Looking into firewood sales - opinions please

[JJuday]

So far a lot of what I wanted to say has already been covered here, so you are at the right place for answers. Last year's wood sales were rough on me. Took most of what I had to local auctions and a good seasoned load rarely sold for more than 50 bucks. The auctions rules are the first 10 miles are free, after that it has to be negotiated between buyer/seller. One trip I made half of what the load went for just in mileage and stacking.

With all the laid of people around here everyone and their brother is cutting wood and it's going to get worse this year. Set a fair price for what you have and wait for all the guys that are just selling so they can get beer money to run out of wood. Usually these guys will cut anything to make an extra buck and saw a lot of loads last year that were December cut green stuff.

Don't be afraid to spend a few dollars to advertise either. If you are going to have that much to sell and it is good quality wood, let people know, make some good deals too, word of mouth has sold lots of wood and hay for me as well. Try to avoid any local auctions if you can, private party buyers are so much better to deal with and if you treat them right they will be good customers. Good luck, JJ

 

[MJR]

Look into cutting on state land. Here in NY you can bid on timber sales. I go for the little ones for my saw mill that the big operations pass on. On the notice today there was a sale of 34 cords firewood and .4mbf hardwood sawtimber. Min bid of $540. Turn that into processed firewood around here you would make about $6000. How fast can you move...

 

[Moss Man]

Time consuming, but stuff I could do whilst listening to music and nursing a whiskey cola.

:agree2:

Now you're talkin my language!

 

[Moss Man]

You know the whole point about considering your time(labor) is quite variable at best. My processor sits right outside my front door and it makes for great flexibility. I stop and I am literally 3 seconds from the fridge, bathroom, computer, phone....you get the point. The profit margin can be very tight, but you have factor in a ton of variables to get to the bottom line. We buy 12.5 cords 16' hardwood for $1300. and sell it for around $2200. if it is green and about $2600. if we season it before selling it. How do you figure what you pay yourself per hour out of the whole process? It would be impossible. Any way you flip the coin though, we are making money and in this economy that is good. Even if you are just paying off equipment purchases

Today we are delivering a load of sawdust about 35 miles away, not much profit on it but the wife and I get a nice ride to an area we have never seen and the lady buying the sawdust is soooo happy to get it for her flower gardens, it makes the trip well worth while. Life isn't always about getting paid for every single thing we do, I enjoy doing the firewood and if it all adds to the bottom line.......mission accomplished.

 

[chucker]

always 8.00 an hour is what i base my time at !! " WHY " you ask? WELL ! its a whole lot easier to work or slave for myself at that wage then to go to work at McDonalds to make someone else rich and not me.... besides it makes me happy to do what i love ,being outdoors and not having others look and watch over my shoulder!! so for a day of hard work i would rather make a single buck with a job that is all mine or not make a cent and still be happy doing what i have control of............. MOSS MAN ! i hear what you said and could not agree more!!!! time is irrelevent to life sometimes and we just have to do what we do to keep going forward.

 

[stackwood]

I used to do wood part time "for the extra money" now I'm unemployed and cant find a job I'm doing wood full time .Thank God my brother inlaw 20 year master mason lost his company in FL and now lives with me and my family.

If we bust arse we can fell ,buck to length and split 4 cords in a 9 hour day .
At $ 155.00 SPLIT AND DELIVERD it pays the bills and feeds the kids and thats about it.
It was 89 degrees to today and it sucked all day long .

I wish I could find a job.

 

[chucker]

! i feel for you brother wood cutter!!!:agree2:

 

[BlackenedTimber]

My two cents:

When I got into the biz, after working for a couple of years for other outifts, I was located on the main drag (the only 2-lane "highway" in the area) for all to see. I was doing alot of removals, and as a result, I had alot of hardwood laying around. I began cutting and splitting the stuff for my own use, to heat my home in the winter.

Well, after the tenth person stopped and asked me if I was selling firewood, I decided to give it a shot. That first winter season, I sold 98 cords, hand split.

The following winter season I sold 190 cords, hand split.

I got a splitter that following spring. I got so busy selling firewood that I had to dedicate two men just to cutting and splitting, while the rest of us were out either doing trimming/removal jobs or harvesting timber.

When you are getting paid to cut the wood anyway, firewood is a natural progression. I made a good chunk of change selling firewood, and genuinely enjoyed it.

I was also right down the road from the original woodstock concert site, in Bethel, NY, and every year they would have a big party to commemorate the original concert. I sold a boatload of camp wood then, the lower quality wood that I would not offer to my regular customers, but that these weekend warriors would die for.

All in all it was a great time, and I miss it. Infact, thinking about getting back into firewood. Everyone here on AS is right: you cant really quantify the cost for your time. If you are making money, and enjoy what your doing, then all the better. firewood is a good, honest living, and I always fealt like a man after a day of running a saw and handsplitting for hours. Of coarse, my biceps are the size of bowling balls now...

Start small, and if there is a demand, then grow with it. My pops always told me not to buy a piece of equipment until I had work for it. Do the same. If there is a viable market for you to capitalize on, and you are up to it, the go for it.

 

[abliss]

a lot of great advise!! FIRST OF ALL THERES NO SUCH THING AS A RICH FIREWOODER!! hard and honest work is lite to say!!! time for me is non exsistant as far as cutting wood. if i were not doing this it would be something else. stay small and graduate as you feel comfortable with the sales and profit margin! save all your paper work for the tax man!! all my taxs are done under farm/contract laborer or 1099. theres not a whole lot that is not covered as not being a tax rite off. cell,gas clothing,food, you name it . just keep all proof of sales and purches's. for deliveries i have a 15 mile free del. anything after is a 1.00 per loaded mile and 35.00 for stacking and most people dont bat an eye!! for an extra sales lead you can check with the local fuel assistance office as a wood vendor!!this usually consists of a short contract for fuel type,price and size of sales (cord,rick ect ). not a bad deal when times are lean although it can take 10 working days to get paid ............................ hope this helps????

Do you have a "business plan " if so woukf u brvwilling to share?
Is your business an LLC?