How to make the most out of your trapline investment
The Beginners Guide to Selling Fur
Kris Pope
www.coyotetrappingschool.com
The Beginners Guide to Marketing Fur
How to make the most out of your trapline investment
Kris Pope
Copyright 2016 by Kris Pope
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without
permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
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Disclaimer
Selling fur and animal products is highly regulated at
the federal and state level. States have different
regulations on what is legal to sell and what permits
or licenses may be needed. Always check your local
laws and regulations pertaining to trapping and the fur
industry. When in doubt, ask someone who knows.
It’s not a bad idea to be on a first name basis with the
local game warden to make sure you’re staying on
the right side of the law.
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Contents
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Introduction 5
Fur Primeness Chart 8
Traditional Fur Markets 9
Fur Buyers 12
Niche Markets 13
Carcass Markets 18
Bone Markets 21
Gland Markets 24
Online Selling Tips 28
Resources 32
Parting Advice 33
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Introduction
I’ll start by saying if you are thinking of getting into trapping to make a lot of money, you’d better rethink your plans.
Trapping is a lifestyle, if you’re wanting to become a better outdoorsman (or woman) and further your outdoor experience, then trapping will definitely get you there. That being said, there are opportunities to make money trapping. The fur market has ups and downs just like the stock market, perhaps even more drastically, and when you try to play on the whims of the market and trap when fur when prices are high, it will usually backfire on you.
Undoubtedly, when fur prices rise trappers come out of the woodwork to make some money, but they usually flood the market with fur and cause prices to crash right back down.
You’ll do better being consistent with your marketing and fur selling, riding the downs and enjoying the ups.
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The days of a man making more money trapping than at his day job are, as best as I can tell, over. But as a hobby trapper, covering your expenses and making a buck, or a few hundred, is a very reasonable expectation. What I’ve outlined here are some means of marketing your fur and furbearer products to make everything you can from your trapline.
I’ve been trapping for 15 years now, and have definitely made some money at it, but the most valuable thing has been the relationships and connections I’ve made. I’ve had some pretty incredible opportunities and the door was opened more often than not by being a trapper.
Trapping arctic foxes in the Aleutian Islands was an incredible experience!
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Many people assume that when a trapper sells fur the fur is tanned. This
is a reasonable assumption, especially when looking at stretched and
dried fur. Actually a trapper never does any kind of tanning or preserving
of the hide. That is left up to the end user, as there are a variety of
tanning processes and garment manufacturers may have a particular
process that works better for their product.
There are several ways a trapper can sell furs:
–In the round – this refers to a whole animal that hasn’t been skinned
–Green – this refers to a hide that has only been skinned
–Stretched and Dried – this is a hide that has been fleshed to remove all
fat and meat, then placed on a stretcher (a wood or wire form that holds
the hide in a specific shape), and left to dry. Stretched and dried hides
aren’t preserved, but will keep for several months as long as bugs and
moisture are kept away from the hides.
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This chart is helpful to get an idea of when furs are at their peak
primeness, or highest value. It may vary slightly depending on
your region but still gives a good general idea of when is the best
time to pursue certain species. And just because trapping season
is open doesn’t mean furs are prime.
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When it comes to selling your fur there are several traditional options available.
1. Country Fur Buyers2. Regional Fur Buyers
3. State Trapping Association Auctions4. International Auctions
Key Takeaways for Marketing Your Fur•Stretched and dried fur will bring the highest price
•The closer you can get to the end user, cutting out any middle man, the higher the price you will get
Traditional Fur Markets
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1. Country Fur Buyer- one option that some people may be familiar with is
the country fur buyer. Many times this is the same guy that has a trapping
supply business, but it may just be a guy that makes a circuit around a
certain part of the state or region buying fur. The main benefit to doing
business with the country fur buyer is you get paid immediately. The
downside is he is just a middleman, so you are not going to get the
absolute best prices for your fur. That being said, these guys are usually
willing to buy fur green (not fleshed or stretched) or even “in the round” (fur
still on the carcass). This appeals to a lot of trappers as it takes most of the
work out of putting up fur. Of course if you are selling these two ways the
buyer still has to flesh and stretch the fur, which means you’ll get less for
your fur. That’s a trade off that the trapper has to decide what makes
sense for him or her.
