hows the wood sellin???

[OH logger]

how are the wood sales goin around the country?? I just have a couple cord of dry wood to sell and we are startin to split dead ash to sell this winter also. all is well that burns well!!! 8)  I like to be done with firewood early so I can concentrate on loggin  when the crops come off and everyone wants me at there job right away

[shamusturbo]

I do not log but have another full time job so firewood is a side job. We cannot meet demand. I do not intend to employ anyone for very obvious reasons so i will fall short as long as the demand is what it is. We are moving about 6-10 full cords a week right now. Not everything is seasoned. Most is dead white ash, cherry, and oaks. We cannot move fast enough. 5 tri-axles delivered in the last 10 days and 4 more in the next week. I think we will move all that out by Christmas.

This is our first full year with the larger processor. I had about 65 cords setting all summer and it is all gone, mostly picked up from self serve racks near the road/highway. I think I charge a lot as it is and am considering going higher/more expensive or adding a delivery fee (we had it "built into" the price until now). Attached are some pictures from this past weekend. Working North of Pittsburgh.....

[landscraper]

I had 2 piles of logs like the one in the picture, and 2 or 3 smaller log piles as well.  10 or 15 cords got sold as log length, but the rest of it got sold as split firewood, pickup truck loads up to tandem dump truck loads.  I started on these piles in March of this year, finished most of it up by May.  At this point almost all of it has been cut, split and delivered.  I had another firewood seller approach me this summer about buying wood, he said he would buy it green, so I have about 20 pickup truck loads set aside for him and that about finished off my supply.  I think it was 75-85 cords all in all.  I have two good clearing jobs to start this fall, so I will re-stock on logs and start splitting again over the winter.   

The small stacks of split wood between trees are all the oddball offcuts and pieces, my son takes those, splits them and sells them himself, he got up to about 6-8 cords and he is sold out too. 

[Bert]

I really have problems selling it until it snows and then everyone is calling. Same story every year. Like its not going to snow or get cold  :-\

[OH logger]

I really have problems selling it until it snows and then everyone is calling. Same story every year. Like its not going to snow or get cold  :-\

I love that mentality that "maybe winter will blow over and not happen at all this year :-\.

[logman81]

Firewood sales is booming here, still selling green wood like crazy. Don't have any seasoned wood as I couldn't keep it in Stock long enough. Sold over fifty cord of green just in this past month and I don't see it slowing down any time soon. Going to be looking at a one ton dump truck this weekend to I can just dump the wood out instead of hand tossing it out plus I'll use it to plow with during winter.

[SwampDonkey]

As long as there is no more $26 oil it's a steady market I think. However, the insurance companies are just as fussy with wood appliance as oil up here. I guess they all want us on heat pumps and baseboard. They want low risk and stick it to everyone to recover losses on burned houses. Still people that think green wood and smouldery dampened down fires is the way. :

[logman81]

Most of customers are buying green to get ahead for next year by seasoning it themselves. They would rather support local business and would rather burn wood because it is a renewable source of energy.

[SwampDonkey]

Some do that, but you can drive by many homes with a heap of firewood not even put away yet, just dumped as close to the basement hole as can be, and it's all they have.

[lopet]

Sold a little under forty  3 cord trailer loads this past September. Pretty well same customers, same price, same distance driving.
All in all a average year. 8)  Glad it's done.

[Peter Drouin]

Some do that, but you can drive by many homes with a heap of firewood not even put away yet, just dumped as close to the basement hole as can be, and it's all they have.

Just look at the smoke coming out of the chimney. If it's Blue the wood is green, If white it's dry. ;D

[SwampDonkey]

A yard in smoke is a good sign.  :D

[logman81]

Firewood sales never stops for me I sell it year round,  a never ending task!

[SwampDonkey]

Good business to be in when your above the snow line.    ;D

[NWP]

Busy as ever. Low supply due to lots of rain here this spring/summer. I've bought 4 semi loads of split wood to supplement. I've gotten calls from all over the Midwest looking for bulk split wood. Nobody seems to have enough

[OH logger]

seems like the last few years the more you make the more you sell, and you can never have enough split its a good problem to have. the last few years people have started callin me in august to make sure they get on the list

[brendonv]

First year doing wood. No problem getting rid of 30 cord, prob coulda easily sold triple. Shoulda did more, but my yard doesnt support it.

