Cost of skins

[elbas3175]

Great post, Rob. Sounds like we have similar taste in coats and furriers!

 

I quite accept that furriers are running a business, and they have families to feed, etc. And the rising price of pelts is not their fault, and is a cost that has to be passed on to the customer. However, it is still frustrating to be quoted one price, accept that price, and then be told that actually, sorry, but the price has shot up. In most other businesses, the seller would have to honour the price they had quoted, surely?

 

A furrier ultimately doesn't have to make a custom designed coat, and I can see that it seems crazy for them to commit to making something that they know will make them a loss. But there's a reputational aspect as well.

 

My impression is that furriers don't like price competition. (This comment is not aimed at specific furriers.) If they get wind that you are shopping around, they are not impressed to say the least. It's an attitude I am surprised by, but I accept that maybe I'm the one who is the fool. In days gone by, furs were for the super-rich, but today they are a bit more accessible. And if you are going to cater to those for whom money is an issue, then you can't be surprised if they shop around and compare prices. Especially with prices rising so sharply. Maybe it is because it is an old industry. But in the internet age, with it being so easy to shop around and contact other furriers, surely they have to accept it. They want the benefits to their business of the internet, without suffering the costs.

 

Or maybe this is the way it has to be. It is a fairly closed shop. There aren't that many furriers in the world, so it's very different from going out to buy a car, and they can run the industry like an oligopoly, or almost like a cartel. (Maybe that's a slight exaggeration!)

 

I have heard it said that you have to trust your furrier, just like you have to trust a car mechanic. We may think we know about fur, but we certainly don't know everything. You find a furrier who makes you a coat to a standard that you like, and then you stick with them, maybe even pay a slight premium for the comfort of knowing you are getting what you perceive to be good quality. But can we really tell the difference between the quality of pelts - would we know the difference between a pelt that cost $200 at auction and one that cost $170? No, we have to trust the furrier who tells us the pelts cost $200. As at a restaurant, if you anger the waiter, they may spit in your food

 

I, too, saw that burgundy fox jacket and was gutted when it was removed from ebay, seemingly not having been sold. It seems blue fox, particularly those that are dyed a different colour, are very popular. One of the other Italian ebayers had a hooded fox coat for sale, and it disappeared within a day or two.

 

Anyway, I have gone back to elsafur and they are now making me a fox coat of a similarly lavish design to yours. So good relations have been restored with them and I am really looking forward to receiving the new coat! Sounds like they'll be making our two coats at the same time, so they'll be getting the idea that guys like having these roomy coat designs.

[samurman]

Rob and Elbas,

Great points made throughout this thread, I thank all who have contributed so far! It would be great if you continued sharing how your orders proceeded up and finally if you could share pictures of the fur coats you have been talking about with such enthusiasm:)

 

I have only had experience with one furrier. Though he has been very kind to me and he behaved in the most gentlemanly fashion towards me, I must say that years and years of dealing only with women's furs had shaped his ideas quite firmly with respect to how a fur coat must fit and how it must be modeled. So throughout my dealings, I had to constantly remind him that the male physique is quite different than the female one, and if a problem arose along the way, however minor it might be, it was due to this issue.

 

Rob is right with respect to the difficulty of trusting a furrier while dealing with her through distance and only via internet. Normally, it would have been preferable to have online pelt sellers, and we could then clearly see which pelt cost what, and bought the pelts ourselves, then had them shipped to the furrier. You could ask the pelt seller to mark the pelts with your name, and then later check the coat if the pelts are indeed the ones you have bought. I know from experience that many furniture sellers show you something at their showroom but then when you buy it, they ship you a similar looking item with inferior quality...

[ROBINFUR]

Absolutely wonderful responses from all you guys!

 

I will post some pics of the coat once I receive it from Maria. You know, she is one of the nicest people. Fortunately for many of us who want coats made to our tailoring, she is willing to accept the fact that fur design is not an obstacle, but a welcome challenge for her. She should pop a few more of those coats out, so others can have one too!

 

Perhaps that she is a rarity in the furrier business, but the cool thing is that she is there and is very accomodating. I would like to think there are more furriers who are out there who like doing custom designs. The more business she receives from us fur lovers for coats and jackets, I think she will see that is a clear sign she is very desired as a furrier and with that only better things can come from it.

 

Many Italian furriers are very trendy in providing new and interesting styles and aren't afraid to use some of the more wild looking color schemes. Many Russian furriers have been doing that for quite some time now too.I know there are Denizens that might not care for the different colored furs and like the natural look of the fur in a garment. But, I for one want to be open to some more experimentation. Since I have probably have 13-15 natural blue fox fur coats and jackets, I figured it was time to ramp it up a bit. So two years ago, I bought a a dyed black mens fox fur fur jacket that is pretty big on me at a size 52, but it's a dream to wear and I love that jacket. It makes me feel confident and in control. And of course, now I have the dyed red fox coat that's in the works.

