Charge them enough so they quit asking.

It seems the difference in put up and green skins is marginal. If you want them to make money just skin and roll.

Ha!

Problem is, at least around here, buyers won't touch green. At least of you dry em you still have options.

I've done before, 30% of the fur check, I felt that was fair for in the round vs fully scraped and dried pelts. The guy I did it for was happy as he had never received those kinds of prices before

Anything other than coyote or bobcat you won’t be able to charge anything and still have the trapper make money this year. Maybe muskrat. I wouldn’t put up a coyote for less than $20. I’d do a bobcat for $15, fox for $10.

Just figure out an hourly rate you’d be satisfied with and how many of each critter you can do in an hour, back the math out and whatever that comes to, charge that much. If the trapper is willing to pay it, so be it, if not you saved yourself from working for less than you’re worth.

Do you know how much fur they are talking about? Just asking to make sure you know what you could be committing to if you decide to put up fur. At least around me, those that have fur put up often have a pile of it; typically coon or rats have been the norm. being able to keep up with it can amount to fair amount of work and may even require more supplies/stretchers or even cold storage on your part.

In past decent markets I generally charged 20% of the previous average species auction sale value.

I used to put up rats for a fur buyer at a nickel a rat and fleshed and stretched coons for a buck an hour but that was back in the early 60's so I suggest charging a bit more than that.
I also once paid a guy $5.00 a beaver to flesh and stretch my beaver in what was supposed to be a good year for them. I wound up losing money on them. I hope this guy does not expect to make a profit and still be fair to you.If he were to participate the learning experience would make it worthwhile, however.

Few other things to consider,
Are they going to bring frozen carcass goods to you that you will have time and space tied up while they thaw.
If they bring in unfrozen goods will they keep until you can do them.
Do you have additional freezer space if needed.
Do you have a disposal plan in place for additional carcass'
If they are hunting, what will you charge for sewing.

x2

Putting up 1000 coons for a measly 3,000 dollars? Hard pass.

Skinning , Fleshing , Washing , Sewing , Boarding , Turning , Taking off board's , Brushing out , Storing finished fur , Disposing of carcasses . If you take pride in the finished product . All the steps take time when added up . Depends how efficient you are so you can charge a fair price but still make it worth your time

I went 50/50 with a guy once he set only a very few traps and said he would skin and stretch all fur Guess he did but somewhere along the line we didnt have any top lot fur .

cat daddy, I went to work for Roger in the fall of 1980 and got laid off in the spring of 83 after fur season. Scrap prices tanked and I was low man on the totem pole. I was from Gt Falls and drove home on a Friday and went to work Monday construction. The middle of Oct 83 I started work skinning in Gt Falls for Pacific. It was a much bigger fur operation than in Spokane. Bob Young and Don Judkins were buyers. I was skinning, Brad brushed and drummed fur. They had a couple floater guys they would bring out of scrap if things got busy. They would buy 100,000 in fur a day this time of the year. Judkins in in Orofino now, still buying fur.

If you ever want to know what trade labor costs in your area, call a mechanic and ask what their hourly rate is, then an electrician, then a plumber, then a carpenter (Shop prices, not what the worker gets). Once you realize no one is billing less than 80 dollars an hour make sure you bill for your time accordingly. Even if you're "slow". Add up every minute from thawing, to removing burrs (which can take me 15 minutes to do carefully to avoid damage) then all the way to stretched, the carcass disposed and shop picked up. Also figure your expenses for heat if it's something that's not already heated.

Dont give your time away for next to nothing. If someone in ND is willing to put up coyotes for $10 per, I'll bring you most every coyote I catch.

Agreed.

Get on Fox and Fur website and look at what they are charging to flesh. At some point your knowledge and ability should be worth something. I am not suggesting that you charge $13 to flesh a coon as USA fox and fur does but really whats wrong with making money with your skills.

I charge $20 for coyotes and cats and badger. $10 for raccoon and skunk, opossum.

If they think that too much then they learn to do it themselves or find a guy who wants to make less. Just my two cents. Never gonna get rich doin this but I'm done giving it away.

Great video