2. Regional Fur Buyer - the next step up from the country fur buyer is what I
call the Regional Fur Buyers. These are companies that often advertise in
trapping magazines. They make many stops in their areas when buying
fur. These companies are large enough to have deals with end users of
fur, which means they may be able to pay a higher price than the country
buyer. These buyers may also take green hides, and you can get paid
immediately when you are selling to one of their buyers. Still, you aren’t
likely getting the highest price possible for your fur.
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3. State Association Auctions - some state trapping associations have
enough interest and contacts to put on their own fur auctions. The great
thing about auctions is there are multiple bidders, so there is
competition for your fur, which can get you better prices. And you get
paid the day of the sale. You can set a minimum bid or reject the highest
bid if you aren’t satisfied with the price. Some sales allow green and dried
fur to be auctioned. The state association will get a small commission for
putting on the sale.
4. International Auctions - this is where your fur will fetch the best
prices. The downside to these sales is your fur will have to be stretched
and dried, and it may be months before you get paid for your
fur. Schedules are published well in advance, so you know when the sales
will be, but depending on the market the auction house may decide not to
accept the highest bid, so your fur could go through multiple auctions
before it sells. The auction house is holding out for better pricing, which is
good for the trapper, it just delays the trapper receiving payment for his
fur. For many of us we don’t trap for the money anyhow, so it’s not a huge
deal breaker, but it is something you want to know and consider before
shipping to one of the big auction houses. These auctions will get the best
prices because they receive hundreds of thousands of pieces of fur. With
that large of a selection they draw buyers from all over the world, buyers
who intend to make something out of the fur. So you are cutting out the
middle man and selling direct to the end user. Of course there is a
commission that the auction house receives.
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Fur Buyer Links
For country fur buyers you’re best bet is to contact your state wildlife
agency, as those buyers are likely required to have some type of fur
buyers license.
Here’s a list of some Regional fur buyers that have websites:
–Epler Fur Company www.eplerfur.com
–Groenewold Fur & Wool Co. www.gfwco.com
–Kanokla Fur Co www.kanoklafurco.com
–Moscow Hide & Fur www.hideandfur.com
• They also buy skulls, claws, and other animal parts
–Petska Fur www.petskafur.net
–Wiebke Fur & Trading Co www.wiebketrading.com
For State Trapping Association Auctions your best bet is to contact your
state trappers association. Some states have auctions and some don’t.
There are two main International Auctions
–Fur Harvesters Auction www.furharvesters.com
–North American Fur Auctions www.nafa.ca
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There are other options besides just selling your fur to the fur market. They may take a little homework or connections but they can pay as well, or sometimes better, than the fur market.
1. Taxidermy2. Landowners3. Tanned Fur4. Live Market
Key Takeaways for Marketing Your Fur
•Any niche market is tough to get in to, but once a connection is made the value you’ll get is usually more than
selling to a traditional fur market
Niche Markets
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1. Taxidermy - anytime you catch an oddball specimen,
albino/melanistic/different color phase, these are ideal for marketing to
taxidermists. Which is great because the fur market doesn’t necessarily
value uniqueness and you may actually get a lower price for the
fur. Depending on how unique it is you may be able to get 2-3 times the fur
value, and many times with less work. This is because taxidermists have
their own ways of skinning and handling the animal depending on how it is
to be mounted.
Not every taxidermist will be interested in what you have to offer, but if you can
find the right one it can be a really beneficial relationship. This won’t likely
be the guy down the street that mounts deer heads, but rather someone
who is active in a taxidermist association and enters mounts into
competitions. Its the really serious guys and gals who are looking for
something to really stand out among a lineup of other mounted animals.
Some of the best selling items I’ve had were juvenile animals, or fetuses that
were still in the female. It’s not terribly uncommon, at least in the south, to
trap a big beaver that is suspiciously large in the belly. A quick cut into the
abdomen will reveal if its just been well fed or if there may be some fetuses
inside. These can be carefully taken out of the sacs they are in, usually the
larger, more developed, the fetus the better.