[SwampDonkey]

Around here, it's May it seems. I'll never be last on the list unless it's May first and then I might be on a real short list. :D

[logman81]

One of these days hopefully soon I will have a one ton dump to deliver my wood when I find one. Delivering with a pick up is no fun!

[timberlinetree]

Not shur why but many of our customers  ordered extra this year. Lots of wood is being pulped around here putting strain on the  tree length firewood buyers. We sell tree length and cut/split.

 

[beenthere]

timberlinetree

Not shur why but many of our customers  ordered extra this year.

My guess to why, would be these are customers who realize that green wood does not burn well and trying to get ahead so at least have a year of seasoning before expecting good heat and good burning. ;)

[doctorb]

I would also opine that last year's very cold and elongated winter might have been etched in their memories.  The percentage of wood burners who truly take the time and trouble to prepare a year ahead is not as high as one would think it should be, IMO.

[OH logger]

I would also opine that last year's very cold and elongated winter might have been etched in their memories.  The percentage of wood burners who truly take the time and trouble to prepare a year ahead is not as high as one would think it should be, IMO.

my thoughts exactly and they burnt up last years supply plus all of their "extra" wood for the next year

[sweetjetskier]

i came across this posting on CL for firewood. The add uses the "fear factor" of firewood will be $400 a cord this winter, so buy now 

CL
rhode island > for sale > farm & garden - by owner post [ account ]
reply  x prohibited[?]  Posted: 7 days ago ◀ prev ▲ next ▶ print
Green firewood of the best quality - $160 (Charlestown)
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Green firewood for sale wood is a 100% hardwood mix of oak. All good quality wood there is no bugs, rotten wood or dirt and is accurately cut to 16"-18" and hand loaded into truck reducing Unwanted waste. Full cords delivered a half cord at a time or will sell half cords to. Have many cords available and will not be selling out of wood. Get it now before the price increase, seasoned wood is expected to be as much as $400 a cord this winter!
Will deliver within a ten mile radius of Charlestown/ Ashaway no delivery beyond that. PRECISION FIREWOOD & LOGGING. show contact info
do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers
post id: 5289965922 posted: 7 days ago updated: 3 days ago email to friend ♥ best of [?]
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[OH logger]

I think that precision logging and firewood is a member here :-\

[timberlinetree]

 :-\ !  I'm  kinda surprized. Saw a while back people looking for cord wood on Craigslist. We had 6 cord customer  take 8, 4 cord customer  take 5 and so on. It baffles me since oil is low.

[SwampDonkey]

It's not $26 dollar a barrel like in 2001 though.  ;)

[logman81]

Hmm Precision firewood & Logging I wonder who that would be.

[OH logger]

cmon give me a clue.......please :D

[North River Energy]

Speaking of Craigslist Genius, this ad has been running on and off for a few weeks:

I have $1,870 burning a hole in my pocket, and I'm willing to spend it on appropriately-priced firewood. It's a real offer. For this I want 10 cords of wood (that's 1,280 cubic feet, guys), but I need a realistic wood seller.

So that's my offer. If you want to hear my 2 cents, keep reading. Otherwise, don't, but don't flag me for the 10th time and tell me this is not a real want-ad.

325? 350? 375? are you stoned? Gentlemen, perhaps you didn't hear, but you are in a commodity business, and the value of your commodity has plummeted, due to extremely cheap alternatives. Maybe you are not aware, but the price of oil is a buck-87, and going lower by Thanksgiving. Let me give you some reality math here:

It takes 5 gallons of heating oil to heat my house daily. If I want to use wood instead, I will burn through a cord every 20 days. So that's 100 gallons of heating oil for 20 days, or 1 cord of wood, and I get the same heat (except with oil its as simple as twisting the thermostat- no shoveling out the woodpile, dealing with bugs, the workout involved, etc). SO... 20 days of heating oil costs 187 dollars, and going lower. You want THREE to FOUR HUNDRED dollars for 20 days worth of wood. That's why I say you are outside of reality.

Look, people burn wood to save money. They go thru all that BS I described above, because it's going to save them MONEY. That's how it has been, forever, until now anyway, with plummeting oil prices. So you've had a good run. You got people to pay you those crazy prices in recent years because oil was approaching 4 bucks a gallon. You were a cheaper alternative. Well, problem is you are in a commodity business. Commodities rise and fall in price, and you are experiencing the downside of capitalism. If we want to be capitalists, we take the losses with the gains. It sucks but it's part of the game.

