Would anyone like to help a girl with her first major fur purchase?

Hey Furden members,

I'm a chick living in Melbourne, Australia who, like many of you, has a love of fur. I own a few faux and real coats & jackets, but nothing that has cost more than a couple hundred Australian dollars.. but now I'm in a position to buy something a little more luxurious. The trouble is.. I have no experience buying furs in the price range I'm looking at, so I thought I might seek some advice from the knowledgeable & experienced fur lovers on this forum.

My dream coat has always been an ultra fluffy, oversized full length fox of some kind (the softer the better)..preferably with a big, dramatic collar! And now I'm in a position to buy it. My budget is maximum $2000 Australian (or about $1600 US). I've been browsing eBay lately and have found a few that really caught my eye, but so far I've found it very difficult to commit to anything. I want to be sure I'm paying a fair price, and also want to be certain that the coat and fur are in excellent condition and that I'm not making a poor choice.

So I wondered if there were any tips or general advice that experienced fur buyers could give me? Perhaps some sellers that could be recommended to me (is eBay the best place to look?). And if anyone was willing to be particularly patient and charitable, I would love to run by some of my potential options with someone with much fur wisdom over private messaging to get their personal opinions on the coats.

Thanks so much to anyone who reads this and responds!

Look for the seller furs-factoryoutlet. I'm not quite sure if they ship to Australia but they offer a lot of voluminous power foxes at a great value so they are a great place to start. Plus they list like 200 auctions a day so they are bound to offer something that meets your criteria and budget. And I'm sure they will custom make something for you too as long as you've got the money to pay for their services and you can either provide a picture of what you are looking for or give them a detailed description of the type of coat you want.

I agree with that statement regarding them, for example this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PLATINUM-FOX-FUR-LONG-COAT-HOOD-CLAS-CHINCHILLA-RUSSIAN-SABLE-MINK-SILVER-JACKET-/372104989783?hash=item56a32f8c57

One of my favourites is APRBs crystal fox: https://aprb-production.com/shuby/shuba/

However I have no experience regarding any of them, and as for ebay and such there is very much second hand. Have you talked to any of the local furriers? For that money you might consider buying a fur and then modify it like you want it

Hope you find something nice and keep us updated!

Good luck! Please keep us up to date with your progress.

I would also recommend trying to find a seller in Australia, as that would make sure you're not likely to get clobbered for import n customs fees, which would be an unnecessary and painful extra expense

Fur lover from Brisbane here. That fox is superb, you can't go wrong with a thick hooded fox. Great idea to get some other fur accessories. Some fox massage mittens or a long stole.

Hey Furden members,

 

I'm a chick living in Melbourne, Australia who, like many of you, has a love of fur. I own a few faux and real coats & jackets, but nothing that has cost more than a couple hundred Australian dollars.. but now I'm in a position to buy something a little more luxurious. The trouble is.. I have no experience buying furs in the price range I'm looking at, so I thought I might seek some advice from the knowledgeable & experienced fur lovers on this forum.

 

My dream coat has always been an ultra fluffy, oversized full length fox of some kind (the softer the better)..preferably with a big, dramatic collar! And now I'm in a position to buy it. My budget is maximum $2000 Australian (or about $1600 US). I've been browsing eBay lately and have found a few that really caught my eye, but so far I've found it very difficult to commit to anything. I want to be sure I'm paying a fair price, and also want to be certain that the coat and fur are in excellent condition and that I'm not making a poor choice.

 

So I wondered if there were any tips or general advice that experienced fur buyers could give me? Perhaps some sellers that could be recommended to me (is eBay the best place to look?). And if anyone was willing to be particularly patient and charitable, I would love to run by some of my potential options with someone with much fur wisdom over private messaging to get their personal opinions on the coats.

 

Thanks so much to anyone who reads this and responds!

I have a lot of experience purchasing fox furs from overseas. With that budget, I know of some sellers who can help you. Feel free to PM me.

Feel free to PM me.

Reminder to all members:

Please check that the person's post count is at least 10 BEFORE asking them to PM you.

Feel free to PM me.

Punisher, you forgot she is a new member and canNOT use the PM system yet.

 

Reminder to all members:

Please check that the person's post count is at least 10 BEFORE asking them to PM you.

I didn't see the number of posts so it got by me. Either way, my list of sellers is secret

If you decide to go the eBay route, I'd save up about $3000 USD. Some of those auctions can get pricey. But as others have stated, you might get a better value if you shop locally.

Oh wow. So many responses already! I'm going to try and reply to them all.

