Yesterday's NAFA sale

[kytrapper]

I've been talking to a few of our members today and they are tickled pink with the sale. Coons averaged around 24 bucks with the best Kentucky coons topping 41.00. Grey fox brought over 50.00 up to 58.00. Flat Kentucky reds brought 30.00. Beaver were in the thirties for the early ones. Some bobcats were over 100.00. My early rats averaged 4.11. I would suggest you get up with Jimmy Childress and get up with him on a fur route pickup this month for the May sale. NAFA is the best place to sell well handled fur.
You can find Jimmy's March NAFA routes and dates at www.kentuckytrappers.com.

[12 pointer]

now those prices are enough to get me back into the fine sport of trapping.

[K9trapper]

Funny how last year when I ask the question of how everyone did at NAFA, you didn't want to quote prices. This year when things are running hot, your throwing numbers around. I've sold both ways, and unless you are a really good fur handler, you'll be disappointed in NAFA.

[kytrapper]

K9,
I don't know what your are talking about but I'll appologize if I offended you. There would be no reason to not report on NAFA prices. They are always public online anyway. But you are right on the fur handling. If you send junk you will be rewarded aptly. Some years it pays to sell local and early. This year with the freeze out in the midwest on coon and the weakening US dollar NAFA was the way to go. I have rode both trails in 30 plus seasons.


K9,
Here was my answer to your question. Sorry if it wasn't specific enough but I probably didn't have fresh numbers in front of me then.
07-12-2007, 04:47 PM
kytrapper
8 Pointer Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Whitley County
Posts: 959



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Overall I was well pleased. I know some guys in my county that weren't. The fur market is a gamble. Sometimes you come out ahead selling early in the country. Sometimes an obvious shortage becomes evident by May and things like grey fox sell for 50 bucks where they were 23 in Dec. I know if you think the grade was hard this year you may want to either sell locally or wait and put up really nice fur. Any( or most I see) dog caught coon will be very very cheap. Wait until it's good and take pride in the putup and you'll do ok.

[K9trapper]

Nothing personal, just didn't want you to portray things as being one-sided. We've got a lot of new trappers on here, and I didn't want them to think they got beat by selling locally. There are also people that I know that are good fur handlers that didn't do that great this week at NAFA.

I'm all about what you guys are pushing with your organization. Just didn't want newbies to be mislead.

[kytrapper]

When a man catches a piece of fur it's his to sell however he wishes. NAFA is a very good option we now have in Kentucky that we didn't have until recently as a statewide marketing option. I would never mislead new trappers though. On the contrary, we've helped more new trappers in the last two years than had been in the last twenty. Lots of new trappers don't know about NAFA and take their licks sometimes. There were lots of coon bought in Kentucky for 10 to 16 bucks that went to NAFA and sold for over 25.00.

[treedog]

i used to trap years ago and i did not know about NAFA and i had to sell to a local buyer and i know that i did not get what i should have for my furs,i not saying that they are not honest buyers out there but i would suggest checking the NAFA forcast before selling.

[kytrapper]

There's definitely honest buyers out there. A lot of it is timing and thinking before you sell. There's been times in my life I needed my money yesterday and sold local. I would rather have had 80.00 in hand than a hundred later. A local buyer certainly has to make a little. My post is meant just to let everyone how the sale went this week mainly for the guys that have held their fur for the pickups this month.

[K9trapper]

This year was a good year to have shipped to NAFA. Unless you shipped coyotes, you probably will receive a check pretty quick. But in other years, your fur doesn't sell and you have to wait a year or better to receive any money. I've sent coons up there in years past, only to have 4 sell on this auction, 6 on the next one and the balance staying up there for a year.

Plus, you can't reject a sale to NAFA, but if you don't like the prices locally, you can take your stuff to someone else. There's also an 11% commission when you sell to NAFA. Unless your a member, I don't know what the membership fee is anymore?

I think just about every trapper knows about NAFA. You can't pick up any trapping related magazine without seeing their ads. It's also talked about on every internet website.

At the E-town sale, there were $30+ coons sold. I'd doubt that furbuyer made his money back by shipping to NAFA. Some local buyers have contracts with other companies and they have to fulfill their contract. In return, they pay premium prices.

[peckprice]

The trapping community is a very tight knit group, and with the internet, communication amongst trappers is unreal during modern times. Fur buyers reputations get around real fast. The ones we have dealt with have been fair, or better. I think one problem is that someone will look at auction results, or the fur forcast in one of the trade mags and assume their fur will bring the same as the price listed. This leads to disappointment and even the assumption that the fur buyer wasn't fair. The local buyers are taking a horrible risk, I know I couldn't sleep at night if I bought fur, I am too nervous. 3 seasons ago, I sold an otter for $120 at the end of trapping season, by the time our buyer got the otter to market, the Dali Lama had made his famous comments and an otter was the next thing to worthless. We sold to a local buyer (3 hour drive from us) this year and were very pleased. If the prices hold for the may sale, our buyer will make money on the fur that was bought from us, and this is as it should be. I have no problem with it.

[Snareman2]

NAFA really grades hard. Don't send any crap there, everything better be perfect.

[KYBOY]

I didnt sell to NAFA this year but I like NAFA. I put up pretty decent fur so Im usually rewarded for my efforts. NAFA also puts back into the UTK's educational program for everything shipped. I sold to a buyer in OH this year and did pretty well I think. Three seasons ago shipping to NAFA I did just as well..Selling to NAFA on the Feb sale just didnt fit my plans is all. I have a little bit of fur Im probably gonna put in the May sale though. Theres not many options in Eastern,Ky for trappers. UTK has arranged free pick ups so its helped a lot of Eastern,Ky trappers out. I posted what I got at NAFA last time I shipped. Greys were scorching hot up there last year, about the only difference between this year and last is the coon.