Question on selling wood and customers

[Jwilliams]

Been doing firewood for about 3 yrs now and besides my personal use I sell maybe 8-10 cord a yr. 1 guy usually buys about 5-6 cord last yr was normal splits 16-20 inches this yr he wants 32-40" split or no split doesn't matter but I took my price from 90 a truck load to 100 a truck load Now he is complaining about it that it's too much but lifting 32-40" pcs is harder on the body. What's everyone else's thoughts

 

[svk]

So assuming that a $100 pickup load is about a half cord? That comes out to $200 a cord, which is pretty good for the seller if you can find wood that doesn't need to be split.

Around here you can get mixed species hardwood pulp delivered for $11o a cord so he could do that if he wants to save money. Maybe then he will appreciate the extra time you take to climb all over the log pile to buck to length for him.

 

[moondoggie]

Longer pieces equal more Wood also. Less air in the load.

 

[Jwilliams]

Yea and make my back hurt a lot more so an extra 10 bucks seems to upset people I'm making it easier for him to load his burner with bigger pcs and harder for me but I guess he doesn't look at it that way. It's all hard wood except for maybe 1-2 pcs of birch that end up mixed in the piles

 

[STLfirewood]

Do you need the money to eat? If not tell him the price is the price. You only get one body. There is a reason he's not doing it himself. Tell him there are plenty of other wood suppliers around and that you appreciate his past business. Never let customers think you have to have their business. A lot of them will take advantage of you.

Scott

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I pretty much just tell them that's the price, either that works, or feel free to shop elsewhere. (and this can be done without being rude.... "No, I'm sorry, but I am not able to bargain from the set price").

Some people are just figuring they might be able to get a deal, and that's ok, I'd do the same too.

If wood that long is tough to do, maybe you could work a compromise? Maybe do 2ft for same price as before? Just a thought.

3-4ft long pieces unless fairly small would be pretty tough to load IMO. The stove in the shop has a ~6ft long firebox, door is about 2ftx2ft. We cut the wood about 2ft long and even then sometimes the pieces can be a bit much to easily get in there.

 

[turnkey4099]

I pretty much just tell them that's the price, either that works, or feel free to shop elsewhere. (and this can be done without being rude.... "No, I'm sorry, but I am not able to bargain from the set price").

Some people are just figuring they might be able to get a deal, and that's ok, I'd do the same too.

If wood that long is tough to do, maybe you could work a compromise? Maybe do 2ft for same price as before? Just a thought.

3-4ft long pieces unless fairly small would be pretty tough to load IMO. The stove in the shop has a ~6ft long firebox, door is about 2ftx2ft. We cut the wood about 2ft long and even then sometimes the pieces can be a bit much to easily get in there.

I had a customer stop to look over my wood stocks. I told him that I was only selling willow (believe it or not, I have regular customers for it), and the locust, oak, etc. was for my retirement. "Willow is $120/cord, for new customers first order is $110. Him: "How low would you go on the willow? Me: "$110 first order". He left.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

Here in Southern California we have yet to have more than three or four days of cool weather since last winter. Supply and demand decides the prices and nothing else. Good fire wood has become very scarce here with the market driving prices higher and higher. Right now Pine brings in about $250 to $300 a cord every day and Oak starting out at $450. Oak stove wood brings in $500 to $600 always. People call all the time complaining about the prices and I tell them you know Oak has a pretty good shelf life. In forty years of selling wood never had any Oak sitting around for long. The last two winters was offered $1000 for a load of nice Pine. We could get a mild winter or not. If the weather turns cool for a month or so prices will go up instantly at least another $100. Thanks

 

[cantoo]

I cut wood for my OWB at 32". That way I can always recut it with my buzzsaw to 16" to sell if I want. 32" wood can be cut fast ( half the cuts) I also cut my logs to 13'-4" in the bush which works out and save another cut and small pieces. I also built a 36" 4 way adjustable splitter too though which makes it easier too.

 

[Jwilliams]

I think I'm gonna start selling wood in southern cali

 

[c5rulz]

Couple things regarding your budding firewood business:
1. You don't want half your sales reliant on a single customer
2. Generating long pieces for the single customers will be unsaleable to everyone else
3. Wood is sold by the face cord or cord. Selling by the truck load is for amateurs. A cord is a legal definition and should not be taken lightly
4. If someone wants custom sized lengths other than the standard 16", I would want some money up front because of reason #2

High quality dry firewood will sell itself, produce that and you will have no problem selling it. Personally I separate campfire wood from the 100% Red & White Oak. DO NOT LIE about what you have.

