FHA Auction Predictions?

[HunterDave]

What’s everyone’s outlook for the auction?

On one hand COVID has made a mess of things with the requirement for an online auction and concerns over shipping, etc. On the other hand, buyers might be concerned that there may not be another auction after this one and this will be their only chance to buy fur.

Personally, I’m cautiously optimistic. I think that the demand is still strong for coyotes but I have no idea what the online auction looks like.

So, are you an optimist, a pessimist or somewhere in between.

[wolfcrazy]

I think some of the buyers used to NAFA grading might be put off by not being able to physically seeing the fur. I just hope that FHA set the reserve bid at a acceptable value. From what I hear there is still demand for coyotes and some other fur in China.

[TrapperMike]

Those buyers that are used to the Nafa grading system should have no problems since that is the system that is being used at the auction. As for worries of no future auctions, FAH is already in the process of setting up future auctions. Just have to work around courvid-19 situation. As for demand, buyers are showing that there is a need for our furs and they want more auctions. FAH said they were quite surprised that they have more buyers at this auction than they had planned for. Lots of last minute buyers to the sale.

[Marty S]

Many watchers if nothing else.

Hopefully lotsa bidders on the last day.

...if nothing else.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Just a thought with Canada Goose sewing protective equipment for Covid-19, not lot of need for our coyotes. Nobody going out in cold now needing a good parka. Much like our Alberta oil industry, being hammered from many directions. I will just be happy if fur sells almost at any price.

[tikka250]

Fur is a luxury item and when the whole planet is in lockdown there is not a lot of people buying luxury items. My guess is that prices will be way down.

[goose slayer10]

I can't imagine current circumstances will help the market. But don't be short sighted either, manufactures still need fur. If they were buying fur now to sell on garments tomorrow they would not be operating very effectively. Things will get back to normal eventually and people will buy fur again. I would think companies will be making fur garments to sell next year and they will need fur for this.

Just my thoughts.

[Saskfly16]

Look at the market boys. Coon is going to cost the same as a barrel of oil!!


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[HunterDave]

Well, the auction has ended and I haven’t heard any doom and gloom so I’m going to take that as a positive.

[Saskfly16]

Waiting for the prices to be posted. Honestly if they sold anything at a decent price and clearance in this market my hat goes off to them.


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[Marty S]

It sounded like the cross fox and arctic fox did ok. The shearable beaver very well too. You beaver guys better get busy chopping ice before the beaver bellies turn red.

One very reliable source said the values were too high and the very willing coyote buying community did not bid. Cheaper goods like semi coyotes, even some easterns found homes. Sounded like one lot of ten skins brought $165 UDS, otherwise little interest in the first half of the coyotes, where all the good ones fall. Probly not the best time to push the market when we could likely be on the cusp of a potential economic meltdown.

A day ago supposedly no interest in lynx, red fox, marten, fisher.

I guess we’ll wait for the report. Maybe they’ll spend a few days on the phone selling goods PT?

In the meantime, warm up them jet boats and polish up your .22 Magnums! Hopefully there’ll be a full fledged auction very soon and goods sold openly to see what willing bidders are willing to pay, and try to rebuild our industry, apart from the coyotes. The Hydroxychloroquine news sounds very good and could help our stock markets as well as the new oil discussions.

[kingrat]

Yes heard they held the line with the better coyotes, what the price differences were or what they wanted? Well that's top secret.

[Marty S]

Most articles pretty tough right now

[wolfcrazy]

April 3, 2020

Online Auction Update

Fur Harvesters online auction concluded at 17:00 Eastern Standard Time, April 2nd, 2020. This was our first attempt at hosting an online auction and it was put together in a very short time by a couple of very competent staff here at FHA. These are certainly unprecedented times which called for unprecedented action in order to facilitate a way to get some goods sold for our shippers and supply product to the manufacturers.