How are the wood sales going for you?

I will buy as many cords as you can deliver, up to 10, but I won't pay more for it than oil. I will do you a giant favor and pay the same. Seriously- no matter how badly you want to charge all kinds of money, the market is not there. I am not the only genius that has figured out oil is cheap. Sell me 10 cords for $1,870, before you find yourself 10 days before Christmas with a giant pile of wood yet to be sold. Take the deal now before you lose your shirt. My cash is green.

[NWP]

He should just use oil.

[beenthere]

NRE
That is funny... Wonder if he gets anyone to bite and give him wood?

Maybe the guy will just go buy 1000 gal of heating oil at "buck-87" instead of waiting for his 10 cords of wood.

[rasman57]

The fact the above CL ad is running for weeks must indicate his analysis of the market may be flawed....  he may be reduced to begging, buying oil or giving up on his strategy soon.   

[SwampDonkey]

It's not cold enough there yet.  :D 8)

He's probably got an old drafty farm house. A new well insulated/designed house, even up here, only burns 4 cord.

[OH logger]

been sellin right along pretty steady here finally. it was SLOW until about 1 or 2 weeks ago when they started forecasted the first cold and the potential for snow. phones been ringin off the hook now  ;D. most every day people call me at the loggin job to know when they can come pick up some wood so I call them all when I'm on my way home from the job and then when I get home ive got a couple trucks and trailers there to load with wood. works pretty well. been deliverin as much as I have time for and the waiting list is growin faster than I can deliver  them.  been so dry here lately and ive been hammerin away in the woods and I hate to quit early to deliver wood. that's like steppin over a dime to pick up a  penny you know  ;). hopefully they can wait until the end of the week cause it looks like rain is on the way  :(. hows it goin for everyone else??

[stratton]

Brendon, hey how have you been?? Since we are in different wood markets, how much are you charging a cord? Sales for me have been wicked slow so far this year. Thanks Luke STRATTON. Sorry ive been charging $250 cd

[shamusturbo]

3-6 voicemails a day. About half show up or schedule a delivery. 50/50 for half cord versus full cord deliveries. I took a 6-10 job in Cincinnati so Sunday is my only firewood day. I am getting more serious about finding reliable help but I am growing tired and don't believe there is anyone out there. Clean, strong, dependable, machinery savvy, can work on their own and not bone up the trucks and skidsteers.

In my never ending quest to eliminate my Achilles heal, I finally bought a 1-ton dump truck. I am still not sure how I got along without one for so long but here I am. I have only made a few deliveries with it so far, 8 or 9 in the next 4 days at home. It will be getting lettered on the doors and tailgate this Saturday.



  

  

[Dakota]

Nice looking truck.

[SwampDonkey]

The fellow whom which I buy firewood delivers with a similar truck. He delivers firewood steady.

[Gearbox]

If I burned that much wood every 20 days I would be turning off zones . He has to be figuring face cords or his house is a pig . I heat house and shop and only use 10 cord and I start in October and end in april or may .

[OH logger]

NICE TRUCK!! can u haul 1 cord easily? that will last a long time. congrats!

[OH logger]

in the last week ive had 84 full cord of wood ordered (2 wholesale customers) for this winter. 36 now and 48 after the first of the year. time to start splittin more and hopefully I have enough logs  ;D. sure seems like I sell a lot of wood I just hope I'm makin somethin for all the work and hassle    . and I'm kinda serious too. I'm getting 150 per cord delivered and dumped and I wish I could get more BUT I'm already the most expensive around. a lot of the wood sellers around here must need the excersise I guess   :.. I could charge 300 a cord BUT that don't mean I will sell any  >:(

[Corley5]

I quit until spring.  Turned several orders down.

[SwampDonkey]

I can't imagine firewood delivered for that price. But your trucks and cars are $12,000 less than here, your gas is 1/3 ours to.  All evens out I suppose. ;D

[lopet]

in the last week ive had 84 full cord of wood ordered (2 wholesale customers) for this winter. 36 now and 48 after the first of the year. time to start splittin more and hopefully I have enough logs  ;D. sure seems like I sell a lot of wood I just hope I'm makin somethin for all the work and hassle    . and I'm kinda serious too. I'm getting 150 per cord delivered and dumped and I wish I could get more BUT I'm already the most expensive around. a lot of the wood sellers around here must need the excersise I guess   :.. I could charge 300 a cord BUT that don't mean I will sell any  >:(

You must get your raw material fairly cheap , otherwise I don't see where your profit is.

