Sawyer retires

[ahlkey]

I attended an auction today where an experienced Sawyer retired and sold everything.  He was in tears as his LT30 Woodmizer with sharpener went for $5,700. It did have 3,500 hours on it but was in good shape.  At least 75,000 board feet or more of his stock of various species sold for prices that were far below market.  All his woodworking equipment and dry kiln sold as well. I came away with a sad feeling for him and the reality of how hard it is to make a go of it during these difficult times.

Just to give you an idea of the lumber sales I really didn't need it but couldn't resist buying some nice kd 4/4 white pine (50/50) and white ash (total of 1,500 board feet) averaging 8-10 inches wide for $350. 

[Chuck White]

Must have been a sad day for sure.

I couldn't imagine my ole LT40 going at auction prices.
Right now, it books for more than I paid for it in '08.

[bandmiller2]

Sometimes the things that mean so much to us are just junk or clutter to outhers.When your headed for the last roundup its far better to find a deserving person that will use something and appreciate it than to have it end up in the scrap yard.Frank C.

[Tim]

As sad as it is for this gentleman, around here I see some of the oldtimers unable to get scrap value for their mills.

Thank the banksters for that.

[nas]

I think if you need to get rid of stuff quickly, than an auction works, but you are better off taking your time, advertising it, and selling it piece  by piece.

Nick

[Ron Wenrich]

An auction will give you the market price for that day and that crowd.  A lot would depend on how well its advertised.  I've been to auctions where the prices were very good, and some where they really stink.  Advertising often makes a difference.

If you're going to have a sale with mill equipment, its best to have an ad in a trade magazine or the like.  If the auctioneer knows nothing about prices, they will start an item out too low, then its a tough climb to get the price up to where its fairly priced.  If the crowd is in a poor mood, then the auctioneer should bring the crowd into a spending mood.  On really decent items, a reserve can be put in place.

My dad was an auctioneer, and I helped with a ton of sales where he did the calling and handled the sale. 

[Autocar]

The way I look at it,it's not eating anything so I would let my stuff sit there and every day I would look at it and remember all the good times I had with it, then it would come back to me all the days it gave me a hard time . Then I would give it to the first guy that stopped in  To be honest my circle mill set here for probably three years because logging in the woods I liked so much better. Then one day a young fellow stopped and asked me if I would consider selling it. I asked him what he was planning on doing with it and he told me he always want a mill to saw lumber on. So I tell him you take the building with it ,it's yours. His dad showed up and they removed the building [24x65] cleaned it up so I could make my log yard bigger and we were both happy.

[Tom]

Autocar,
It's difficult for most to understand that..... even wives. 

[Magicman]

I hope that day never comes for me.  I realize that time marches on and if you live, Birthdays come every year.  I guess what I am really saying is that I hope that my health lets me saw for many more years.

[gunman63]

sure maybe the mill brought less than a person thinks its worth, but other items mite have brought more than it was worth,, its market  that day  at that time, U could sit and peice it out,  maybe some bring more , some less.  but at the end of the day, a auction cleans it all up, good and bad. u cant give away the rusty old bent tools and rotten welding rod, but put them on a auction and at least 2 people will want them, and u dont have to  haul them away someone else will.

[Autocar]

Tom your right about that ,if I want to wind my wife up all I have to say is [ It's not eating anything ] I had a freind that had a stroke and his wife was hounding him to sell his circle mill and he was crying asking me what to do. And I told him it wasn't eating anything and to give it a year well to make the story short he sawed alot of logs after eight months. Then he was cutting timber and they found him setting up at a base of a tree he was cutting, dead from another stroke. Life can send you down a bunch of crazy roads for sure.

[Bibbyman]

Sometimes the auction company and owners don’t do enough to get top prices for special items.   If they didn’t they should have advertised the mill and lumber to a much wider market and one targeted to people that may be interested in buying a mill.

Mary’s brother passed away and left a large gun collection.  In it was an antique British double elephant rifle.  I called around to places that deal in high-end and unusual guns and informed them of the auction and this gun in particular. There was at least two there people bidding that represented these companies.  We thought it brought a fair amount.  That was the first time I ever heard an auction crowd applaud when an item sold.

[easymoney]

i had an uncle that worked in the woods and ran his own sawmill. he was in his 70s when he died in the woods with a chaisaw in his hand.
 maybe i might should be careful i still run a chaisaw and in a couple of weeks i will be 71.

[Okrafarmer]

We all die eventually if we live long enough.

If mills continue to go for so low maybe I'll have one of my own before too long.

No matter what you're trying to sell, long term or short term, marketing is the key to good prices.

