They have been unusually slow this past year. I called them to see if they lost my otter from last year, but they had it. They had some strange growing pains in 2018. But anytime I called or emailed, they ALWAYS respond immediately. And my otter did show up last month, looking fantastic. I think they'll overcome their 2018 struggles.

Here's the Disclaimer they've had on the homepage of their website the past several months:
*Great Northern Fur went through many changes within the company throughout 2018. As the owner of the company, I saw that there were some changes that had to be made for us to grow as a company and to better serve our customers. As with any change, there comes some fall back. Throughout the change, we were unable at times to meet certain turnaround times and keep up with our standards of customer service. I sincerely apologize for any and all inconveniences. We understand that all of our clients both big and small demand of us a superior product matched with nothing less than a high level of quality customer service. We believe that all of the changes made throughout the factory will encompass everything that our customers demand of us. We look forward to working with you and proving to you that GNF is truly a premiere fur dressing company from start to finish.—David Karon

Failed to fill you in? How did she fail to tell you her business? Lol

Get your beaver back yet?

I finally got a reply back from them that said everything is done, except the beaver. They said mine would be included in the next batch. That was about 3 weeks ago.

Not yet. I had an email from them on January 29 saying that my beaver would be going into processing "next week". Sounds like out pelts are in the same batch.

I know a person the sent them 20 or so muskrats earlier this year and had them back in about 3 weeks. No extra charge.

Maybe it is just beaver they are slow on doing. For what ever reason. At this point I just want the beaver to come in quality similar to Moyles.

I'm waiting for my beaver also. Been in contact with them and they do them in batches of 40 at a time. Said they were starting 2 batches a week now and hoped to get caught up soon. However long that is. Will check back with them at end of month if I don't here from them before that.

Thanks for the update.

Beaver is the hold up on my order as well. Shipped to them last May and finally contacted them about 6 weeks ago to make sure I had not missed a call. Nope, everything was ready but my beaver and wouldn't you know beaver was what I need to get back. It is already sold if I can ever get it back. Sent a shipment to Moyle the same day and got it back in October.

I sent a bobcat pelt to them last year In January. Got back around mid March. Couldn’t have been happier with the quality of work. In fact, I just sent them another cat last week. Sent them an email as a heads up that it was coming their way. They replied within a couple of days to let me know that they received it. I would say that that’s pretty darn good customer service.

Interesting, A friend of mine and I sent in a pair of bobcats at our Jan winter meeting and was told 180 days so we were hoping to maybe get them by summer mtg. The just called that they are done yesterday. Far quicker than the near yr waits I've had for other tanners. Maybe they need enough of certain pelts to make a batch? Everything I have seen done by them has been very nice, IMO.

It looks like small shipments that do not include beaver are being done right away. Maybe they are hoping for good publicity for this extra fast turn time will help them regain some of their reputation.

Apparently beaver are the hold up. If they only process 40 pelts at a time and some one sends them a batch of say 500 pelts, that is going to take awhile to process. I'm sure the batch of 84 beaver I sent in June isn't helping the back log.

As far as communication goes, they have always responded in a timely manner when I have called or emailed. But never once have they initiated the correspondence. They did not acknowledge receipt of my shipment until I called in August to ask about it. Moyles always acknowledges incoming shipments, usually about 2 weeks after they arrive.

I sent a couple of beaver and a few muskrats last April. Still waiting and it is the beaver that are slowing everything down. Have had great results from them in the past so not worried but it does set my project back.

Are they still charging 50% up front for tanning services ?

Maybe the higher charges per pelt give the small batches some advantage in the bottom line.

Still no fur here

I gave them a small batch ( 4 items ) last June at the FTA, one of the items was my grandsons first coon. I contacted them by e mail about the middle of December hoping the coon would be done for Christmas. They replied immediately saying everything was finished but the coon. Got an email yesterday saying my order was completed, we will see !

And yes they want money up front, not quite 50% if I remember right . Hopefully they do a good job and their turnaround gets better , they aren’t that far away for me .

yea, beaver seems to take forever. I have 280 there since June of last year and haven't heard a word about them since.....looks like they just can't get them done and I hear nothing from them...

GNF was set up across from me at the FTA last summer in WI.....he had a LOT of traffic at his booth with people dropping off a TON of small lots for dressing.......

MZ

New dresser that can do a good job gets overwhelmed with fur in a down market, AND has difficulty hiring competent help that works hard. I seem to have the same problem in my business. This may be a common theme.

GN picked up my beaver in June of 2018. I got 71 of them back last week. They are ok and my customer will be able to make them work. This was my first time using GN, based on good reviews from several folks whose opinions I value. I am not overly impressed. The pelts could have been a lot worse. However, in the future I will be sending beaver and all other pelts to Moyles, who I have used for over 10 years without any problems.

After I received the pelts, I did have an email from the owner of GN, apologizing for the delay, etc. He said they have been and continue to have issues finding help. Which I can understand - not every one wants to work at a tannery.

In defense of GN, a friend is using them to tan muskrats and he is getting very good results, fast turn around and good communication. So at least some one is happy with GN.

I think the biggest problem is that GN got too big, too fast and got over whelmed. Hopefully they will be able to dig themselves out of the hole they are in.

I sent a bobcat off last year... It took a little over a year to get back... I was fine with waiting though, was told it was a long turn around when shipped.
The Soft tan turned out Awesome, and it was the same Bobcat I sent in ,had identifiable markings. The leather side turned out great.