I still sell for $ 240 Can and 3 cords only.  Yes I sold about 20 % less this year and yes I got a lot more amish competition just in the last few years.
Maybe they will put me out of business sometime  down the road, but maybe I am ready to retire anyways.  ;D

[OH logger]

most of the wood I produce myself as a by product of mylogging. it does take time to pull it out of the woods but I only mess with It if its easy and fast. I most of it home on a trailer behind my pickup. I'm going home anyways but I have a diesel pickup and if I didn't mess with them I could get by with a cheaper gas truck...I better shut up or i'll talk myself right out of the fire wood business  :D. my delivery truck holds 1.5 cord and I do think next year I will only deliver 1.5 cord at a time. 1 cord deliveries take just as much time and almost the same fuel so to heck with it. I threatened to do that this year but with the warm winter last year and the fact that I'm a chicken I didn't. I do buy poles from time to time from a  clearing guy but if I push the pencil very hard at all it barely works. how much are all you payin for processor type wood per cord picked up?? and how far you gotta go to get it??

[NWP]

I try to get as much wood as I can from clearing/cleanup jobs so its not only free, I get paid to remove it.  Right now I'm paying around $80-90 per cord for firewood logs coming off a clearing job from another contractor.  That's cut tree length and skidded to the landing.  I'm buying the logs from the landowner/clearing contractor and paying another guy to cut and skid.  I'm hauling only about 25 miles.  Really nice processor wood with a few sawlogs in it that I'll sell to offset the cost.

[lopet]

I just bought a load for 120 delivered in the yard, but he's only three blocks away. Really nice stuff, no knots , no trimming , 12-16' length, ash and maple. Normally don't buy much, but sometimes people approach me and wonder if I need some. About 80% of my wood I bring home myself , either it comes out of my own woodlot or farmers want me to clean up their fence rows. Some thinning jobs, but I don't pay anything for a standing tree.
I guess it all depends on your area , market and setup.

[Klunker]

in the last week ive had 84 full cord of wood ordered (2 wholesale customers) for this winter. 36 now and 48 after the first of the year. time to start splittin more and hopefully I have enough logs  ;D. sure seems like I sell a lot of wood I just hope I'm makin somethin for all the work and hassle    . and I'm kinda serious too. I'm getting 150 per cord delivered and dumped and I wish I could get more BUT I'm already the most expensive around. a lot of the wood sellers around here must need the excersise I guess   :.. I could charge 300 a cord BUT that don't mean I will sell any  >:(

Just from a business perspective if you are the most expensive guy around and you still have no problem selling what you have I'd say you are still selling too cheap. I'd jump the price $25 bucks/cord.
I'm not in the firewood business but I have owned and run a business for approx 15 years. I do know that price is not the only selling point on a product. Never try to be the cheapest guy out there. You'll always be cutting your own throat.

Better to sell 50 cords at $50/cord profit then 200 cords at $10/cord profit.

My neighbors are an elderly farm couple. He doesn't farm anymore, just rents out the land. Can't cut his own firewood and his only source of heat is wood. So he has to buy his wood. He wants well seasoned wood (2 years min.) and he wants it stacked nice and neat not over 4 ft high in his garage where its easier to get at and stays dry. He can only store approx 3 cords in his garage. He pays $300/cord delv'd, stacked and well seasoned. Its very nice stuff, all hickory, ironwood and hard maple. Most of the firewood sells for around $250/cord. He has a guy he always goes to and can get wood when ever he wants it. They have worked out him paying more for the extra service and quality of wood. He could buy it from the same guy for $250, but it'll be dumped in his yard, seasoned 1 year and have trash wood mixed in. And my neighbor feels he is getting the better end of the deal.

[GRANITEstateMP]

  Just about done with things at my place.  Got one more mobile processing job at my buddy's place on the other side of town to do, probably 5ish cord to do up.  We were down this year, somewhere in the low 80 cord range (did 125 last year).  Still got a month to go but haven't been advertising and have all my regular customers done.  I did loose a couple customers to pellets, well maybe not so much pellets but pellets and age!  They just didn't want to stack, dry, move, restack anymore.  It stinks they are / were good customers but I can't blame them if this route is easier on their bodies.