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2. Landowners - this is more of an opportunity that will present itself to you
rather than seeking this one out, but sometimes you’ll run across
landowners that ask about having a bobcat or some special animal
mounted. You’ve got to use your own judgement here because you don’t
want to tick off someone who is letting you trap on their property, and
hopefully if they are interested they’ll ask what the fur would bring and
make a comparable offer.
If they just ask for something outright without offering to pay you, then its up to
you to decide how important that animal is to your relationship with that
landowner. I’m not opposed to showing some good will and giving up that
animal but I do think its worthwhile to slip in the conversation somewhere
the value of that hide. After all, trapping is not a free, or cheap, endeavor.
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3. Selling Tanned Fur - of course you could always try your hand at
marketing a finished fur type product. In this scenario you have your hides
tanned (self tanned hides won’t be as soft and supple as professionally
tanned hides) and try to pedal them any way you can think of, online, in a
local sporting goods store, wherever you think they would sell.
You should be able to command a premium for your product, if it’s a good
product, but you’ve also got the added expense of tanning to consider on
the cost side of things. If you know someone that made fur products, like
hats, gloves, mittens, etc. you could potentially partner with them to supply
the fur they need.
Again, you want to make sure you’re getting a quality tanning job that produces
a hide suitable for garment making. There is also the potential to partner
with taxidermists just in supplying wall hanger type furs that don’t have to
be of a certain quality, they just need to look good hanging on the wall.
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4. Live Market - the live market is when you are actually selling live
animals. First and foremost be sure to check your state regulations to
make sure it is legal to sell or transfer live animals in your state. Also be
aware that you cannot transport wildlife across state lines without proper
permitting (this is a federal regulation, The Lacey Act). I sold to the live
market for several years and what I am most familiar with is selling fox and
coyotes to fox pens to be run with hounds. There may be other options in
other states but I haven’t really heard of any other live market opportunities
with other furbearers.
To participate in this market it really helps to have someone who is already
involved. It can be tough to find buyers, and usually if you do they will want
to give you a low ball price. Typically, at least in the south, coyotes and
foxes are worth more on the live market than the fur market, but it does
take some specialized equipment. You need a dog box or some small
transport cages as well as a larger pen to keep the game until you get
enough to sell. You’re handling and keeping wild animals, which is
dangerous, and you need to make sure that your traps are set up to
prevent foot damage as much as possible. This also means you have to be
cautious of having traps out if the weather gets below freezing because you
don’t want the trapped foot to lose circulation and freeze. It has its own set
of challenges but if you make good contacts and have a reliable buyer year
after year, it can be worthwhile.
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There are a variety of people who may buy the carcasses of the animals you catch. These contacts would most likely be developed over time but can pay off nicely. There are many different reasons someone would be interested in purchasing carcasses. Just be sure that it is legal in your state to sell carcasses.
1. People Food2. Dog food
3. Big Cat Food4. Lure Making
5. Compost
Key Takeaways for Marketing Your Fur
•Always check your state’s laws regarding selling wildlife and wildlife parts, especially when you’re talking for human
consumption
Carcass Markets
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1. People Food - in the south the main carcass market will typically be selling
raccoons. Prices will vary depending on location and size of the
raccoon. I’ve received anywhere from $7 to $15 for raccoons dressed and
ready to cook. That’s a key, they have to be field dressed and glands
removed from the arm pits and hind legs. Usually the buyers want 1 foot
left on as proof that it is a raccoon. I have sold a few big possums to
people to eat, but not very many. Some people like to eat beaver meat, but
I’ve never sold beaver to anyone to eat.
2. Dog Food - something that is more common in the northern states is
selling beavers for dog food. People that have sled dogs or hound dogs
that are very active in the winter will sometimes feed their dogs beaver
meat in addition to or instead of store bought dog food.
3. Big Cat Food - if you have a contact at a local zoo or big cat sanctuary you
could market your carcass meat to them. Beaver would probably be the
main meat they would be interested in but you never know, especially
depending on funding. Depending on the size of the zoo or sanctuary they
may not be able to actually pay you anything but instead consider the meat
a tax deductible contribution.
