what was I a thinkin?

SAW MILLER · November 15, 2005, 06:03:45 PM

I put an add in the local advertiser for lumber fer sale.....THEYRE DRIVING ME NUTS!!
1. I don't have time to talk on the phone about how good a master woodworker you are
2.I'm never home,I'm out sawin logs all morning and work 3 to 11 at my other full time job.
3.I don't have a sales room,my lumber is scattered all over God's creation under tin.
4.Yes I have 16 foot 2 x 8 s right there under a 1000 feet of 2 x 4 s.

5.NO you can't buy all the clear red oak for 50 cents a foot!!!!!

I keep reading that post about being a hermit and think thats more my style.I think I'll leave the retail business to youins. :-\

pigman · November 15, 2005, 07:47:59 PM

Saw Miller, I won't bother you with a phone call , but I might come up to your your place next week sometime to buy a couple boards for a special project. I am sure they are on the bottom of the pile. Will you move the whole pile so I can look at them . Will you be there when I get there: not sure when I can come up: I am a busy person you know.. ;) ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

SAW MILLER · November 15, 2005, 08:02:22 PM

Yeh Pigman,come on up.I'm always just waitin around for a customer and if you write a check,I won't mind waitin a couple of weeks before I try to cash it. :D :D :D :D

SwampDonkey · November 15, 2005, 10:24:22 PM

It's good to be popular with the wood working crew. ;D

pigman · November 15, 2005, 11:24:25 PM

Quote from: SAW MILLER on November 15, 2005, 08:02:22 PM
if you write a check,I won't mind waitin a couple of weeks before I try to cash it. :D :D :D :D

I won't be asking you to hold my check because I probably won't buy any lumber, just want to look at the two boards on the bottom of the pile. The boards will not be what I want or you have them priced too high. ;D ;D

rl · November 16, 2005, 03:33:39 AM

isn't that the truth . good 3am humor. i used to try to sell a little hard wood lumber. everybody wanted directions,that got borring so i started meeting them at the locall school about 2 miles away at a certain time . that cured the maybe i'll stopper's, and the whole world didn't know where the lumber was for know reason. now it's just piled here.maybe i'll have a auction some day

twoodward15 · November 16, 2005, 09:27:12 AM

Sounds like you need to find a local woodworker to get a gathering together. Have him get about 20 or so other woodworkers to meet on a set day to have a "wood meetup". You'll do this maybe twice a year and get a bunch of sales on the same day at the same time. You may spend 4 or 5 hours thee, but when everyone spends at least a hundred bucks and some spend 4 or 5 you'll make out alright. I do it here and seem to be the only salesman for my sawyer but through the arranger a bone and he'll certainly be back. I wish my sawyer would sometimes. Even a small pile of crappy lumber you though about burning will make his day.

ohsoloco · November 16, 2005, 11:08:13 AM

Sawmiller, the best one for me was when I was giving a guy a really good deal on some walnut because it had a handfull of knots and whatnot in the boards. He told me he'd like to only pay me for the clear board footage in the lumber :

Gilman · November 16, 2005, 12:22:42 PM

"What you need to do is sell this burl for $2.00/bf. That way you could sell tons of it and make good money."

Sawmiller,
I'm working on the business plan advised to me by an ex-customer. You have lots of piles of burl that I could buy for $1.00/bf? ;D I only want clear burl too, no knots.

Ron Wenrich · November 16, 2005, 04:53:21 PM

Paying for the clear board footage? Then he should be out buying 2 Common lumber. It needs to have 50% in clear cuttings, but is usually priced less than half of the FAS, which only has to be 90% clear.

Of course, a lot depends on how you're going to use it.

woodhick · November 16, 2005, 07:10:38 PM

Sawmiller,
all I can say is been there done that, but I do have a few and I mean very few repeat customers that are very nice and appreciate what you do to try and help them.

But the ones that are just shopping and then decide they go to one of the "box' stores. >:( >:( Hang in there. ;)

ohsoloco · November 16, 2005, 08:59:26 PM

It was an interesting transaction, Ron :

Pretty much told him the price for that clear stuff would be a lot higher ;)

dewwood · November 17, 2005, 08:57:43 AM

Had an older gentleman(older than me) stop one day and needed a couple of boards. He proceeded to point out all of the defects in each board so I said "I won't charge you for the end of the board where the knot is". That was ok with him so I picked the board up and walked over to the cutoff saw when he asked what I was doing. I told him since he did not want that part of the board I would just cut it off for him. He decided that he could use the whole board. He always has to comment on something but he has been back several times although now he has to have someone drive him here now. He still comments on the lumber but always just writes a check and takes his boards home. The last time he was here he said "I don't know if I will be able to come back again cause it's getting harder for me to get out". I will certainly miss him when that time arrives.