  OH Logger, it wasn't that long ago I was paying $150 a cord log length for "processor" wood.  That was a couple years ago.  I'm pretty sure my last load was in the $110 range delivered to my landing, only had to cut 3 trees by hand the rest went through my little (Hakki 1x37) processor no problem!

[gaproperty]

One of these days hopefully soon I will have a one ton dump to deliver my wood when I find one. Delivering with a pick up is no fun!

I contract out the trucking.  i have all my wood on pallets and when the truck comes I load him up with the forks. He is loaded in about 5 or 10 minutes.  For the amount of wood I am producing it does not pay to have a truck and days to repair the truck.  I just try to keep it as simple as I can.  You can see my operation at http://www.youtube.com/c/LostCaper

[shamusturbo]

NICE TRUCK!! can u haul 1 cord easily? that will last a long time. congrats!

Yes I can move exactly 1 cord with the truck. Attach the 7'x 16'x 3' dump trailer and I can deliver 3 at a time. It just rolled 1000 miles last weekend. Pulls 14k OK. Not nearly as well as the duramax's. I tell people its the truck I should have bought 10 years ago.....


  

 

[OH logger]

NICE TRUCK!! can u haul 1 cord easily? that will last a long time. congrats!

Yes I can move exactly 1 cord with the truck. Attach the 7'x 16'x 3' dump trailer and I can deliver 3 at a time. It just rolled 1000 miles last weekend. Pulls 14k OK. Not nearly as well as the duramax's. I tell people its the truck I should have bought 10 years ago.....


  

 

what the heck did u cover up your number for?!?! I need to buy some wood!!  ;)

[stumpjumper83]

How much wood would you like? 

[shamusturbo]

Still delivering/stacking, steadily, on the weekends. I have my younger brother and cousin at it 20 or so hours through the week. Having trouble with the processor wedge. We broke off 1 of the last 2 original/factory wedges. It tears in the parent metal, not the weld. I will be building at least 1 complete replacement this spring. Sticking with the 8-way design. We have learned to split the size range logs with that particular wedge. Looking to replace the conveyor belts as well with something slightly cleated. The carpet style freezes easily and can't go past an "easy" incline. Also want to put a smaller sprocket on the upper section of conveyor to make less jams at the conveyor "break" and shoot the wood away from the support legs a little bit. I'll get back.

New truck is awesome. Self-serve racks at the road need reloaded every 2 or 3 days (about 2.5 cords worth). I have absolutely no advertising out there and am handling as much volume as I can right now. Keepin' the volume low, quality high, and price just right.


  

  

 


  

 

[hedgerow]

Looks like a nice set up. It is always nice to see people out their working hard. Our next cold front has arrived I better  reload the Garn. Take care and have a great end of the wood selling season.

[OH logger]

i sold the last $50 worth today!!! finally done. we are gonna start splittin maybe next week though. I have about 100 or more cord of green wood spoken for (wholesale) that they need to get ASAP so it can be sold this summer for camp wood. what a amazing but vicious cycle!! not big money but way too wet to log right now so this is a lot cheaper and healthier than sittin in the bar...right??  ;D

[Brandon1986]

We've moved about 200 cord up here in AK since Oct. between processed and log length firewood orders.. TRYING to shut er down for the year though so we can have another 100-150 cord seasoned for next fall... as it is we have been selling green wood only which is kind of a bummer.. Fortunately and unfortunately we keep getting calls with the 10day forecast dipping into the -30's F.  Glad to see folks are still out there making it happen across the country and wood heat hasn't gone completely away..

[Cass007]

Shamus ... I'm in PA as well, but South Central area. What and where are these "self service racks" you speak of? If I had a place to grab up some free wood, I would certainly take advantage of that.

[shamusturbo]

Cass007 - I have a setup, much like a farmers stand, where everything is labeled with a price and there is a metal drop box for cash/checks. I have never had a problem with it in 11 years. But none of it is free. Actually, the "bins" that sell the best are 275 gallon totes of knots-rots-and butts for $40. I wouldn't buy it, but I can't keep those particular bins full.  8)

Here is a picture of our part of the setup maybe 5 or 6 years ago.