I think back to the very first time I sold fur and what a thrill it was to actually get money for something that I enjoyed doing so much. It seems to me that the first fur one sells may hook you forever. In my time there were still lots of country buyers around and were available to either buy in the round, green, or could instruct how to skin and put up fur. Maybe even some tricks on how to catch more critters.

So my first fur sold was nutria in-the-round to Elmer Smid who had a small taxidermy shop about 8 miles from where I lived. In the fall of '73 prices were $3 for XL, $2 for L and $1 for medium. All in the round. Gas was about 35 cents a gallon and I just had got my drivers license and could borrow my folks car to take critters over to his place.

About this time I started reading Fur Fish & Game and was really getting psyched about trapping.

How about you guys/gals? Who did you sell your first fur to and how was that experience?

About 1960, I sold my first muskrats to a Mr. Chamberlin. He was a traveling buyer in northern Illinois.

FHA for many years...Bill Bailey was the agent

Wiebke's in La Crosse, Wi. Always treated me fair and with respect.

Moosetrot

Bayle’s Fur and Pecans in West Monroe, Louisiana. Coon. Skinned, green. 1976. Right across the street from Bayle’s Fish Market - where I sold catfish when I wasnt trapping.

John Rockwood in Minetto NY a long time ago.

Jim Cox soon followed by Dean Burkdoll.

Bill Schaeffer in Honesdale PA. He paid $1.25 for rats/nose count and $40 for a huge male mink. I stretched the mink fur out because I thought the buyer wanted to see the fur. Bill corrected me, but still paid top dollar. I thought I was rich, minimum wage was $1.60/hour.

"Dutch" Elsasser from the early '70's until he past.

I miss him, "are ya with me?".

Ryan's Bait Shop in Troy, Ohio was the first place I sold fur too. He paid nearly nothing. I sold to him twice. I told a buddy how much I got and he told me to try Bob Long. Bob Long paid nearly three or four times as much.

I was at Long's and Ryan was there. He looked at me sheepishly. It turned out Ryan was buying fur super cheap and just immediately reselling it to Long, no work involved. Long called him an "old crook" when Ryan left and I explained how little Ryan paid me.

Keith

At a sporting goods store called "Johnson BB"
Mr. Patterson was the proprietor and had a traveling fur buyer from Canada that would stop by.
Bought my first traps from that store and sold my very first coons there.
This was when small towns had a dozen different Mom&Pop stores in every town.
I knew of three fur buyers within a dozen miles. This one i could ride my bicycle to.
I was hooked from the first day! Back then I ate as many sardines as I used for bait.
Back when men were men and women were women. Im grateful to have grown up in the 60's and 70's
when sportsmen and women still had their rights intact.

Sold to Jack Veirs when I was 10 or 11 and I'm 73 now. Sold him a couple muskrat and he showed me the proper way to skin them and put them up.

Ludy Sheda.

Skunk White in Gilbertsville NY 64 or 65 ,my father drove me down, we had the skunks in banna boxes tied to the roof!

Zane Bryan in Prospect, Pa. 1978

I wish I could remember the kind buyer's name back in1975. I had a mink, (my first fur was a muskrat I skinned open and proudly pinned and dried on my bedroom wall. Yes, dried to my wall!), I case skinned and put the mink up on a 3/4" pine board I made with my dad's jig saw. I didn't know about a wedge, and when I couldn't get it off the board, I just took my boy scout jack knife and slit it up the belly. I got an address from a friend whose dad trapped, and so I wrapped the pelt in a cut up brown grocery bag and sent it to him with thoughts of riches. He lived in Salem, Oregon. About a week later, I got a check for .50, and a page with proper skinning and stretching instructions with a handwritten note telling me to keep trying. Bless his soul.

My first furs I caught 50 yrs ago I sold to Runigans out of Fergus Falls Mn.

Knew him only as Trapper Rodgers who was a local buyer. Taught me not to thaw frozen furs with hot water. He took a hit on that half dozen coons but still gave me a good price for those "slipping" coon. Early 80's.

GFWC a guy and his kid came through the outskirts of Chicago sold to them often another guy across the border in IN started buying later when Fox were a hot item. The GFWC kid later became the buyer he showed up one time at the IN guys buying stop to see who’s selling to him. The next time he made a comment about selling the good stuff to the IN guy that was BS I sold as I caught it I had no choice then was not set up to hold on to it.

Did not play his game I never sold to that kid after that my buddy wanted to ring his neck I said let’s go.

Early 70s