We valued all goods at levels we felt were realistic and thresholds were established for each species to insure all goods sold were within reason of our advertised values.
Going into this it was apparent that a strong clearance on all species would not likely happen. As many wild fur articles are so varied that to expect buyers to take big buying positions and bid on large volumes of goods sight unseen was not very realistic. Also several articles and in some cases sections within individual articles are very dependent on the buying power of Italy and Korea. Both these countries have been and continue to be hit very hard by the COVID-19 virus. The majority of the buying of TOP section western coyotes has been dominated by the Italians for many years as is the case with sables in Korea. We went into this ten day online auction knowing that the top goods would be very difficult to sell sight unseen, and with important fur buying countries being in lock-down. This was the case for the top western coyotes, sables, lynx cats and lynx.

However several articles did do very well on price and clearance. Beaver, eastern coyotes, big sizes of heavy raccoon and commercial muskrats all sold well thanks to strong North American and Chinese support.

Once the COVID-19 virus has subsided and the world opens up to travel, the global fur trade is solidly committed to attending our next auction. When this will be is a question I cannot answer at this moment. However we did advertise a May 30th to June 2nd, 2020 auction and this remains a possibility if the virus becomes manageable. If not we would hope for a September auction, which has been strongly recommended by many of our top buyers.

Our results will be posted early next week and the sold lots in the catalogue will be as well.

What is the priority now is that we all keep ourselves and our loved ones safe and when the world gets back to normal so will our operation.

Respectfully,
Mark Downey
Chief Executive Officer
Fur Harvesters Auction Inc.
__________________________

Le 3 avril 2020

Mise à jour de l’enchère en ligne

La vente aux enchères en ligne de Fur Harvesters s'est terminée à 17h00, heure normale de l'Est, le 2 avril 2020. C'était notre première tentative d'organiser une vente aux enchères en ligne et elle a été organisée en très peu de temps par quelques membres du personnel très compétent ici à la FHA. Il s'agit certainement d'une période sans précédent qui a nécessité une action sans précédent afin de faciliter la vente de certains produits pour nos expéditeurs et la fourniture de produits aux fabricants.

Nous avons évalué tous les produits à des niveaux que nous jugions réalistes et des seuils ont été établis pour chaque espèce afin de garantir que tous les produits vendus étaient conformes aux valeurs annoncées.

En y allant, il était évident qu'une forte clairance sur toutes les espèces ne se produirait probablement pas. Comme de nombreux articles en fourrure sauvage sont si variés qu'il n'était pas très réaliste de s'attendre à ce que les acheteurs prennent de grandes positions d'achat et enchérissent sur de gros volumes de marchandises. De plus, plusieurs articles et, dans certains cas, des sections d'articles individuels dépendent fortement du pouvoir d'achat de l'Italie et de la Corée. Ces deux pays ont été et continuent d'être très durement touchés par le virus COVID-19. La majorité des achats des plus beaux lots de coyotes de l’ouest est dominée par les Italiens depuis de nombreuses années comme c'est le cas avec les martres pour la Corée. Nous sommes entrés dans cette vente aux enchères en ligne de dix jours en sachant que les meilleurs produits seraient très difficiles à vendre vu que d'importants pays achetant de la fourrure étaient bloqués. Ce fut le cas pour les meilleurs coyotes de l’ouest, les martres,les lynx roux et les lynx canadien.
Cependant, plusieurs articles ont très bien réussi en matière de prix et de liquidation. Le castor, les coyotes de l'Est, les ratons laveurs lourds de grande taille et les rats musqués commerciaux se sont tous bien vendus grâce au fort soutien nord-américain et chinois.

Une fois que le virus COVID-19 aura disparu et que le monde s'ouvrira pour voyager, le commerce mondial de la fourrure s'est fermement engagé à participer à notre prochaine vente aux enchères. Quand ceci arrivera est une question à laquelle je ne peux pas répondre pour le moment. Cependant, nous avons annoncé une vente aux enchères du 30 mai au 2 juin 2020 et cela reste une possibilité si le virus devient gérable. Sinon, nous espérons une vente aux enchères de septembre, qui a été fortement recommandée par bon nombre de nos meilleurs acheteurs.

Nos résultats seront publiés au début de la semaine prochaine et les lots vendus dans le catalogue le seront également.
La priorité est maintenant que nous nous gardions tous, nous et nos proches, en sécurité et que le monde redevienne normal ainsi que celle de notre opération.

Respectueusement,
Mark Downey
Directeur Général
Fur Harvesters Auction Inc.