Look for the seller furs-factoryoutlet. I'm not quite sure if they ship to Australia but they offer a lot of voluminous power foxes at a great value so they are a great place to start. Plus they list like 200 auctions a day so they are bound to offer something that meets your criteria and budget. And I'm sure they will custom make something for you too as long as you've got the money to pay for their services and you can either provide a picture of what you are looking for or give them a detailed description of the type of coat you want.

Thanks for the recommendation! They definitely do have some of the power fox style furs that really appeal to me. Although it looks like I might have to adjust my budget upward a bit to be able to bid on those full length hooded ones, like the one linked to by Love for fur.. Seems they sell for upwards of $3000. Also, I notice that they use the same images for past listings.. Does this mean they are getting lots of identical coats? That's surprising to me as they're so extravagant! Maybe that furrier (LaFuria i think?) just makes a lot of those?

I agree with that statement regarding them, for example this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PLATINUM-FOX-FUR-LONG-COAT-HOOD-CLAS-CHINCHILLA-RUSSIAN-SABLE-MINK-SILVER-JACKET-/372104989783?hash=item56a32f8c57

One of my favourites is APRBs crystal fox: https://aprb-production.com/shuby/shuba/

 

However I have no experience regarding any of them, and as for ebay and such there is very much second hand. Have you talked to any of the local furriers? For that money you might consider buying a fur and then modify it like you want it

 

Hope you find something nice and keep us updated!

Oh yes, that platinum fox really is amazing! The APRB one is also, though way out of my price range, sadly. Unfortunately, all of Australia's furriers have all but vanished.. even in a big city like Melbourne, there are none. So I'm really forced to buying from overseas as I think it's very unlikely I'll ever find the sort of fur I want from within Australia.

I would also recommend trying to find a seller in Australia, as that would make sure you're not likely to get clobbered for import n customs fees, which would be an unnecessary and painful extra expense

Import fees are something I hadn't even factored in! It looks like for purchases over $1000 you're subject to them in Australia. As I said above, Australia really has very little going on in the way of fur, even on eBay etc. It's very rare to find even a nice looking fox jacket of any type.

Fur lover from Brisbane here. That fox is superb, you can't go wrong with a thick hooded fox. Great idea to get some other fur accessories. Some fox massage mittens or a long stole.

It definitely is! Although maybe out of my budget for now Seeing as you're also from Aussie, have you ever bought a fur from overseas and had to pay import/customs tax?

 

I have a lot of experience purchasing fox furs from overseas. With that budget, I know of some sellers who can help you. Feel free to PM me.

Hey punisherthunder. That's very generous of you! I will PM you (when I'm able to! Got to get those 10 posts first). Thanks!!

If you decide to go the eBay route, I'd save up about $3000 USD. Some of those auctions can get pricey. But as others have stated, you might get a better value if you shop locally.

Fox, I'm realising that my budget may be a bit limited for the kind of coat I want. The hooded full length fox linked to before and others like it seem to sell for over $3000AUD typically. I could settle for something less extravagant perhaps so I'm not spending as much. Will have to have a good think about it!

I know of some that you will love and not have to pay import fees on .

I know of some that you will love and not have to pay import fees on .

Well, I'm definitely interested.. I'll be sending you a Pm as soon as I can get!

Re: furs-factoryoutlet, they ship worldwide.

Another quick tip. It would prove useful to get your measurements before buying online if you don't know them already. Many sellers online will give measurements of a garment, so then you can compare.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/g.m.furs also has some nice garments at reasonable prices.

And of course, there's always http://www.madisonavemall.com/ or https://kaufmanfurs.com/

You might also look at Oliver furs in Montreal.

I have purchased from them and am quite pleased.

Perhaps staying in the Commonwealth will help with shipping.

I would agree with the recommendations so far. I think Kaufman may be too expensive?

The Furs-factory outlet eBay store is very good. Their customer service is excellent - they are very responsive. And they will accept returns if you don't like the item, change your mind, or it doesn't fit. However, they are not a furrier - i.e. they don't make the coats - so they won't be able to customise something for you.

Olivier in Montreal is also very good, and I would typically have a preference for using a furrier. I'm not sure it will make a difference in terms of shipping / import taxes being a Commonwealth country - certainly doesn't work like that with the UK! You'll have to check the rules in Australia. It usually helps to ask the furrier to declare the item has a low value.

If you can, I would take a holiday in Montreal or Toronto, where there is a high number of furriers. Always best to see, feel and try before you buy such expensive items. New York has a lot, too, but I prefer Montreal and Toronto.

There is always the Fur Mall in the Den as well

I would agree with the recommendations so far. I think Kaufman may be too expensive?

