idaho will be having 5 sales this year and that is a good thing for trappers. with only 1 sale the buyers would never be able to grade the volume of fur that coming in resulting in low bids or no bids at all. also buyer has to load and haul the fur after the sale. trailers will only haul so much. trappers are recieving top dollar for there fur now. when is the last time you got 1424 top cat and 412 dollar sale average on cats?FHA i dont think so. western state sales are a good thing the way they are..period!!! takes alot of time and effort and hard work to put on a sale.A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO DONATE THERE TIME AND EFFORT TO PUT ON THESE SALES! thanks to all the trappers and buyers that attend and support sales.money raised from these sales goes to protect trapping and trapper rights. take a minute and let that sink in!

The only way the buyers get full, is if they are having trouble moving the fur. They will sell it as fast as they can, not sit on it. If you are talking the felters are full, it would be a pretty small market, for a dozen trapper sales to plug the market. Maybe the felters are bocking at the price of beaver? Maybe the country buyers are learning they can not move the beaver as easy as they thought they were going too.

Jake, glad to hear you did good on your marten. You definitely had some great looking fur there.
The guys that sent over all those otter did really good too so that was great to see.

Wallfur - you mention the large volume of fur at the 5 Idaho sales. I assume ITA at Glenn’s Ferry has the largest volume.

Any idea on how much of the volume is actually IDAHO fur and parts and how much comes from other states?

If only IDAHO items were sold at sales in Idaho, it wouldn’t take 5 sales to handle that volume. Not saying that should happen, just pointing out a fact.

agreed nancy and i do know how much fur came from other states. but that is with all sales not just idaho. location plays a big part in that as you have mentioned earlier post. i support all sales not just idaho and attend the sales in differant states. trappers should not be divided by state lines were all in this together. 5 sales in differant areas of idaho are to accommodate all trappers from all states. one of my favorite sales was held in ely nv but that sale is long gone so i will support sales no matter what state they are in just pointing out a fact.

I’ll speak for myself and maybe a few others and we appreciate being able to sell furs and associate ourselves with the associations and fellow trappers in Idaho it helps us a lot from Washington

I enjoyed my trip to Idaho to sell fur for the first time ever out of state. It was great meeting Musty and others that were just names before. For me, my main loyalty is to myself so I sell wherever I think I can get the most $$$ for my fur. That having been said, I've been selling through OTC sales for most of my life and if all things are equal they will always have my main support as a trapper.

I think the associations are greedy. They want to make money for their own association at the sellers expense. If the seller is unhappy about prices to bad for them is the way I think they see it. It's the associations job to get top dollar for their consigners if they are gonna have a sale and if they cannot do it they should not be selling just to benefit them selves.

I wonder how many sales you have put on? Do you have a smiley face guarantee at you sales? It is a lot of work and expense putting on a sale. From what I have seen when you get a group of buyers together bidding on fur, sellers that are disappointed with the price are looking at their fur with rose colored glasses or they do not know what the market is at the time of the sale. Or both. What buyers would have showed up that didn't, if there would have been more fur? One thing is for sure, not everyone one is going to be happy. You seem to be a prefect example of that. Were you at the sale?

I am wondering what you think we do with the money we make? We use it to put on trapping and wolf trapping classes which are required to get a trapping license in Idaho. We donate money to fight the antis lawsuits that are trying to end trapping. We go to fairs and other events promoting trapping. I don't know of any of us that get paid and few even break even. I guess if you don't want to support the trapping associations don't attend the sales and events but don't come crying to us when you lose your opportunity to trap.

...slick pan would you like to buy my fur?at what i think its worth?lol..where do you sell your fur or do you even have any? any suggestions how to make the sales better? associations dont set the price of fur all they can do is show the fur to the buyers, anything beyond that they have no control over. i am not personally involved in putting on any of the sales nor do i speak for any assiocation but i am thankful for the poeple that do. but i do spend several thousand dollars per year supporting various sales. again a big thank you to those poeple who do put those sales together. your time, effort, hard work and your personal money thats involved does not go unnoticed. thank you! your unselfish work goes a long way in keeping trapping alive for EVERYONE not just the ones that support the sales.

I get to set minimums on my fur. That way I control not getting burned . I have no problem taking my fur back and find a new better option, even if it takes years. I read on here that furbuyers used this strategy at NAFA?

Amen about the minimums. In other words we have multiple buyers looking at fur but still have control on whether we sell or not. I now I used to ruffle feathers fairly often (OTC sales in the old days) when I would not accept what i thought were subpar offers that didn't meet my minimum. Then they would get sent up north.

yes minimums are a great thing and i do use them also. i never had any state sales frown on me for taking fur home but seen buyers that were not happy.but in the buyers defense i have seen alot of trappers that think there fur is worth more than it really is but thats ok to,there is always more options. i normally dont send good fur north because they dont allow minimums.once you send fur north all controll of your fur is gone!

"I wonder how many sales you have put on?"

I been involved in Fur Sales since I was 12 and I will be 69 this year so I think I have more qualification to speak than most of you .I helped put that sale on at 12 years old. I am very aware of what happens at them.

I am not crying about losing my opportunity . Individually with and without associations involvement I have done more to protect trapping than most of you.

"slick pan would you like to buy my fur? at what i think its worth? lol..where do you sell your fur or do you even have any?"

Pretty rude since you do not know me or anything about me.

The problems with minimums is they cost money to apply them if you do not sell your fur. Why would you put minimums on an item like beaver if you know from all the past sales there is a strong market ? The problem with Musty's beaver prices if they are as good as he claims is the people who put on the sale did not draw the correct buyers. George bought the furs for less than paid in the past because he knew he less competition.

There are a few beaver trappers in north america that don't consider a strong hatter markdet a strong beaver market.

The markets ebb and flow continuously on fads like the Stetson and the coyote trim parka. Beaver market is gaining momentum, when will it end is anyone's guess.
I'm hoping the Chinese have a coon skin coat craze, or a muskrat trim bikini fad soon. Or possum lined gloves to be all the rage in 2025.