Virginia Trappers Association
Fur Sale Procedures

Fishersville, Virginia
Saturday March 10, 2012

 

Pre-registration for sellers will begin on February 28 and close on March 8, 2012. Pre-registration will be made through Charlaine Crebbs at 540-832-2708. Any phone calls or emails made before 0900 February 28 or after 1200 March 8 will not be accepted. Email pre-registration will be accepted when read by the Registrar and the seller will be notified of his or her sequential number. All pre-registered sellers will be processed before any walk-ins are accepted. NO walk-ins will be processed before 1100. The VTA will post the estimated time of the next round of selling at the end of each round. All sellers are encouraged to pre-register to provide all concerned with an estimate of the amount of fur to be sold and a guess-estimate of a time line for the day.

All sellers will provide an accounting of the quantities of each species of fur when registering. The count will be taken in the following order:

1. Coyote
2. Red Fox
3. Gray Fox
4. Bobcat
5. Raccoon
6. Opossum
7. Skunk
8. Otter
9. Beaver
10. Muskrat
11. Mink
12. Nutria
13. Squirrel tail
14. Castor
15. Quill/essence
16. Other

No pre-registration will be accepted unless these numbers are provided. 10 copies of every seller’s inventory must be made prior to that seller’s fur going on the table so an accurate inventory is essential in preventing time delays.

Any changes in your numbers provided to the registrar will void your registration number and require you to go to the end of the line and re-register. (This is an issue for the auctioneer and the administrators and causes many delays.)

Any pre-registered seller not arriving in such a timely manner and staying in the vicinity of the auction, as to enable his or her fur to be placed on the tables without undue delay will be placed at the end of the current list and given a new number. It is estimated that about 25-30 sellers will be on the tables for each round and each round should take 2 ½ hours.

Sellers should check in without their fur and only bring their fur into the building when told to do so. This is a noise and space concern.

Doors will open for VTA Workers at 0600.

Doors will open for Buyers at 0630.

Doors will open for Pre-Registered Sellers at 0700.

The first round of auctioning will begin at 0830. Doors will open for unregistered sellers at 1100. All walk-in registrations will have to keep their fur out of the building until all pre-registered sellers’ fur is on the tables awaiting sale and they are told to bring it in.

Three rows of tables will be in place for the sellers and they will be directed to their place on the tables as expeditiously as possible. Only a certain amount of table space will be provided for a seller’s fur. If the quantity of fur exceeds a reasonable amount of space due to a large quantity of one (or more) item(s) then a representative sampling of that species will be placed on the table and the rest of that species will be placed under the seller’s table.

All selling begins on the rear row and progresses from the buyers’ left to right and rear to front. Once a row of tables has been sold and cleared then a VTA worker will direct the appropriate sellers to exhibit their fur on that row of tables. Youth volunteers and other VTA workers will assist in moving the sold fur to the designated buyer or to a holding area if unsold.

Once all three rows of tables have been sold the buyers will have 45 minutes to examine the next round of fur to be auctioned. Extra time will be afforded the buyers after round 2 to enable them to eat lunch.

There will be a designated area for those sellers who will move by direction to the tables as they clear during the auction.

Only the first 35 pre-registered sellers will be allowed to bring their fur into the building before 0800. Sellers should attempt to check-in as much as possible in numerical order to minimize delays in processing. Sellers 36-70 will be checked in beginning at 0900.

Any youth selling less than 10 items of fur will be given head of the line privileges and assigned a letter to follow an existing number, such as 8-A. This will enable the youth to enter the table between numbers 8 and 9.

Sellers are required to be members of the VTA. Non-members will be allowed to join at the Auction prior to selling. A member whose membership has expired will be allowed to renew when he/she checks in.

Any person shipping all their fur and not selling any may, once they have checked in and filled out an inventory form, proceed directly to the shipping agents.

The beginning of an auctioning round will be preceded by a five minute warning whistle.

It is anticipated there will be from 70-90 sellers and the auction will last until 1700, possibly later. It is anticipated there will be 6-8 buyers.

Pre-registration will begin on 28 February and close at noon on 8 March 2012. Contact edcrebbs@yahoo.com or Charlaine Crebbs at 540-832-2708, 0900-2000hrs.

Buyers should register with Glen Mabe, 540-743-2436, no later than 6 March 2012.

The VTA will provide:
• one Auctioneer for the sale
• one Recorder for the auctioneer
• two administrative personnel to register and direct all sellers prior to their moving to the tables or the staging area
• six to eight youths for moving fur on and off the tables
• two adult workers to supervise the youths and assist the auctioneer in displaying the fur to the buyers
• ten copies of the seller’s inventory sheet and the original filed

Prior to departing the auction site the Buyers will provide to the VTA:
    • a 3% commission on all purchases

Prior to departing the auction site the Shippers will provide to the VTA:
    • An inventory of all fur received for shipment

The youth assisting with the fur moving for the entire day will be provided with several trapping items, a VTA shirt or hat, and lunch. Any youth interested in participating in this event should contact Ed or Charlaine Crebbs at edcrebbs@yahoo.com or 540-832-2708 prior to 01 March 2012.

The Virginia Trappers Association will conduct their annual Fur Sale at ExpoLand in Fishersville, VA, 10 March 2012.
For more information please contact edcrebbs@yahoo.com or 540-832-2708.