 

The Furs-factory outlet eBay store is very good. Their customer service is excellent - they are very responsive. And they will accept returns if you don't like the item, change your mind, or it doesn't fit. However, they are not a furrier - i.e. they don't make the coats - so they won't be able to customise something for you.

 

Olivier in Montreal is also very good, and I would typically have a preference for using a furrier. I'm not sure it will make a difference in terms of shipping / import taxes being a Commonwealth country - certainly doesn't work like that with the UK! You'll have to check the rules in Australia. It usually helps to ask the furrier to declare the item has a low value.

 

If you can, I would take a holiday in Montreal or Toronto, where there is a high number of furriers. Always best to see, feel and try before you buy such expensive items. New York has a lot, too, but I prefer Montreal and Toronto.

Yes, Kaufman does look to be rather out of my price range. Furs-factory outlet is certainly promising though.

I think with Australia it doesn't matter where the item is sent from. If it's value is over $1000, then it's subject to import tax. Do you know if it might be possible to ask an eBay seller, such as furs-factory outlet, to declare the item has a low value?

I would love to go to any of those cities! It really would be ideal to visit furriers so I could try on coats.. sadly, I won't be visiting North America any time soon.. Maybe one day though.

Why no trip to North America? It's a shame.

You can certainly ask furs-factory outlet, before you bid. They also have a website, furs-outlet.com, where you will find most, if not all, of their eBay items. They quote prices, but I think they will listen to offers for most of the items.

On their eBay items, I have suspected that they bid themselves, and you will only win the auction if you bid in excess of the price they want, i.e. it's a way for them to impose a reserve price without officially doing so.

Why no trip to North America? It's a shame.

 

You can certainly ask furs-factory outlet, before you bid. They also have a website, furs-outlet.com, where you will find most, if not all, of their eBay items. They quote prices, but I think they will listen to offers for most of the items.

 

On their eBay items, I have suspected that they bid themselves, and you will only win the auction if you bid in excess of the price they want, i.e. it's a way for them to impose a reserve price without officially doing so.

I would love to go but unfortunately don't have the funds for a holiday like that right now. I have always wanted to visit Canada though, so I really do hope it's not too long till I can get over to that part of the world.

I had a look at the furs factory outlet site and it looks like their furs sell for much less on eBay, so I wonder how open to negotiating those prices down they would be. I wonder if they do bid themselves! That's a little shady.. the furs do seem to sell for quite consistent prices though

Hello, I live in Sydney and I own a few furs. I purchased my coats (2nd hand, not new!) from eBay, using g.m.furs and dariapelliccerie (they don't seem to be active anymore though?). I also have a few fur stoles from mapleleaf2000, they are Canadian based and had fair prices for new furs.

I also picked up a very cheap white fox waist length coat from a private seller in Melbourne on eBay, I was the only bidder on that!

Hope you have success with your online purchases. I'd say try and get it soon before Europe winter, prices will go up a lot if they have a chilly one.

Also, one I see a lot online that seems a popular furrier in Australia is based in Brisbane, Jackson furs. The pricing is a bit crazy though..

I hope you do find some luck

While shill bidding on eBay isn’t exactly enforced, it’s usually frowned upon by buyers and other sellers because of it’s unfair advantage. However, if sellers decide to engage in that kind of shady practice, they usually don’t get away with it for very long. Eventually people will complain and that would hurt any seller’s reputation. And if Furs-Factoryoutlet is engaging in that (not saying they are) then it would take a SIGNIFICANT chunk out of their profits once the hammer drops. Look back at most of the recent fur sales on eBay and this one seller is responsible for almost 40% of it. They’ve practically edged out their entire competition and cornered nearly the entire market so they can not afford to do anything risky that might attract too much attention or affect their bottom line.

Hi, Panther

Do you know where is mapleleaf2000? If they are in Montreal or Toronto, I think I will go to visit them!

That was the post above mine that spoke about Mapleleaf. I’ve never done business with them before

G'day Fursephone.....and furs in Auz. Troublesome question. Essentially all the eBay furs here are way overpriced, can be dry, and not worth bothering. If you do, be very clear in getting info or even checking them. Having said that, Linda Black Furs in Melbourne may be worth ringing. A furrier dealing in 2nd hand and re-purposed so possible.

If looking overseas, Germany does 2nd hand mink well, and in a good price range, eBay italia has great power foxes, and again reasonable. Import issues are over $1000 dollars. Postage from the US and Canada is stupid. The postal service must have gold stamps there!

Hope that helps. Sometimes you get a bum one, sometimes gold......and haggle if you can .....if you lose one auction, another is round the corner.

Auzmink