestly, could'nt agree any more

Bottom line is sell your fur the way you want to and to who you want but don't complain about someone else's option with there fur. Everyone wants to make money on what they are doing if it is trapping only or buying. No one buys fur green to put it up and not make money and anyone who begrudges that is just brain dead.

mink it wasn't how much you put in to the fur industry but how much money you spend on buying raw fur? as every trapper or fur buyer puts money into the industry