quality fur niche market

[musher]

I removed my post because I guess that it didn't make sense.

I also changed the title to reflect the change.

I tried a different tact several posts below.

Then I saw that a couple of people responded and now nothing made any sense because of my edit.

Here is the orginal question:
Some guys always get their beaver prior to the season doing ADC work. They then skin them out and put them on the market.

I'm wondering if an abundance of such "cheap" fur hurts the guys that sell the good stuff. Joe Typical doesn't have a clue about fur quality and the Chinese buy the cheap stuff.

Any opinions?

Above is the original question that Bob, RobertW and TonyMalone responded to.

[robertw]

I am sorry but this doesn't even deserve this much of a comment.

[musher]

?



I guess that I'd better clarify.

Several times I have listened to discussions that would create a regional fur market here. Supposedly we have some of the best fur in the world. The idea would be to label the fur indicating it's quality and thereby creating a niche market.

I've always had a problem with the idea because there are lots of places with good fur. There are also so many grades at the auction houses that the niche market already exists.

The people that are in favour of the idea say that there is so much lesser quality fur out there that the quality stuff does not stand out. Therefore the need for a regional fur marketing system that would weed out the lesser quality goods.

When someone would buy that "brand/label" of fur they would know that they are buying the best.

Any opinions?

[tonymalone]

my summer beaver , don't even get skinned , i freeze them whole ( the ones that aren't fermenting) in the fall i rip em open let the coyotes eat em, what hide is left gets tossed

[musher]

Geez, now I made a mess! You guys are responding to my original, and I thought unclear, querry.

Some early stuff gets sold here. I think that it is trash - and it is. But you can get 5-10 bucks for it.

[akona20]

Well your assertion that the Chinese buy the cheap is both correct and incorrect.

For example the Chinese fur folks have bought cheap otter from Asia and cheap rats from Russia that seems to have depressed the price of those products wirldwide.

It depends on what you are going to do with the fur that determines whether or not your buy lower quality or not. there is a price matrix that can be constructed that actually shows profit percentages all the way through the process and it is likely that the newer Chinese people in the raw fur business will start at the cheaper end because the initial capital outlay is less.

That being said educating wild fur buyers is an important part of the process and FHA's venture into the big Beijing Trade fair this year was a positive step in this direction.

[walkercoonhunter(Aaron L.)]

your summer fur could be marketed but dont know how much of it....if i had summer goods i would contact those who makes the fur teddy bears and such from wild fur and talk to them....just a idea....

[robertw]

Musher,
Why would you think you have the best fur? Fashion and market trends change DRASTICALLY.
Do you have southern pale otter? Do you have the best spotted high country bobcats?

Are your beaver the palest or your grey fox the silkiest?

[bobwendt]

I`m waiting for ringtail cats, spotted skunks and badger to shine again.

[garman]

Spotted Skunks-wow they went darn near extinct up here years ago last one I personally heard of being trapped was around 20-22 years ago.

[coyotewhisperer]

Why is it you think the spotted skunk is dissapearing in a lot of places? Used to be alot in KS years and years ago i guess but none now.

Do you think the striped skunks pushed them out like the eurasian dove is doing to the mourning dove?

Jeff

[robertw]

I beleive we have yet to understand the affects of BT corn and Round Up ready corn and the use of Round Up on the environment.

Anytime you engineer bug resistant crops the animals that depend on those bugs to survive are going to suffer.

Regardless of what is causing the disappearance of muskrats and spotted skunks the environment is changing during our lifetime.

[Jellyhead]

I must live in the spotted skunk capitol of the world then! We've got them here, like you wouldn't believe. When the market on them goes gangbusters, someone PM me, please!

They stick to the high country, bobcat type areas. The big striped skunks tend to be in the lowlands.

I know one thing, they have just as much stink as the bigger stripers!

Aaron

[trappnman]

99% of the fur 99% of the time is going to be fur from areas that have cold climes. Fact.

exceptions occur- but rarely enough to make them the exception, not the rule.

[garman]

I believe inour neck of the woods (loss of spotted skunk) is due to loss of habitat, loss of crp, fencelines, abandoned buildings, rock piles, etc. But I have no scientific proof to this.

[trappnman]

I've often wondered this- I tend to agree- BUT- the striped use the same habitat- and there is still that stuff around.

I also wondered if it was some type of disease- either something like parvo- if they get it- or ?

and we caught more spotted in the woods. Wonder if the lack of brush piles matters? Back then they didn't buldoze, they cut brush and seems like every farm had brush piles.

maybe stripes can den in the open, which they do, and spotted aren't?

back in the 60s, we trapped skunk all year for the $2 bounty. we got a lot of skunks, and it was 50/50 as to what it was.

Fur trapping, as kids our set of choice was a hollowed log cubby, with bait in the back. got a lot of spotted in those.

I miss the little guys- I'd like to smell one again, I remember them as being more pungent than tha spotted.. but don't know if they really were, or we just thought that. They weren't skunks ot us btw- we called them civit cats- an exotic... so maybe we just wanted them to smell more LOL.

[musher]

robertw said:

Musher,
Why would you think you have the best fur?

I don't! ;D But some people do!

I believe their idea is along the same lines as several popular products such as "Cuban" cigars, "champagne" (as opposed to sparkling wine) and "cognac"( as opposed to brandy). They are the same grapes but a region getting the reputation of having the "best" reaps the benefits.

If you cultivate the snob appeal the dollars follow - supposedly.

It seems to work for other items ....

[garman]

T-man I would love to get a spotted skunk to have mounted, I am sure some guys out there would be more than happy to sell!! Maybe a couple for hides. I had a taxidermist buddy that had a skunk mounted tail up always wanted one of them also maybe this year I will just do it. I am not going on a hunt this year so maybe I could afford it.

[bblwi]

The title of the thread implies that the majority of wild fur would be of lower quality if establishing a quality market is indeed only a niche.

What are the parameters being asked here is it as simple as a July beaver versus a fall, winter or spring or are we stating that a very high % of wild fur is not caught or pelted at the high quality level. That may well be true but as in any niche market the market may be high, but maybe very limited and small and or also with more barriers etc. To me the grading system we have sorts out fur by quality quite well. There also seems to be a well established market for most types of fur on the upper end. Finding markets that are attractive for lower end goods is still to me the bigger concern.

Also quality could be style or fancy fur versus commercial or utilitarian fur. I could only trap coons for the 2 weeks in WI that they are at their peak value and still not have a fancy or style fur that would be trading on the market for say 5-8 fold over the commercial goods.

Bryce