[low_48]

I hope I die sitting against the base of a tree. My Dad died at the wheel of his combine, going to the field. He drove it into the ditch, and died from a run-a-way heart rhythm, that was it. I watched my younger brother melt away from colon cancer, he went from 48 years old, to 98 in less than a year. At the end, he didn't have the strength to talk. He would have loved to have been at the wheel of that combine.

I had the same bad feeling at a woodworking friend's auction. Lucky for him, he died of old age. Watching the people paw over his stuff, then selling for pennies on the dollar, it was heart breaking. All his memories were still thumb tacked to his shop wall. Sure hope his kids took them off, but I doubt it since they didn't before the auction. I think I'll keep my stuff till I put "the combine into the ditch". Let the auction from hell happen after I'm gone.

[r.man]

I don't see any reason to be in a hurry to get rid of things that you aren't using at the moment or haven't used in a while. I had a few cattle till about 4 years ago and when I got rid of them I still kept my old haying equipment. Its not worth much and it doesn't take up much space and I might want to use it some day. If I get to the point that its bothering me I will probably give it away to someone who can use it. I would not want to watch it get sold, good price or bad so I'm not going to. I almost hooked up the mower this year to clear up an old field but ran out of time. Maybe next year. If I had sold it I couldn't say that.

[paul case]

r man,
 i am still planning on making some hay. is it too late up in your country already?

i am a little young to think about selling or giving away my stuff and apparently someone thinks it is still worth something  or else they wouldnt have bothered stealing some of it. the truth is i accumulate all this farm and sawmilling equipment so i dont have to hire it done and maybe my one of my kids or grandkids may want to be a partner in the business with me. if not i plan to enjoy being my own boss as long as anita says i can.
oh btw i would prefer to go doing something i liked such as sawing logs , baling hay, or taking care of my cattle and maybe even being on the forrestry forum.   pc

[Tom]

I don't want to go anywhere. 

[Okrafarmer]

A friend of mine, a retired veterinarian, died unexpectedly in his sleep a month or so ago at the age of 78, having been fairly healthy for his age. (as far as anyone knew). He had just had a very minor surgery on his leg a few days previously and that was not expected to cause any problems. They're still not sure whether it was complications from that, or whatever, but he died so peacefully with no struggle-- That's how I'd rather go, but I'll go fighting for my loved ones if I have to.

[sandhills]

We bought our mill on a consignment auction but the mill was from an estate, never found out who the family was but hope they know it was going to folks that intend to use it and not cut it up for scrap.  We honestly thought we'd get it for scrap price here in the middle of Nebraska but we didn't and thats fine. I agree completely with what Ron W. says, you get the market for that day and that crowd and advertising the sale right helps but the auctioneer can really make the difference.

[KyTreeFarmer]

Lots of food for thought in this thread. As one who can't seem to "part" with any of my lifetime collection of stuff I am beginning to think about exactly what to do with all of it when I am no longer able to use it. Very few of us are able to plan out that exact day of driving into the ditch, so maybe an early execution of the sale from hell would be in order to relieve the family of the hassle. Would be like having to put down a favorite pet..........hmmmmmm. So maybe the guy at the auction had tears for more than one reason.

KTF

[Autocar]

The fellow I talked about last night that was cutting a tree and died right at the base of it. His widow asked me to inventory all his sawed lumber for a up coming auction. All I can say is O MY ! He had a hooped roof barn that was huge and it was full from top to bottom plus every out building and a old house was full. I still grin to myself when I think about going in the house to take the inventory and some kind of critter went up the stair case like a bat out of hell I dang near jumped out the side widow it startled me so bad. He never ever sawed a log that was lumber quality it was always crotches three feet maybe six feet ,for sure it was a circus for me.Tons of coffee bean placks for deer mounts fish ect. in other words a life time of keeping. I remember him telling me once that he didn't care if he ever sold one piece he just enjoyed looking at it all  How many of use guys are sitting here thinking we fit that criteria ?   

[Chuck White]

The fellow I talked about last night that was cutting a tree and died right at the base of it. His widow asked me to inventory all his sawed lumber for a up coming auction. All I can say is O MY ! He had a hooped roof barn that was huge and it was full from top to bottom plus every out building and a old house was full. I still grin to myself when I think about going in the house to take the inventory and some kind of critter went up the stair case like a bat out of hell I dang near jumped out the side widow it startled me so bad. He never ever sawed a log that was lumber quality it was always crotches three feet maybe six feet ,for sure it was a circus for me.Tons of coffee bean placks for deer mounts fish ect. in other words a life time of keeping. I remember him telling me once that he didn't care if he ever sold one piece he just enjoyed looking at it all  How many of use guys are sitting here thinking we fit that criteria ?   

ME !

I have some lumber (not much) that I don't really have a use for right now, but I do like to check it out once in a while!