Saw some fur sale in Iowa couple days ago. Unbelievable how low prices were on everything but beaver and they were to low to pay for gas and food at gas station. I think if I had some nice skinned coyotes that the offer was $3.50 each I would just tan them. Make Mink $1.00 -$2.00 each in the round I would learn to tan them myself.
So what if you messed up some or all of them. You were at least learning something. MD

Unfortunately there isn't much we can do about changing the market for some species right now. But I think you're on track about being a good time to tan your catch.

Unreal

^^^and that was Iowa fur.

This southeastern US fur is sho nuf pitiful....

Gotta be paid to play the trapping game down here.....

Maybe just that particular sale? I remember seeing $4.00-$5.00 averages on red fox at our Pennsylvania Trapping Association auctions the last few years. At the same time guys selling red fox at different New York auctions were averaging $12.00-$16.00 for similar quality fur.

The problem with a lot of these small trapper auctions is lack of competition.

Mink blanket with beaver trim made many years ago in a market downturn. Better yet make/have made 2 and sell the other one. Just sayin more than 1 way to skin a cat

What causes lack of competition?

Less fur buyers at the auctions. My local PTA district auction has less than half the buyers it used to years ago.

Cheap prices

Best time there is to cherry pick your best pelts. Have things you want for your self or family made from them. Even if you don't tan them your self or make the items. Still going to be deal.

Mac

Best time to not trap. Easiest way to not lose money. Takes no effort.

Trap for the Wall

Trap for The wall? Then you have even more money Invested. How many skins are you going to hang on the wall.?

There were fur buyers every 5 miles when I started trapping in the 60's it seems.
Now there's less than 100 in the whole state last I saw.

Prior to the fur market crash in 1987 I had 15 to 20 local buyers that lived within 20 miles of me .Some of them did a pretty good business and others it was more of a hobby in which they could make a little bit of money .When the market crashed nearly all of those buyers did not buy fur for several years .Many of them closed their shop and never reopen .The late 1970's thru 1986 fur was in demand and many local buyers that where competing against each for pelts to fill orders that they had .Muskrats @ $6 to $8 coons @ $30. to $35 and red fox @$65 to $75 .was the result of of he competition of all those local buyers .Remember gas was less then a$1.00 a gal . And you could buy a new truck for under $10000 .00 But it was not all good Trappers that did not have much knowledge turned to stealing others traps and fur Competition for access to property to trap often ended with someone getting a bloody nose . a black eye and threats

There's not much of a margin between little and nothing.

I disagree but we can 100% control every single fur price in the USA in one degree or another. The very first thing that needs to happen is trappers need to stop committing non forced slave labor.

I don't know if that will fix the market, but hobby trapping has been created by low prices. Low prices need hobby trappers and adc trappers. It is also a vicious cycle.

Have to see what the fur looks like before you can say about price offered.
There is a good market for good fur articles.
Low ball prices are offered for poor fur or for good fur by middlemen or speculators,not the end users.End users are still paying good prices for fur articles.
If you are just looking to dump fur that is maybe not finished or not prime to a middleman dont expect top prices,lol.