Muskrats

[Magicman]

Just good marketing strategy.   ;D

[chain]

Looking at a fur-marketing report from 12-30-11 there are about twelve regions in the U.S. that fur prices are quoted from. Generally, the furs across the northern tier of states command the higher prices than the lower southern and middle tier of states. Furs in Canada as well command higher prices as usually the fur is thicker, the animals larger. But throughout this marketing report China and Russia [and severity of winter] dictates marketing activity and is the key in bringing higher demands for American furs.

There are fewer and fewer 'country fur-buyers'; however, in some hot-spots of trapping interests there may be fur auctions and more reputable dealers competing for local 'put-up' furs. A few years ago there was such a demand for river otter the country buyers didn't care whether they were skinned or not, I averaged $60.00 per otter in the whole one year! And, if I had known anything at all about the fur trade, processed otter pelts easliy brought 70-90.00 bucks each.

The market crashed soonafter for most everything but I had three 'yotes that I just knew my country buyer would need...I walked in so proud but the buyer frowned and exclaimed, "go throw 'em in the ditch...I don't want 'em!" That's just what I did. Feast or famine so seems the luck of the trapper, more to the latter! :-\