Trying to decide what to do with my coyotes this year. Last year I got between $20 and $40 for put up fur at the state auction, compared to $60-$100 the year before.Most of what I caught so far have been prime semi, but tawny colored and coarse feeling; your average Indiana yote. Better making hats and wall hangers or roll the dice at the sale ? -Thanks

Do you have a ready market for hats and wall hangers? By that I mean, are you sure you can sell them for a profit or are you gambling they MIGHT sell?

If you have a ready market, that might be the way to go, at least on some of them.

From what I’m hearing and from what other Tman members have posted, prices are lower than last year.

My daughter has a booth in antique mall out of state in a somewhat tourist area, and what I sent her last year sold fairly quick and for more than I would have thought. She will be up for Christmas and I plan to send her home with tanned coons, mink, and beaver hoops. Sounds like coyotes too.

seem to be no market for skins

Its always the question "what to do with the skins"?

This sounds like the way to go from what we are hearing about the yote market.

Amazing what a hide is worth when you don't sell it to the international fur industry. Even when the industry was paying about a $90 average for my yotes, that was still ten dollars short of my existing low end market. It is a good time not to be dependent on the international fur market yet again.

Depends on how much fur you have.In this type of down raw fur market.if you have a lot of skins,and can grade fur,send the prime undamaged skins to the auction,and keep the good slts etc for the tannery,and your alternative markets.
I do that with beaver,and the auction moves the good large skins for fair prices.Part of the fur cheque will cover the cost of tanning the rest.
When raw fur prices are low,it is a good time to build your tanned fur inventory so you have product when raw fur goes high again.That way you can keep your price of goods reasonable when your competition has to raise their prices.
Its a way of averaging up product and beating out competition.
It works very well if you are in it long term.

When the international fur market is unprofitable, which is most of the time, don't catch more than you can sell. Giving the excess away at a furbuyer or fur auction is just a money loser. Believe me, I know.

Dirt,just curious,do you sell tanned pelts to other locals who sew fur products,or do you sell manufactured goods only.
I am lucky here there are a lot of folks who use tanned fur for sewing hats,mitts and moccasins.

No sewers here in the Pit. I have three alternate markets. Some may end up with skin sewers on option three. Problem with the manufacturing market, is people mostly want our awesome beaver. The beaver population is disappearing, which means this business is going bye, bye. It has been crazy busy beaver sewing this year. Still working to move marten products.

My coyote skins are still on the coyotes. Until someone pays me to kill them, I'll do something else until we get a market back.

Yeah, a guy better have a plan B if they went out and killed some coyotes I'd say.

I urge trappers to get ahold of their fur buyer BEFOFE they set traps every year.

I get ya.
Beaver seems to be the go to fur for people in the bush.
Moving tanned marten is difficult.Marten are easy to tan,I tan my smaller ones and ship the better ones to auction.Dried marten keep very well in the freezer,When I hold fur in the freezer,I wind up selling it the year before the price goes up,lol.

I can tan a marten in about 6 days,so if someone wants a few I can pull them out the freezer and tan them up.I sell them for fair price-at least double what they wiould bring in the current raw fur market,but the market is limited,mostly to FN for dodem or regalia.
Having all the summer Pow Wows shut down due to covid has been bad for buisness.

Tanned weasels is the best for profit by far and demand is always high.