[Big Grey Wolf]

I am betting on $80+/_ coyotes and $5 rats. Bet only lower quality marten, Fisher and lynx sold at modest prices.

[kingrat]

The better coyotes were valued anywhere from 130 to 165 us dollars. They never sold.

[trigger7mm]

Does anybody know what the general average was on the coyotes that did sell?

[HunterDave]

I'm okay with them asking top dollar for top dollar fur. I'd rather it not sell than take less than what they're worth. If a lot of my II coyotes sell for a decent price I'll be happy. I didn't have enough beaver, muskrat and fox in to worry too much about them. I guess that we have a few more days to find out.

Still looking for 6 beaver and 6 coyotes that are missing.

[Marty S]

Yes, that would be really, really neat if you could get $192 for your GD II’s?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could get $235 for your I’s and I-II’s?

This is the stuff dreams are made of!!! And puffy white clouds with light pink and baby blue flying unicorns!

Even without Covid-19.

But even with the pandemic, there was plenty of heads up as to where the market is at.

You aren’t into pink flying unicorns, are you Davey???

[kingrat]

Ya I guess old Marty is way smarter than the bums at fha who dont know what they're doing. And what's wrong with pink unicorns?. Maybe Dave's unicorn doesn't have a color how do you know.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Dave with all your dementia are you sure you trapped those 6 beaver and 6 coyotes that are still missing?

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by Marty S

Yes, that would be really, really neat if you could get $192 for your GD II’s?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could get $235 for your I’s and I-II’s?

This is the stuff dreams are made of!!! And puffy white clouds with light pink and baby blue flying unicorns!

Even without Covid-19.

But even with the pandemic, there was plenty of heads up as to where the market is at.

You aren’t into pink flying unicorns, are you Davey???

Did you actually think that you were going to buy my best December coyotes (nothing DGD) for an $83 average?

GFW.......SEL - 0%, *I - 0%, I-II - 5.5%, II - 89%, DGD - 5.5%

FHA........SEL - 5.5%, *I - 5.5%, I-II - 9%, II - 64%, DGD - 16%

*I’m still missing 6 coyotes that I think are probably my best 1-2’s. I typically have about 20% Labeled.

So yeah, even if only my II’s and DGD stuff sells it’ll still be more lucrative than selling just the best ones for an $83 average.

[Marty S]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

Did you actually think that you were going to buy my best December coyotes (nothing DGD) for an $83 average? :

I thot last time you said it was a $118 bid? USD now? ok
118.00 x 1.16 = 136.88 auction equivalent after fees.
(Commission, drumming, exchange loss)

I suspect you sold a couple in the sale, your low end stuff? Likely nothing else. Had you sold you would have money for your goods.

One of the most knowledgeable men and best graders in the entire wild fur industry graded your fur and found a bunch of Lo II’s... but you certainly grade better. Then you brought the wrong bag in... what on earth was in the other bag? Would have been nice to see the other half.

I graded an AB veteran trapper’s winter collection today, a very respectable individual. Had his best coyotes in a pile, but I found three Lo II’s in the mix. Then had a pile with his lower grade coyotes, but I found 2 or 3 I-II’s, 5-7 GD II’s and a bunch of Ave II’s. most of his Lo II’s were in the pile as well, but a veteran trapper who spent his whole long life looking at coyote fur and auction grade sheets still isn’t getting the grade thing...quite. But he did ok
(And we even practiced social distancing, wore masks and gloves)

[HunterDave]

No mention of finding any Labeled pelts in his winter collection. There’s the colourful unicorn.

Still using those fictitious auction fees of yours eh? First it was 18% auction fees but what now......16%? HELLO, it’s 11% plus drumming......that’s it!

What about the 7.5% buyer’s fee? Oops, let’s not mention what buyers are saving.

FHA 11% Labeled and 9% I-II.......GFW 0% Labeled and 5.5% I-II. I guess that those FHA graders don’t know what they are doing right? Oops, they don’t stand to profit in any way by fudging the grades.

$200 pelts for $130.......Yeehaw! I’ll wait to get paid thanks.

