For better or worse, the prices are posted.
https://www.furharvesters.com/results/2019/May/may19us.pdf

The only bright spot is rats and that is not that bright. Coon was cheap but not much of an offering, general consensus the market still sucks.

"1st section only" = not a true average.

Skunk top lot was $40.00.. I wonder what was so special about that lot!!

A Tman member had the top lot black bear at $410.00.

Typically we see beaver broken down into sections etc. $18 average seems good based on beaver prices of late but don't know what sections sold for what.
Otters are not worth much. $20 for an average otter!
Coons were about like they were in the last FHA sale. Mine at NAFA did considerably better based on section and grade. I have 1 coon and 15 good rats to be auctioned.
It is disappointing to see such very little interest in red, grey and silver foxes.
Does someone have a better grip on what central yotes are compared to easterns? Big difference in those sections. I know we don't have any Canadian Westerns here in WI

Bryce

True averages have meaning only to the accountants. If you take 100 coyotes to a buyer or auction and 50 are worthless but you get $100 each for the other 50 are you going to be mad at the $50 average for all your coyotes. As long as they say what's in the number I could care less about true average.

I wonder if coyotes will drop after CG announced their lackluster sales and their stock dropped 20%. NAFA will get blamed if yote prices slide.

I believe it's already started. Had a late collection of Ks coyotes that only avg 41 bucks. They were caught late, but coyotes held better this year than I can honestly say I have ever experienced. From what I sold last year and even last sale, they were off at least 20% or a bit more. For some reason, easterns have taken over everything but the best westerns. How weird is that. I used to get quite a few from here that used to grade eastern, but now that they are worth something, I don't have anything but centrals! Crap like that gripes me to no end. All I could wish for is that the grading would be consistant and not always in favor of the buyers!

When that Hippie TRUMP going to do something for the fur market? Aren't you guys his base, get on the phone to you local republican riding association and tell them to help us out. Especially you guys in Pennislvainia and Ohio who put him over the top. Doesn't Trump own a big share of the fashion industry? Plus he has all them Russian connections he can for shure help you out. Tell him stop being such a hippie.

Seriously?

I can do like the auction houses are doing and take the best 10 of those 100 coyotes and make the "average" look even better.

So, you, as a trapper, dont care about your true average?

I guess those 50 worthless coyotes didnt take up any of your trapping and fur handling time?

Your idea of of "caring about a true average" and mine are two totally different concepts.

If you only total up your best stuff to get an average price it is NOT your average....it is the average price paid for your best stuff. This is what the auction companies do. They only added up the 1st section stuff. They didnt include the "50 worthless coyotes"....lol. That's an average that means notthing to a trapper.

Whatever makes you feel better.

Where do you get your info? CNN?

When trapping prime fur,how many are going to be junky/dmg half price?Not many.Likely shouldn't skin or send those.
Who wants junkers thrown in to skew the real avg of good fur?
Definitely the secondary goods should have a separate avg so a trapper who can half arsed grade fur knows what to skin and what to toss according to market trend.

You live in a fantasy world if everything is 100 percent in wild fur,lol.

But what about those grade 2s? Those are not junk or badly damaged? Many are just slightly off color or minor leather blemishes. It appears the auctions houses dont include those in their 1st section averages because it lowers it...making the sale prices less "impressive" looking to the producers

I have never been able to understand all this concern about averages, one way or the other. I catch X amount of fur and want to get the best price I can; so in that case, yes I am pursuing the best average per say. And at current prices it is a total waste of time to handle a pelt that you KNOW will have very little to no value. However, it is simply nuts to throw out lesser value furs to make one's average price higher. Using the 100 pelt analogy if I get $2,000 for a twenty dollar average I would not throw out the bottom 20 pelts because they brought my average down. No matter how much or how little they bring, it is still extra money in my wallet above and beyond what I received for the other 80.

I feel exactly same way...but the auction houses like to make it look better than it is by averaging ONLY the grade 1 pelts.

Not saying 100%-there are several grades in sec 1 fur,and several in sec 3.Sec 3 can be worth skinning in certain species and market conditions,but only if you know what they are selling for compared to first section fur.
I can go over my fur returns for decades and I bet less than 10% would be sec 3 fur.
I remember a couple years sec 3 otter was worth as much as first section.Definitly worth skinning and shipping.If the avg was not broken out a lot of that fur likely would have been tossed.And vice versa.

How do we respond when someone asks us what fur is bringing? Do we ask, "Grade 1 fur?" Or do we say, " I averaged xx for my coyotes, xx for my coons, etc?

If you only want to talk about your grade 1 prices, then please disregard my comments...lol

I'll do it.

Section 1 is not grade 1.

Section 1 includes grade select to II and slt damaged.

Section 3 includes damaged and grades III and IV

Carry on!

Maybe they produce section 2 fur in second world countries?

I wish the grading was consistent as well, but believe this, it's not always in favor of the buyers!