TOPIC: Western Nc dealers quit buying

Here in wv same. Appalachian outlaw has a post on fb. First one says price drop some not buyin at all. Then puts up another one sayin needs 1000lbs green 200lb.

I don't think I know there are a bunch of new people digging. When I started about 22 yrs ago you rarely ever heard someone talking about ginseng, now this year I've heard so much about it and most all are saying TV show TV show TV show. My good guess is from all the dealers I've talked to they all are saying its a lot coming from people they've never seen before, so that mostly means they are new at it and I'll say most go out hunt all day then take there fresh rite to a dealer that eve and cash in. I will also say these are the ones that are digging every little root they can find. You fish a pond out and leave no fish no one will go, same thing with ginseng. Yea sure there are places that are huge in territory and can't get it all but the smaller lots of woods and the places you can step off the road and start digging is going to get hurt bad. The prices of ginseng I think throughout the next 2-5 yrs is going to be scary for us diggers who are and have been taking care of our spots for yrs. There is so much of it being dug this year its unreal. Generations of this hobby is going to slowly fade away through the next 5 yrs and then take 25 yrs to catch itself back up, that is for wild ginseng. The demand will always be there and sure the price will keep rising for yrs to come but gonna make it tough to go out and dig enough to make it worth while when so many people are wonting to \"try it out\" for a couple yrs. That's my thoughts

Ive been diggin for yrs also.teachin my 12 an 11 yr old sons to dig

I'm looking to buy some fresh nc ginseng! Where can I get some from this state?!

western Carolina...right here...lol

dealers quiting might be doing you a favor they just got scared and didnt know where to set the price so instead of just offering some ridiclious low price so low they couldnt lose money they just quit until the market stabilizes.around here they instead droped the price to nothing and hope people get so scared they sell anyway then they make a mint when the price gos back up

Interesting thread, this. I have not seen the pricing this volatile, and I have never heard of dealers not purchasing from folks until now.

It makes me wonder if there is a influx of immature root from new \"diggers\" that the stupid tv show brought out. The established dealers non-purchase of this could be in self defense. Why would they pay for shabby root, at current rates?

This is my another example -as well- of dealers setting the pricing. Pretty dramatic, yes?

I can remember other seasons that dealers closed shop for a few days until the dust settled.
It was normal for the market to \"bottle neck\" in mid-October as roots flooded in and the cash dried up in the country.
There used to be a few old time fur and ginseng dealers e.g. Willard McGee, Arthur Slaughter, Guy Hamilton, John Eby, Marvin Mallow, Clifford Wilson, etc. that would buy up large quantities before the bottom fell completely out from under the country market. It was not uncommon for these dealers to carry inventory over from season to season as often the price would not rebound right away. There have been many seasons when the market got weaker during the Winter months after the diggers and small local dealers had cashed in and didn't have a clue. Many fur brokers in NYC would store and hold over Ginseng in cold storage for dealers to sale into the Summer or following seasons for a commission.
I believe that the person that takes the risk and holds the product when either the price comes back or falls further down deserves the gains or the spoils of the markets. Knowing \"when to hold them or when to fold them\". It's a choice we all have to make on our own and we alone have to take responsibility for our choices.

I have noticed an increase in the amount of damaged, lower quality, smaller size and age class of roots being collected and offered to me this season. Many new and inexperienced diggers leave our shop upset still believing we are trying to con them and all Ginseng gets powdered and put into energy drinks. What a shame.

I have seen this before in another \"field\". I have been a gold prospector since 1996 and when the gold mining shows started to air and become popular(Gold rush, Bearing Sea Gold, and the GPAA shows) everyone thought they could go out to their local rivers and streams and pick up nuggets and get rich quick. Many folks headed to Alaska and thought the same thing just like they did in 1849. These people,just like these new gensing diggers, will quickly find out just how much work, walking,money, blood sweat and tears are involved and it will die out to just the true die-hards who know just how much of an investment it takes to be a gensinger.Many new gold prospectors took to the rivers and streams and started digging in the banks and breaking codes of conduct rules and ruined gold-bearing waters that were closed down due to being abused.Once again, a few people gave a bad name to gold mining and caused environmental damage and closed down land that involved the federal government to get off the couch and get involved. This is just a fad and soon they will go away. Be true to yourselves and the environment and all this will go away.