 

[NSMaple1]

3. Wood is sold by the face cord or cord. Selling by the truck load is for amateurs. A cord is a legal definition and should not be taken lightly

My version:

3. Wood is sold by the cord. Selling by the truck load or face cord is for amateurs. A cord is a legal definition and should not be taken lightly

 

[Marshy]

3. Wood is sold by the face cord or cord. Selling by the truck load is for amateurs. A cord is a legal definition and should not be taken lightly

Seriously? That statement is quite the contradiction as pointed out. Obviously the guy is an "amateur" because who can live off the sale of 8-10 cord per year? Some people actually do this as a hobby but don't want to give it away. Also, if you think more than 20% of the average buyer knows the difference between a cord and a face cord I believe you are mistaken. While the law only recognizes the sale of cord wood or a fraction of cord wood the customers don't so don't get too bent out of shape about selling truck loads of wood because its a common practice.

@Jwilliams, you could tell him "that's the price, have a nice day" and risk losing him as your customer or you could call around to other firewood guys and ask them what they would charge for firewood cut 32-40" and see what they charge. I would do the later and see if you are on par with their price. Obviously you want to be talking apples to apples and make sure the quantity is the same. Hell, you could go as far as order a load from a competitor and compare quality and quantity. All useful info to decide if you should keep him as a customer or not.

 

[svk]

Hell, you could go as far as order a load from a competitor and compare quality and quantity..

Oh man, great idea. If I lived at my cabin I would do that and then post up the results on here.

One guy up there sells "seasoned" birch that he cuts down and splits the morning of delivery.

 

[Marshy]

Oh man, great idea. If I lived at my cabin I would do that and then post up the results on here.

One guy up there sells "seasoned" birch that he cuts down and splits the morning of delivery.

Lots of fly by night guys do. Or they will mix fresh green ash with some seasoned maple (if your lucky). You probably end up with a mix of 50/50 green/seasoned.

 

[svk]

There is one guy who was doing a big business in birch/maple but he was asking $300 a cord PLUS delivery. He sold out the first year and his competitor told me he delivered green wood as seasoned and was significantly shorting his loads. Last time I drove by he had a LOT of wood left over. Not sure if he is actually seasoning it now or if his sales dried up that much.

For reference everyone else sells birch/maple for $150-200 a full cord.

 

[c5rulz]

Also, if you think more than 20% of the average buyer knows the difference between a cord and a face cord I believe you are mistaken. While the law only recognizes the sale of cord wood or a fraction of cord wood the customers don't so don't get too bent out of shape about selling truck loads of wood because its a common practice.

Of course you are right in the average consumer not knowing what a cord should look like. However ethical behavior mandates that you give the customer what they have paid for. I understand what your are saying regarding "truckloads". Many times I have had people comment, "Gee that's a lot more than the last cord I bought". The problem is you will soon have more repeat business than you can take care of.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Can you buy log loads delivered in your area?

If he wants unsplit rounds that long, maybe you can arrange to have a load of logs delivered to his location, then buck them for him on site. Just charge an hourly rate to cut. Just thinking out loud here.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Nothing wrong with selling non-seasoned wood provided its not claimed to be ready to burn.
No one here sells seasoned wood aside from a few "hobby" guys that might have a few cords to sell... well... and a few outfits that claim it to be seasoned.

We do try to be a year ahead of cutting trees, so they are kind of dry, though that's not always the case.

I don't see a problem with selling wood by the truckload.

 

[lknchoppers]

Been doing firewood for about 3 yrs now and besides my personal use I sell maybe 8-10 cord a yr. 1 guy usually buys about 5-6 cord last yr was normal splits 16-20 inches this yr he wants 32-40" split or no split doesn't matter but I took my price from 90 a truck load to 100 a truck load Now he is complaining about it that it's too much but lifting 32-40" pcs is harder on the body. What's everyone else's thoughts

Just be honest with your customer(s). If you are only selling about 10 full cords a year and that guy buys 5 or 6 cords he is thinking he deserves a discount probably. When my customers quibble over $10 or $20 it's usually the last time I see them. After a couple more seasons and you have a larger customer base, loosing a PIA customer or two can be a blessing. I look at how many hours and how much it costs me to deliver a cord or a half cord of wood. If the hour/dollar amount for a particular customer gets out of line, I either raise the price or loose that customer. I really don't have the time to sort firewood for length or prepare extra long firewood unless there is a substantial upcharge and that upcharge for sure is not $10.