Garment makers prefer to buy graded lots,it saves them work.They will pay more.
Somewhere along the line someone has to sort out all the pelts into grade lots in order to make finished product.
This is one of the main reasons the trapper gets more money for his fur at the auction.he benefits from having his fur intersorted and put up into graded lots for buyers/end users to bid on.

prices much much better in the country sales than auction house last 3 seasons......in western usa

I won't skin one of the stinking things for that.

I wonder if timing is as much a factor as anything in this. Prices have been in a pretty steady decline and the international auctions are later in the year. That trend might be reversed in an improving market.

The last 2-4 years the auctions prices have been more to set the fall prices for the coming season. Many cases we find that there is more optimizm in the fall then may well be warrented. This year it seems that for some species like rats especially the auctions prices have carried over to the fall prices.
I enjoy reading the threads and posts that say trap coon now in early December for those big well furred coon well here in our area with all the farmsteads the coon that are running right now are mostly smaller coons or females trying to catch up before they den for longer periods of time. The older males will be out when the rut starts but many will be stained, off color and stink about like a coyote. They also do not seem to travel far either. Couple hot trails with nothing the last 3-4 days.

Bryce

That will change today.

I agree $1.50 avg. last year, $6.00 avg. this year, I'm not complaining.I will take a up tick anyday.

Upticks are positive but it's still not worth skinning a $5 coon

ttt