[quote=wissmiss]At the January FHA sale, they had a lot with 3 muskrats. It was the top lot at the sale. Sold for $10.00. Buyer didn't even get recognition. LOL

And that's about all they sold. LOL

I spoke with some one in the know at NAFA and the goods that are being offered via "private treaty" are not really for sale at a listed price.

It is more like a trappers sealed bid auction. Buyers inspect the goods, submit a written bid by a certain deadline. After the deadline, NAFA goes over the submitted bids and decides which pelts to sell. In theory they would be selling to the highest bidder but who knows. If NAFA doesn't like any of the offers, the goods don't sell.

The buyers that bid on wolves and wolverine and other zoo species are NOT happy about this arrangement. In fact, they are very upset, to the point that some of them refuse to participate in the process.

How is it not a good argument? They waste a bunch of time bidding on muskrats that won't sell for much more then one wolf skin

Bottom line is trappers send fur to an auction house
Not a fur broker

Good for NAFA.
I was starting to lose what faith i had in them over PT sales. It's an auction house.

maybe I guess I should be pickier. I actually just decided to start sending it to the same place my country buyer was sending it after I had already finished it. I don't care how it gets sold I just want to understand it.

Or maybe you should send it to where someone else's fur buyer send?

My comment is that most trappers send to nafa because they claim to get a bunch of buyersin one room to have competitive buying. This in turn is suppose to equate to thetrapper having a better price for their hard work. If the AUCTION isn't happening then how can that beacheived?

And that is a good question one to be pondered on .

I hear ya. The options for a guy who only finishes 150 Coons and 50 coyotes a year seem limited.

Anything that the buyers don't like, may be to the sellers advantage?

Not necessarily. Depends on the situation.

In this case, NAFA is offering wolves and wolverine via a sealed bid auction. They are calling it "private treaty".

Say you have 7 buyers at the sale that actively want to buy wolves. If they sell them in the auction room, all 7 buyers will be in there bidding. 3 of the 7 buyers don't like this sealed bid system and decline to participate. That leaves 4 buyers. And it is a one shot deal - you submit a bid and that's it. You win or you lose.

Say you have a nice wolf in this "PT" sale. One buyer bids $300.00. Another buyer bids $310.00. Another buyer bids $305.00. The buyer bidding $310.00 is going to buy that wolf, assuming the $310.00 is within the range that NAFA thinks the wolf is worth.

Now, if this same wolf is offered in the auction room, bidding could very possibly go higher. The guy that bid $300.00 via sealed bid could go $320.00. The guy that bid $305.00 could go $325.00.. nice wolves tend to draw active bidding in the auction room. In this case, it is not to the sellers advantage. In fact, he is losing money selling via sealed bid.

On the other hand of this however, because it is a sealed bid, if the buyer wants it bad enough rather than bidding 325 on the auction floor he may go 350 to ensure he beats out the other 3 sealed bidders.

Miss Wiss said:

It is more like a trappers sealed bid auction. Buyers inspect the goods, submit a written bid by a certain deadline. After the deadline, NAFA goes over the submitted bids and decides which pelts to sell. In theory they would be selling to the highest bidder but who knows. If NAFA doesn't like any of the offers, the goods don't sell.

So that means NAFA has graded and has placed a price on that skin and given It a lot#. Isn't that the same way It's handled at a open auction? And If the bid Is to low doesn't that hide end up In PT anyway?
Does the buyer know the price NAFA has placed on that lot In a PT situation.?
The higher the selling price both NAFA and the trapper are coming out ahead.

Nafa comes out ahead if they sell at all. Even and especially when speculators are involved

That is very interesting that nafa has chose to do a sealed bid. I've always felt "overall" that a sealed bid can be a good auction for trappers.
Just miss the battles that way.
Atleast they are "auctioning" them
Better then just PT

And yes buyers do know prices in pt room

Buyers do know the price in the PT room.

Buyers do NOT know the "asking price" on the goods in the private treaty catalog goods being offered at this sale.

I could see buyers being mad because they got no advanced notice (if they didn't). Similar to what NAFA pulled in 2014 around two weeks before the sale they pulled a bunch of the wild fur out of the sale. Other than that, this could be good for trappers if NAFA don't run off their buyers.

Or 2014 or whatever year when they scattered the zoo over multiple days

Is that a big thing? The buyers are there pretty much for the duration aren't they. They don't just fly across the pond for one day do they.

Really?
Many zoo buyers can give two.... about ranch mink or whatever