[Marty S]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

Still using those fictitious auction fees of yours eh? First it was 18% auction fees but what now......16%? HELLO, it’s 11% plus drumming......that’s it!

Oh yes, i forgot that there remains a rift between some people who believe institutions exchange foreign currency for free and others who dont.

Remember the sale is conducted in USD and funds exchanged for you unless you are paid in USD. Even if you exchange funds at a bank you will lose 2%

Originally Posted by HunterDave

$200 pelts for $130.......Yeehaw! I’ll wait to get paid thanks.

Yes, it looks like you will have a bit of a wait. At this point id hate to have to wait and personally would have zero desire to hold goods at this time, within reason. I hope we are able to salvage our economy, as well as our fragile fur markets. Italy is currently in a state of fear, chaos, and mourning and my sources tell me that the Italian buyers are out for the rest of this season, representing a high percentage of our highest priced wild goods.

What does tomorrow look like, as in post lockdown? Many, many without jobs, many, many businesses tanked and tanking. These are the people packing that wonderful plastic, that swipe and take a CG parka home. I believe this event will seriously curtail that.

However, the company i buy for is still taking goods, so im sure their outlook is brighter than mine. So thats the good news.

[moose maniac]

Originally Posted by Marty S

Oh yes, i forgot that there remains a rift between some people who believe institutions exchange foreign currency for free and others who dont.

Remember the sale is conducted in USD and funds exchanged for you unless you are paid in USD. Even if you exchange funds at a bank you will lose 2%




Yes, it looks like you will have a bit of a wait. At this point id hate to have to wait and personally would have zero desire to hold goods at this time, within reason. I hope we are able to salvage our economy, as well as our fragile fur markets. Italy is currently in a state of fear, chaos, and mourning and my sources tell me that the Italian buyers are out for the rest of this season, representing a high percentage of our highest priced wild goods.

What does tomorrow look like, as in post lockdown? Many, many without jobs, many, many businesses tanked and tanking. These are the people packing that wonderful plastic, that swipe and take a CG parka home. I believe this event will seriously curtail that.

However, the company i buy for is still taking goods, so im sure their outlook is brighter than mine. So thats the good news.

Good!! Come buy my 40 lynx lol

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by Marty S

Remember the sale is conducted in USD and funds exchanged for you unless you are paid in USD. Even if you exchange funds at a bank you will lose 2%.

US$ value vs CD$ = $1.42
To buy CD$ with the US$ = $1.38
$1.38 / $1.42 = .97183098591%
Apparently that rounds up to 2%? Yeah, okay.

Anyway,

FHA auction fees = 11%
Drumming = $1 per coyote pelt
Shipping = $12, and
Currency exchange = 1% (Which doesn't actually cost you anything, you buy CD$ with US$ at the posted rate)

Here's the good news.....Typically NAFA gave us about CD$1.34 for every US$. The US$ is currently very strong vs the CD$ and we should get about CD$1.37 for every US$. That's an increase of .888888888%. Therefore, that in itself cancels any perceived loss due to the currency exchange, we gained, AND if you apply that 1% gained against the auction fees, it only costs us 10%.

18% auction fees.......16%.......Total horse ****.

[Reddog]

All I know is I’m damn glad I don’t have to worry about whatever the number is. All put up fur is sold. Money is in the bank. Time value of money isn’t eating away the value of my goods. I beat the inevitable drop of this glorious coyote market we had a good run with. And I got my highest average of my career over all. Just hoping coyotes have any value next fall.

[South west trappin RG]

Marty arguing with Dave is fun I have done it but he is always right always ! An will have the last post on a thread. I hope everything sells at the auction I hate having left over fur. I am glad all the left over stuff for the second sale I was going to send in GFW took it off my hands.

[kingrat]

Originally Posted by Reddog

All I know is I’m damn glad I don’t have to worry about whatever the number is. All put up fur is sold. Money is in the bank. Time value of money isn’t eating away the value of my goods. I beat the inevitable drop of this glorious coyote market we had a good run with. And I got my highest average of my career over all. Just hoping coyotes have any value next fall.

Just because the top coyotes didnt sell for over 200 canadian in an internet auction during a global pandemic doesn't mean the market has crashed and is gone for good. Marty is still buying for top dollar he says.