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No. 5 —MARKETING PELTS
By WALTER S. CHANSLER
As a rule young and inexperienced trappers are apt to give too little attention to the marketing of their pelts. After they have trapped a number of fur-bearers, and have skinned, fleshed, stretched and cured the pelts, they seem to think that the proper procedure is to sit back and wait for some fur-buyer to come along and tell them the value of their catch; they seldom study raw fur values and markets, leaving, usually, the selling end of their business largely in the hands of the buyer or dealer They too frequently do not look upon the marketing of pelts as an important part of the trapper's work — the business end of the trapping business.
There are two general methods of marketing raw furs, either of which is quite satisfactory if the trapper knows raw furs, their values, and how to sort and grade them. One of the methods is to sell to the local buyers or to the traveling buyers; the other method is to ship to the large dealers in the large cities. If a trapper is so fortunate as to "discover" a reliable fur house, it is clear that the last mentioned method will net him more money; for most local buyers and traveling buyers themselves sell to the dealers in the large cities. And, of course, these men must buy at a price that will insure them a fair profit.
But whether the trapper sells to a local dealer or to the large dealer in the city, his first concern is to find an honest dealer, one that will treat him fairly at all times. And sometimes this is easier said than done; but if one will only go about it in the right manner, one can usually place a dealer where he belongs in regard to his fairness and reliability.
In the case of local buyers and traveling buyers one can usually guess pretty well by their line of talk and by their actions and manner just about what sort of men they are. If a buyer begins to find fault with one's furs the minute he enters the fur room; if he begins by telling one how valuable one's furs might have been had they been rightly handled, or had they not been slightly un-prime, or rubbed, or hairy, or what not; if he finds little, trivial faults in a number of the furs in the collection and seems not to be at all anxious to set a price on the lot, one would do well to be somewhat cautious in dealing with that man. But, on the other hand, if a buyer examines the collection or furs in a business-like manner and states frankly and without waste of time the price he is willing to pay for the lot, quoting prices on individual skins, one may be fairly certain that this dealer is on the square, and will treat one right. Of course, if one knows furs and can himself grade them with any degree of certainty, then matters are greatly simplified; all one has to do then is to grade his furs, find the current prices on the various grades, figure out the worth of his lot and let the buyer say whether or not he will take the lot at that price.
But in the case of the dealers in the large cities, one can learn much about them from a number of sources. It is a fact that nearly all such dealers give some bank, or banks, as reference; however, this reference usually merely establishes the financial responsibility of the firm, the firm's ability to meet all outstanding debts, or to meet all debts that the firm might contract in the course of its business; it does not cover the honesty or fairness of the firm in its dealings with trappers. Such reference, of course, is of little worth to the trapper who wants to know something about the firm's reputation for fairness. But this knowledge can often be gained in other ways. The close study of a firm's advertising; careful reading of the letters and printed circulars sent out by a firm; noting carefully the style of the price lists the firm issues, when they are issued, their size, the kinds of type used in printing them, whether colored inks are used in the printing — »K these little and seemingly unimportant detail give much information about a firm's reliability if one will only take the trouble together it as he reads. To spot a questionable or unreliable firm by this metbod is far less puzzling than tracking fur game on a light snow; the signs are usually more easily read; and the game is ordinarily much quicker holed.
In shipping raw furs it is important that the furs be properly sorted and graded, and a written record made of the work, before the furs are packed for shipment. This is done for the trapper's own information; it gives him a basis for comparison when he gets his returns from the shipment. If the young trapper does not know how to sort and grade furs properly he should read up on the subject in reliable books and magazines. (Probably he never will become an adept at grading furs from knowledge gained by reading, but he can become acquainted with the underlying principles of the work and can learn the main points about valuing furs by sorting as to kinds, size and color.) One should always have a current price list from the company one is shipping to and use it as a basis for grading and valuing the pelts; by so doing one can easily ascertain by comparison whether he has had fair treatment at the hands of the company's sorter or grader when one receives the returns from the shipment. Too, such comparisons will learn one a great deal about grading furs if one is careful to deal with honest fur houses.
After sorting and grading the furs the next concern of the shipper is to pack the furs for shipment. This job is frequently not given the care it should have; trappers get rid of it in a number of ways, from cramming the skins carelessly into any old burlap sack and tying a cord around the open end to wrapping each skin in paper, packing alternately (head to tail), wrapping in burlap and sewing up in a bundle. As in all other work connected with trapping, care in the work of packing raw furs for shipment will always pay the trapper well. Fine furs and valuable furs, such as fox, minks, marten. etc., should be packed in the center of the bundle, with all coarser and less valuable furs placed on the outside. The pelts should have all the grease rubbed off before they are packed, and those with the tails attached should have the tails folded inside the pelt. The packing should be done in a cool room, and on a cold day if possible. Pack alternately; that is, pack with the head of one skin to the tail of another. When the skins have all been packed in this manner — with the fine-furred and valuable skins in the center of the bundle — the bundle is wrapped in coarse paper, an identification tag securely fastened to it, and tied about at three points with a strong cord. It is then carefully wrapped in burlap and sewed up securely. Shipping tags — two of them — are next affixed ; and the package is then ready to be sent by express to its destination.
A letter should be sent to the firm at the same time the bundle, or bundles, of furs are shipped, notifying the firm that a shipment is on its way. This letter should be mailed— never tied to the bundle of furs. It should* state how many bundles are in the shipment, how bundles have been sent — whether by parcel post or by express — how many and what kinds of skins are in each package, etc. When sending more than one package in a shipment the packages or bundles should be numbered, or lettered in some way for identification. Small shipments of clean, well-cured skins other than those of the skunk may be sent by parcel post; larger shipments should be sent by express.
Of late years so many "mushroom" raw fur houses are scattering unreliable literature and meaningless price lists broadcast throughout the land, using every known inducement both honest and dishonest to get the trapper's furs. that it is no longer safe to send furs to firms with which one has never done business without requesting that the furs be held separate for one's approval of the returns. Reliable fur houses are always glad to comply with such a request; they nearly all advertise the fact that they are quite willing that the trapper take advantage of this protection. Of course when requesting dealers to hold furs separate, one should have only clean, well cured skins in the shipment. Remember you're expecting the dealer to play fair with you, so you should always play fair w the dealer.
So when the young trapper goes to rnarketing his pelts he should ever keep in mind tb« fact that raw furs are valuable; he should give the same thoughtful care and attention to the marketing of the pelts that he does to any other branch of the trapping business. A little care used in selecting a market and a little thoughtful attention given to sorting and packing the furs will put many dollars in the trapper's pockets that would otherwise remain in the dealer's coffers.
Hunter-Trader-Trapper. October: 1921,
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