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The marketing
of the pelts was quite interesting. The buyers would come from Montreal
New York, London, all over the fur consuming countries. Buyers would
come representing other auction houses or representing themselves mostly
as individual buyers. They would be ranchers from all the western part
of the province and some from the eastern part as well where they got
into the business. They’d come in by train into Summerside with
a whole stack of furs over their shoulders… fox pelts. And they’d
peddle these around to the different buyers just to see who would make
them the best offer. Eventually the ranchers felt that there were getting
more or less taken by these buyers and weren’t getting full value
for their furs. They devised the idea of setting up a marketing system
owned and operated by the ranchers and the Canadian National Silver
Fox Breeders Association was the logical place to start. They started
taking their furs on consignment preparing them for display at the auction
houses. That was drum them clean them and prepare them and they were
all priced and a record taken of the value of them. It was all marked
down in a record book. They were split up on the basis of value and
the other factors you had to consider was the color phase of them, the
size, and the quality and finally the value of them. You had to lot
them. Put them into lots, garment lots. Preferably from 6 to a dozen
skins were in a lot. They would go to the auction sales in New York
or London sometimes Paris …..London was one of the major fur centers
in the early years. |
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