 

As a tried and true fox fur lover, I somehow have fallen in love with the different colored foxes that have been plastered all over the internet. For one thing that intriques me so, is that colored fox most likely won't fade out and yellow like the natural blue fox couterpart. That's a plus over the lifetime of the coat! And if the dying process is right on, the black guardhairs are visible and left intact giving the fur a multi-hued look to it. I bought a very nice fox stole early this spring that is dyed a brighter red color than the fox coat I ordered. It sat on eBay through two auction runs. Nobody wanted it. I kept looking at the photos and although they weren't of the best quality, I could tell enough from them that this stole was special.

 

Boy, was it ever. I was worn may be one or twice and was literally brand new. it is about 115 inches long and with two full rows of pelting running the length of it. Absolutely super nice fox fur, and uses the plush short guardhair textured ranched fox that is so smooth to the touch. The stole as two nice dyed fox tails on each end and probably sold for $800 or more from a retailer. The seller wanted $250.00 and I thought I got a bargain because it is so cool to look at and feel, and is absolutely perfect. The red dying process is perfect on the stole with those sweet black guardhairs highlighting the whole stole. It's look like a work of art in the light and would definitely have heads turning if worn out. That's another part of the equation too.

 

It's nice to be noticed, irregardless if someone agrees that wearing fur is acceptable or not, and even if they do that fur should garner many looks. I think its great to wear furs that most people would drop their jaws at, because that's half the fun of wearing the stuff, right?

 

I also own more rex rabbit coats, jackets, stoles, and flings than I probably ever should. I guess I'm just an obsessive fur nut at heart. A good number of those rex rabbit items are of different colorations from the normal gray color that mimics chinchilla. I love the gray color with black stripes the most, but I have a vest in golden rex color, two jackets in burgundy with white designs, one beige and one light blue jacket with hoods, and three jackets that are a lovely cinnamon brown color with black striping. All those furs look really neat and each one seems to have its own character as a result of their coloration.

 

How about all the different colored chinchilla furs out there. Color can be identified with a persons mood, and so a fur wearer can wear furs of a specific colar that suits their mood at that time. I have almost 25 fox fur bonnet-style hats and each one is unique. Not any one hat is exactly the same, but all are made by hand by one individual. I have ones' dyed black, red and brown, some in natural blue fox and a couple of arctic white fox ones. Some are fur lined, one black one has soft gray colored rex rabbit inside and another has more fox fur inside of it.

 

I guess the analogy here is that I like different kinds of furs and colors to highlight them. Hopefully, we all will eventaully have what we want. I know it takes money to do just that and it isn't always easy to come by it. But hey, were big time fur lovers here in the Den right? We deserve to have what we want. I do know it's hard to have what you want when money is an issue, and it takes time to get the cash together to do it. I am just lucky enough at the moment to be able to have some 'dough' and the help of Maria at elsafur-2008 to accomplish

one of my dreams.

 

I will post pics of the coat when it comes. Maybe too, if enough people over time purchase a good number of furs from her beyond what she sells right now, it might be to both our and her advanatage in getting the furs she needs to fullfill her garment orders. I would like to think that as her business grows, she will pass along some savings. If she sees a growing trend of buyers coming her way from our segment of the fur loving population, it might somehow prove beneficial to eveyone.

 

I want to let you guys know that it sure is great to hear from you and I know I don't post much here like I should, but since were interconnected by the love of fur and by virtue of its caressing power over each of us, we are nonetheless deeply bound together. Nobody can take that away from us. Very much like family, but even better!

 

I'll try to stay more in touch with everyone and I should in the least also say hello to you too Whitefox, if you happen to be reading any this.

 

Peace and fur on, -Rob

[mailonfurs]

the auction of SAGA (Finnish Fur Sales) has started yesterday. At the moment as we speak the Blue Foxes are auctioned. Apparently the auction house is pushing the prices to remain high but the buyers are not buying everything like the last time. I see a 40-50% of skins unsold for the moment at large sizes.

http://www.ffs.fi

[mailonfurs]

15% lower prices and 70% only sold

The report is here :

 

Blue Fox price increased by 30% in our March 2011 auction and the price level was considered very high by the markets. Today´s offering of 430.000 skins met with some price resistance and was 70% sold at 15% easier prices compared with our high March levels

[ROBINFUR]

Kostas,

 

That sounds like some good new at least. Hopefully, the buyers won't settle in for high prices, and stay somewhat cautionary overall. It would be nice to see a bit of relief stay in the market.

 

At any rate, thank you for shedding some light on the auction price situation.

 

-R