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4. Lure Making - if you look through a trapping magazine you are likely to see
ads for people buying muskrat or bobcat carcasses. These are often used
by lure makers as key ingredients. Another common animal used in lure
making is beaver, but they are so readily available you don’t often find
people offering to buy beaver carcasses for lure or bait making. If you have
a lure maker local to your area, then that may be an option for selling your
beaver carcasses. If you intend to market your carcasses to a lure maker
be sure to check with them to see what all they want left on the
carcass. There are glands located all over the body, and they may have
some very specific requests in order to purchase your carcasses.
5. Compost - this may be a bit of an obscure market that is tough to get in to
but I feel is worth mentioning. I talked to a large fur buyer once who mixed
his carcasses with wood chips. The carcasses and wood chips would
decompose and make very nice organic compost. He would then market
this compost in the upscale areas of the large city that was nearby. This
would be more demanding as you would need machinery to mix the
compost and possibly a bagger, but if you generated or had access to a
large supply of carcasses and wood chips this could turn into a very nice
opportunity.
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Selling skulls and bones can be very much hit or miss, but it usually doesn’t take a lot of extra work to individually bag a skull, so I find it is often worth the hassle. The key is that you have good quality skulls, i.e. not something that you dispatched with a shot to the head.
1. Specialty Raw Skulls2. Wholesale Raw skulls
3. Cleaned Skulls4. Skeleton Articulation
5. Baculum6. Teeth
Key Takeaways for Marketing Your Fur
•These items are usually a byproduct of our efforts, so it doesn’t take much extra effort to separate them out and make a
few extra bucks
Bone Markets
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1. Specialty Raw Skulls - if you live in a part of the country that has
furbearers specific to your area, there’s a good chance those skulls will
fetch a nice price. Especially wolf, wolverine, cougar, marten, fisher, and to
a lesser extent otter and bobcat; if it’s legal to sell those skulls there is
usually going to be a waiting market for them.
2. Wholesale Raw Skulls - if you catch a sizeable quantity of any furbearer,
you may have a good chance of offering a batch for sale. You can look
online and find companies that specialize in selling cleaned skulls, and by
word of mouth you may find taxidermists that do a similar thing on a smaller
scale. If you know anyone that owns dermestid beetles, they specialize in
cleaning skulls and a big colony can clean up skulls pretty quickly.
3. Cleaned Skulls – if you happen to have access to dermestid beetles
yourself, this can be a good way to move some of your skulls. It’s not a
simple process, but if you want to mess with cleaning, degreasing, and
bleaching your own skulls you’ll likely find someone who wants to buy
them, especially if you’ve got some oddball or unique skulls. You can clean
skulls other ways, but beetles, in my opinion, are the simplest and easiest
way to go.
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4. Skeleton Articulation - this isn’t likely to be a huge money maker for
anyone but there may be an occasion when someone is wanting to buy a
whole carcass to clean all of the bones and reassemble the skeleton. This
would likely be for an unusual specimen or maybe a small/juvenile of a
species. There are companies that specialize in articulation for museums
and exhibits so if you did make a contact it could be valuable going forward.
5. Baculum - several furbearers have a penis bone, called a baculum. There
are some people that make toothpicks and jewelry out of these bones. It’s
very much a novelty item but doesn’t take much time to cut the bone off
once the animal is skinned.
6. Teeth - a slightly more common jewelry item is different animal
teeth. Beaver tooth jewelry is the most common item I’ve seen. There is
an older trapper that used to attend some of the trapping conventions in the
south that sold a variety of jewelry made from furbearers. It's a limited
market but searching online outlets such as Etsy and Ebay may reveal
people who have a hard time coming across furbearer items that they use
to make their wares.
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Most glands from furbearers are wanted by lure makers and trapping supply dealers, but glands are small. To really get into the gland game you’ve got to be catching a substantial number of a certain animal. You also need to get clarification from a potential buyer what exactly they want and classify as glands. There are glands located all throughout the body, including the feet and some consider parts of the digestive tracts as glands.
