Seattle, WA -- Prices on wild furs always increase when mink levels are high, say industry experts, and they were right last week. Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. of North Bay, Ontario, held its auction Feb. 16 here in conjunction with the Seattle Fur Exchange mink sale in order to reach more international buyers and boost sales, and that's exactly what happened. The result: a record attendance produced price levels advancing 10-60% from disappointing December sales.
"Today's sale results certainly exceeded our expectations," said Fred Glover, general manager of Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. "Equally important, it gave us an opportunity to introduce our product directly to many new buying customers."
More than 200 buyers from 16 countries produced spirited competition a the wild fur sale held by Fur Harvesters and Seattle Fur Exchange. The season's best price levels were established in every category. The entire offering sold in excess of 95%, with buying well-spread among several countries, including the U.S., Canada, Greece, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and Korea.
"Seattle Fur Exchange is very pleased to play host to this important offering," said Ed Brennan, executive vice president of Seattle Fur Exchange. "The owners of both auction facilities will have benefitted from this collaboration, and we look forward to continued success in the future."
The top lot of beaver was purchased by J.R. Tremblay for Musi Furs, Montreal. The top lot of wild mink was purchased by Mitch Hatzis for Karayiannis Bros, New York. The top lots of coyote, lynx and raccoon were purchased by Furs by Tzelkos, Toronto. The top lots of red fox and sable were purchased by McComber Furs, Montreal.
The following are results reported by Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. in U.S. dollars.
| Item | Offering | %Sold | Average | Top | Comparison |
| Beaver | 26,624 | 100 | 25.12 | 240.00 | Up 55% |
| Wild mink | 16,097 | 99 | 17.03 | 31.00 | Up 20% |
| Sable | 15,312 | 99 | 31.12 | 70.00 | Up 10% |
| Otter | 2,881 | 99 | 53.02 | 82.00 | Up 30% |
| Muskrat | 42,513 | 100 | 3.12 | 6.40 | Up 45% |
| Raccoon | 57,632 | 98 | 15.61 | 35.00 | Up 25% |
| Coyote | 5,773 | 95 | 19.70 | 42.00 | Up 40% |
| Red fox | 5,912 | 96 | 20.26 | 39.00 | Up 10% |
| Fisher | 3,359 | 80 | 28.51 | 54.00 | Unchanged |
| Lynx | 258 | 99 | 44.23 | 100.00 | No comparison |
| Lynx cat | 466 | 96 | 18.89 | 66.00 | No comparison |
| Weasel | 4,110 | 95 | 2.36 | 4.00 | Unchanged |
| Gray fox | 2,279 | 99 | 10.73 | 16.00 | Unchanged |
| Ranched silver fox | 2,998 | 90 | 62.33 | 84.00 | No comparison |
| Timber wolf | 161 | 80 | - | 225.00 | - |
| Wolverine | 35 | 100 | 203.86 | 330.00 | 0 |