About the same as last march. Around a 50 dollar average for ak marten after commission.

Bp, I wonder if those damaged lots were later in the sale and buyers were seeing that they were not filling their orders so they bid higher for them damaged or not.

I noticed that as well beaverpeeler, but while listening to the auction you could kind of hear the despiration build, as things progressed to the lower grades. The buyers that hold out for better deals down the page began to realize they weren't going to get orders filled if they didn't up their game.

Our marten* amongst the best and went from about $40 US (but excluded top lot as unsold) last July to $55 this sale average. Canadian dollar even better as FHA exchange last summer 25% and now about 34% if FHA shaves a bit off the $1.37 current.

* Sent our 40 marten** last July sale and 5 were in the top lot (lots 01 - 03 were lumped as top lot at that sale). They were held over until now and sold this sale as top lot (lots 01 - 05) all lumped as top lot.

** no cherry picking; even a Sect III in there

Typically only the section III went to the hatters. So I think muscle memory gets them to bid aggressively on that grade. At any rate, same thing happened last June. I got about a dollar more for my gd dmg size to size. This sale somebody posted LM's 1-11 heavies for $24 and gd dmg LM's for $27!

Those prices are basically giving them away. No market Boco says. Fine, I agree there is no market up there. But at those prices for the females, what is there to lose? If those were my mink, I would rather gamble that dollar bill per mink and hope the mink market improves in a year or two, kind of like how the beaver market has finally improved. If in 2 or 3 years there is no improvement, sell them for a buck or burn them. Not much difference. Gambling a couple hundred bucks is no big deal in today's inflated prices.

Holding the fur and not selling it for next to nothing used to be one of the incentives for shipping to NAFA and Fur Harvesters. Seems like that incentive is gone. Again, I don't agree with selling them for a buck or so. If they were offered 4 or 5 dollars I wouldn't have a problem with them selling those mink but selling for $1.00 is next to giving them away. They should have no saled them and held them for the next sale or two.

Glad I didn't ship. I averaged $9.09 for all of my mink at the OSTA sale. This included cottons, damaged, and blue mink.

I still wonder if those $1.00 select females will ever leave the building. Doesn't take much room to store a few thousand mink.

Probably stale leftovers.I dont think anyone has been trapping mink for the raw fur market last 2 3 years at least Me and any trappers I know havent anyway.if stuff doesnt sell after several auction cycles,it is basically no value fur.
Good that they got something for it.

They will hold the rats for several cycles,and anything not wanted in the trade after that should be liquidated one way or the other,in my opinion.

Everyone who ships to the auction knows up front the conditions of sale.
You should keep abreast of market trends in the industry and if you wish to hold fur in hopes the market improves,hold it in your freezer at home.
More often than not this is a loser too.But sometimes it can work out.

Mink blanket, just sayin....

Nice Blanket Drasselt.

Mink look stale even if held in the freezer after put up or skinned.The only way mink hold up for me is frozen on the carcass then skinned and stretched and sold. Rats on the other hand will hold up well in the freezer after put up and I have stored them for 3 years with really no difference from fresh rats.

Boco.

I have been selling my fur every year. $7.31 average on my mink last year and $9.09 this year. Not great prices but considering the market, not bad. But sure glad I didn't ship. I used to ship to both houses and dropped NAFA about 10 years ago. Stopped shipping to Fur Harvesters about 4 years ago. Probably won't ship anything again until I see them getting better prices for the furs that I trap and a willingness to not give stuff away for next to nothing. I also cashed in my stock or whatever they call it. Market trends!!! LOL Sure I would love to trap western cats and coyotes and wolves and wolverines but we don't have any of those here so I just trap what we have and unfortunately, other than beaver this year, we don't have anything of high value. Sold 48 beaver for a $32.17 average at the OSTA sale. Very comparable to what the FH sale just did. Glad to see this improvement. FH always outshined NAFA on the beaver prices.

Drasselt,

Nice blanket!!! What is the edge trimmed with? Beaver?

it would take every mink in the state of Alabama to make that, lol. Very nice though!

Yes.

Being that rats didn’t sell at this sale, would you folks ship out rats in April for the upcoming sale. Or would you freeze them?

I got to thinking about this and maybe you're right. Desperation may have caused the increased bid amounts as supply was running out. Why didn't I think of that?

Freeze if you produce at all. Over 200K 'rats still on hold unless PT moves them at fire sale prices.

..... look at other options state sales and local buyers. i am needing rats and otter still

If you look at the June 22 sale 25% mink sold of 11K there leaving a tidy sum for this sale, so not many fresh. In the old days there would have been 70K to sort. So only a drop in the bucket to make strings of 80 with and this is min for making a jacket more like 120

What really got me was there was no Treaty Acknowledgement made at the start of every sale that I watched. For a company to have 50% native board members it will be interesting to see if this is discussed in their next board meeting.

I've had rats from fall 2021, this past spring 2022, and again last fall 2022
held over from the last 3 different auctions without selling.

I won't be shipping any more until they sell them at the valuations
that they no-saled them at the past three auctions.

All my mink FHA fire saled at a $1.00 at this auction were from
last spring & this past fall not old, stale rejects.

Definitely won't be tossing any more mink down into the FHA black hole.

That would really (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) me off if I discovered
that those $1.00 mink were bought internally
by FHA speculators and stayed at North Bay
to be sold later for a tidy profit down the road.

NAFA was famous for that dirty trick but then again FHA hired
a bunch of NAFA refugees so who knows, anything is possible.

w

Thanks for the heads up, Bob. I sold 5 male mink for $25/each to taxidermists the remainder I was going to ship with Toby to FHA. Might have to reconsider.