SAW MILLER · November 17, 2005, 05:25:05 PM

It has been five days now since the ad came out and I have had around 30 calls.The only thing I have sold for sure is a pickup load of junk blocking for a fellow to crib up a house he is working on for 60 bucks.
I do apreciate the tips you all have given me.The advertiser called wanting me to run my ad again and my wife said..NO !!! :D :D

SwampDonkey · November 17, 2005, 05:40:38 PM

Quote from: SAW MILLER on November 17, 2005, 05:25:05 PM
It has been five days now since the ad came out and I have had around 30 calls.The only thing I have sold for sure is a pickup load of junk blocking for a fellow to crib up a house he is working on for 60 bucks.
I do apreciate the tips you all have given me.The advertiser called wanting me to run my ad again and my wife said..NO !!! :D :D

Mother had the idea of selling potatoes at the farmers market one time. She put up about 10 - 50lb bags and off she went. Everyone that was interested only wanted to take '2 or 3 to try'. Turned out to be more of a pain in the hinie than it was worth. She went with 10 bags and returned with them all. Funny, how you can sell thousands of barrels out of the potato shed, but try and go peddling and they don't want'm. I wonder if they think they're safer off the back end of a tractor trailor, then from a pickup truck? :

:D :D ;D It was the same when father raised berries, couldn't sell nothing to the locals, but couldn't pick enough to keep the shelves full over in the Maine market. :D That reminds me, I've never seen a road side strawberry stand over in Northern Maine....Do you folks all come over here and buy'm? ;D

karl · November 25, 2005, 06:19:07 PM

sawmiller
I think I have almost sold to some of your almost customers too! Small world, eh?

I buy "planer outs" vj pine from a large pine mill and resell what we don't use in our own construction business- my ads specify grade3, utility or cottage and still get the guys that are disapointed because "but, it has KNOTS!"

I try to discourage "Imaybeby"s by responding "I don't wait for maybes"

I have some really good regulars who just call and leave a message as to how much they need - I bundle at my convenence and forklift onto their trailer or truck. Sometimes I find a note and a trailer setting in the yard - it gets loaded and disapears without seeing each other at all.
Those good ones are the only reason I put up with the others.

at · November 27, 2005, 01:06:02 PM

on the point of haggling over the price it reminds me of a story. there is an old man who runs the car scrapyard near where i live in scotland. we all knew not to haggle with this man as it was pointless trying to haggle with him as the price he stated was the price. anyway one day a man came in looking a windscreen so he asked how much it would be and a price was given (what it was i dont know) and the said would you not take x for it. and rather than entertain this price and say no thats too low he got out of his chair picked up a spanner and threw it through the windscreen.

ps. i think the american for spanner is wrench.

sawguy21 · November 27, 2005, 01:26:12 PM

:D :D :D :D :D

SwampDonkey · November 27, 2005, 01:31:35 PM

That man sounded like 'grampy Jim', not my grandfather, but the neighbor's. He brings home from the hardware store an axe blade wrapped in meat wrapping paper. His son says, Oh!, you brought us some cheese. His father says, I'll Cheese Ya %^%^&!!! And he throws it through the picture window in the kitchen. Everyone always said he was always a little off. ;)

beenthere · November 27, 2005, 02:07:19 PM

SD
I must have missed something in that "sounded like" story. ??? :

How does "you brought us some cheese..." and "I'll cheese Ya...." relate to the windshield story ? ???

SwampDonkey · November 27, 2005, 02:23:01 PM

Well in both instances a projectile was launched for no apparent reason, other than someone was in a snit. God forbid if you were in line of it. ;D :D :D

At one time before things went 'modern' we could buy cheese by the pound and it was cut in front of you off a big round chunk. Then it would be wrapped in meat wrapping paper, not this pre-wrapped plastic we have to buy now. So the young feller thought the axe blade wrapped up, was a piece of cheese. ;)

ely · November 28, 2005, 11:29:16 AM

i overheard a story the other day about an old man selling wood, i think firewood for x amount. his brother came by and asked if he would take 5 dollars less for the product since they were related. the man selling ask him if he would consider paying 5 dollars extra because they were related. he looked at him and said " i never really thought of it like that but i see your point" i tought it was a humorous statement too.