Capilano Furs & Taxidermy Studios

Recently my mother has become ill and she left me a fur coat. She told me I could sell it or do whatever I wish with it because she would not be needing it anymore. I came to the decision to get it appraised for insurance purposes just so I could have an idea of what it is worth. After doing a lot of research and finding out that the furrier with the very best reputation had closed his shop Pappas furs after 100 years of being in business recently, I looked onwards and came to the conclusion that my only other option for a local appraisal was to go to Mr Eugene Klein at Capilano Furs in North Vancouver. My first impression of Mr Klein was fine. He seemed friendly and professional. He took a look at the coat and told me it was a very well manufactured male mink coat somewhere from Europe. He told me the coat was worth $ 24 000. Now this is where things started to feel strange for me… He said my coat required a cleaning and a moth proofing process done (which I was fine with) and it came to a total of $ 740. When I asked how much it would cost for the official appraisal of my coat he told me he charges 11% of the replacement value for the appraisal ($ 2640)… He told me that it is mandatory to have an official appraisal to show what the coat is worth not only just for insurance purposes, but also if I plan to sell the coat. With no other furriers to turn to, I agreed to pay the man what he asked to have my coat cleaned, moth proofed, and appraised. When I came to pick up my coat Mr Klein offered to put it up on his classifieds website for one year for an additional fee of $ 2600 per year. That’s right, PER YEAR, NO GUARANTEES IT WILL SELL. When I heard that price I was baffled and declined his offer to put the coat on his site and try to sell it myself because I have already invested $ 2640 into the appraisal and cleaning. After contacting someone at a site called
and asking them just a few general questions, I told the gentleman I was speaking with how much I actually paid for the appraisal and he was blown away. He said for someone to charge a percentage of the replacement value price for a simple insurance appraisal is unethical and wrong. I work very hard for my money and I am not a millionaire. I took a hit dealing with this man and I do not appreciate being taken advantage of. I would warn others to be weary in dealing with this company, even though nowadays they are basically the only furriers in the general area. LESSON BEING: EVERYONE IS A CROOK. DO YOUR RESEARCH OR YOU WILL TAKE A LOSS!

Long story short, my best friend’s grandmother left him a Martin’s of London fur coat from the 1940’s that we wanted to get appraised.
I e-​mailed these guys before hand to set up an appointment and he called right away and gave me some realistic expectations. I am not sure what avenue we are going to go with out decision, however, at least he contacted us.

I inherited a massive taxidermy collection from my father, and wanted to downsize… So! I contacted this place, and brought one of my pieces, a lifesize lynx mount, over for appraisal. Well, apparently taxidermy is supposed to be cleaned regularly? Who knew? Well, I had the lynx done, in preparation for its imminent sale **fingers crossed** The base was also damaged, so he replaced it. The prices seem astronomical, but what do I really have to compare it to? If anyone has had their lynx cleaned and repaired, lets compare notes… This guy has a massive collection of animals and rugs available for rental if anyone is in the film/​photography industry… I personally am tempted to have a photoshoot right in his studio. It’s actually a bit creepy.