1. Lure Makers2. Beaver Castor
3. Skunk Essence4. Scent Companies
5. Urine
Key Takeaways for Marketing Your Fur
•Keep in mind it may be easier and more valuable to trade your glands for trapping supplies rather than try to sell them
Gland Markets
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1. Lure Makers - trapping supply dealers and lure manufacturers almost
always need some type of gland for their lure making or selling. If you
know you are going to target a specific species it may pay to check with
several manufacturers to see if they would be interested in buying any
glands and what they want. If no one wants them then you sure don’t want
to mess with saving them. Likely, they will want them fresh, frozen so you
may want to have a sealable jar or bag ready to put the fresh glands in and
put them right into the freezer, then just keep adding to it as you get more
2. Urine - this may not be as much of an opportunity to make money as it is to
save money. Lure makers usually have penned animals and a special
system for collecting clean urine for sale, but some of the animals you
catch will still have urine in their bladder after you skin them. It only takes a
minute to check the bladder while you are skinning. I’m especially fond of
bobcat urine when I’m predator trapping, so any bobcat I catch you can bet
I’ll check and see if it has any urine that I can add to my urine bottle.
.
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3. Beaver Castor - I’m separating castor out from other glands because it is
treated differently and if you catch any number of beaver it is worth saving
the castor glands. There is always a market for beaver castor and it can be
sold at the international auctions just like your fur. In this case the castor
sold at these auctions may actually go to the perfume or makeup industry.
When you remove beaver castor properly there are two castor sacs that are
attached in the middle. The proper way to handle castor is to carefully
remove it from the beaver without nicking or cutting the sacs. Then peel off
the pink fleshy layer surrounding the sacs and hang it across a string to air
dry. Give it a day or two then flip it over, you want the entire sac to dry and
when you initially hang it the sacs will likely press together on the inside
and prevent those sides from drying.
Once it is dry you can put it in a sealed bag or container and stick it back in the
freezer or leave it hanging as long as no moisture or bugs can get into
it. Castor is sold by the pound, dried, in most cases, but my favorite thing
to do is take it to trapping conventions and find a trap dealer who will trade
me trapping supplies for the castor. They will usually give you more credit
for trading than they would cash for the castors. There are grades of castor
that are based on the fullness of the sacs as well as color and
appearance.
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4. Skunk Essence - another highly valued furbearer item is skunk
essence. You can usually always find a buyer for skunk essence, and
bartering like I mentioned with beaver castor works well with skunk essence
too. Skunk essence is sold by the ounce and can be either traded with or
sold to lure manufacturers. Of course, skunk essence isn’t super easy to
get. First you’ve got to dispatch the skunk without it spraying. Seldom is
this accomplished by normal dispatch methods but rather with the use of a
poke pole and syringe. Then you must carefully find the essence sacs and
extract the essence with a syringe. Finally, you have to store the essence,
in glass containers because it can eat through plastic containers. Be
warned that even though it is in a sealed container the smell will still
permeate everything around, including you. So far the best essence
suppression I’ve found is to get a metal bucket, like a paint pail, and fill it
with kitty litter. Then put the containers of essence down in the kitty litter
and seal the pail. If you intend to dabble with skunk essence be sure you
have an understanding spouse and wear clothes that can be thrown away,
its VERY strong!
5. Scent Companies - the hunting industry is big business and part of that
business is various cover scents. If you have any contacts at one of the
companies that manufactures these scents, or have one local to your area,
it may be a good opportunity for you to sell them urine and glands from
some of the animals you harvest. These companies may also be interested
in skunk essence.
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From my years of selling online I thought I’d include a few tips to give any prospective sellers a head start. Mainly here I’m talking about frozen items, some of these tips are applicable to tanned fur or other options that won’t spoil over time and you can disregard the shorter shipping times and winter only selling window.
1. Take Good Photos2. Watch the Weather
3. Bundle Items4. Know Shipping Costs
5. Watch the Market6. Provide a Quality Packaging Job
Key Takeaways for Marketing Your Fur
•Be sure you are taking advantage of the USPS Flat Rate shipping boxes whenever possible
Online Selling Tips
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1. Take Good Photos - take good photos of your catch, the more the
better. Use a ruler in the photos if you are trying to sell based on size. If
there is any damage, even minor, take photos of it too and detail that in
your post. You don’t necessarily have to post all the photos but if someone
is interested you can send them additional photos. You want a satisfied
buyer, and if you’re acting or seeming dishonest people will notice and may
even start a post warning others of doing business with you.
