Ways to Sell Your Pelts

In shopping around for a place to sell your pelts, be aware that you have several options. You can sell to local buyers, traveling buyers, mail buyers, or auction buyers.

Local Buyers

Local buyers are knowledgeable and convenient.

• Knowledge: Local buyers will know the most about local furbearers. They may be able to give you tips on fur handling or show you good techniques for preparing your pelts. Most are happy to share their knowledge, which helps to ensure they receive high-quality pelts.
• Convenience: Local buyers may be willing to buy whole animals or “green” pelts. Green pelts are skinned but are not fleshed, stretched, and dried. This can be an advantage if you don’t have a good place to process fur. If you sell whole animals, be aware that carcasses spoil quickly. Sell whole animals daily if the outside temperature is above 40° Fahrenheit. Sell every two to three days if the temperature is below 40 degrees.

Traveling Buyers

Traveling buyers also are convenient.

• Convenience: Selling to a traveling buyer can be very convenient. You might be able to make an appointment for the buyer to visit you. Alternatively, you often can meet with traveling buyers when they visit local sporting goods stores on scheduled dates.

Mail Buyers

Mail buyers advertise in trapping magazines. Selling by mail is convenient.

• Convenience: Selling by mail saves you the time and cost of driving to a buyer. Mail buyers usually pay within a few days. They may give you a period of time to decide if you like the offering price. If not, they will mail your pelts back.

Fur Auctions

Consider convenience when deciding whether to attend a fur auction.

• Convenience: Depending on the location of the auction, this way may be less convenient than the other three options.

The Fur Industry

After you sell your fur to a buyer, the pelts are resold several times.

• The buyer sells the fur to a broker. The broker then separates the pelts into large lots according to species, size, and condition.
• The broker sells the lots to a clothing company. This company makes the fur into garments.

Each time your pelts are resold, the seller must make a profit.

• If you handle a pelt poorly, it will command a low price at every sale. You won’t get top dollar from a dealer, because the dealer won’t be able to get top dollar from the broker, and so on.
• In other words, if you expect top dollar for your pelts, you must handle them correctly, from the trapline to the sale.