2. Watch the Weather - generally speaking you only want to ship frozen
items during the winter months. These items stand the chance of thawing
and spoiling during transit, so restricting your selling and shipping to the
winter months will keep buyers happy. Of course if you are selling tanned
fur or cleaned skulls that is not a concern. I recommend using 2 day
Priority shipping most of the time through the US Postal Service, and
ALWAYS ship your items on Monday. This way if shipping gets delayed a
day or so you aren’t left with your package stuck in a warehouse over the
weekend spoiling. Also watch the holidays, I’d avoid shipping anything 2
weeks before Christmas until after New Year’s, and there are a handful of
other holidays throughout the winter that may have the USPS shut down on
a weekday.
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3. Know what shipping will cost - it’s up to you whether you post items for
sale at a price that includes shipping or the buyer pays shipping. Because
of the huge variance in cost it’s usually better to let the buyer pay
shipping. If someone is interested they will ask what the shipping price
is. The easiest way to calculate shipping is to have a digital scale
handy. When you post an item for sale you can determine the dimensions
of the box needed to ship it and get a weight, once it’s frozen, of the box,
packaging material, and sale item. Make note of the dimensions and
weight, then when someone is interested you can go the US Postal Service
web site and enter the dimensions, weight, your zip code, and the potential
buyers zip code. I’ve found the USPS to be the least expensive shipping
method, and despite rumors from other people of packages getting lost or
delayed, so far I’ve had good luck shipping via USPS. Online they give you
a myriad of options but usually the most affordable one is 2 day Priority. If
you set up an account online you can purchase postage and print your
label all online, at a discount to going into a Post Office. This is helpful
because if there is a long line when you go to drop the package off they
usually have a separate area for ready to mail shipments so you can avoid
the line. Just be sure you note the tracking number, and pass that along to
the buyer.
– Be sure you are aware and taking advantage of the USPS Flat
Rate boxes. These are a great cost saver and may allow you to
include shipping in your original price.
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4. Bundle Items - especially if you notice that someone is interested in
multiple items. You’ll quickly identify who the quantity skull buyers
are. This is where the Flat Rate boxes really shine. Cram as many skulls
as you can into one of those boxes and that's your bundle.
5. Watch the Market - just like with fur, it pays to keep an eye on what is in
demand and how sales have been going for others. Of course your higher
demand and less competition time is early in the winter. If you’ve got the
freezer room it may make sense to hold items that you know usually sell
well from late in trapping season to early winter of the next year. Then you
can strike while the iron is hot and before the market gets flooded.
6. Quality Packaging - be sure you are putting good effort into boxing up
your shipments to ensure that they arrive to their destination in good
condition. One good way to do this is to buy a sheet of ½ inch insulation
board. The sheet is cheap considering the number of boxes you can make
with one. Make a box inside your shipping box with the insulation board,
then use crumpled up paper to protect and insulate the item. Use as much
paper as you can, anywhere you can. Then leave the top of the box open
and place the entire box, including the sale item, in the freezer for several
days to ensure that everything is good and frozen. Finish by putting the top
piece of insulation board in place, sealing up the box, and placing it back in
the freezer until time to take it to the Post Office. This will make sure it
stays in the best frozen condition as long as possible.
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I make mention several times about selling online, particularly to taxidermists. The one site that has accounted for more online sales for me than any other is www.taxidermy.net. They have a Wanted and For Sale forum that is a great place for trappers to advertise their catches to taxidermists. This site has allowed me to market items other than fur, and in some cases fur too, which has resulted in a nice income boost from my trapping endeavors. I would encourage you to spend some time looking at the Wanted and For Sale posts before jumping right into it, and be sure to read the rules before posting. It’s not to be treated as an auction site, sellers are to post a price and items are to be sold first come first served.
North American Fur Auctions – www.nafa.ca is a great resource for anyone interested in the fur industry. By navigating to the Auction, then Selling with NAFA page you can find a variety of guidelines on how to handle fur. The Wild Fur Pelt Handling Manual is an exceptional resource that covers all furbearers in North America.
A couple of resources worth mentioning
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Parting Advice
As I said in the beginning, you won’t get rich being a fur trapper, but you may as well make the most with what you have. And as a trapper you have access to items other than fur that are valuable. I hope this book got you to thinking about creative ways to market your catches, and if you come up with something I didn’t mention, I’d love to hear about it! As always you can email me anytime at [email protected]. Happy Trapping!
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