What was the fastest way to sell your firewood?

[Odd1or2even]

Hello fellow firewood men/women. I have a nice little pile but wanted to get other peoples opinions on what they have found to be the best way to sell/unload wood? Have you just wholesaled it, sold it to repeating customers, make business connections and with whom worked out to be the best?

I was just thinking today about possibly linking up with a reputable chimney sweep company and offer a cut for every referral they send my way. What do you think? Thank you for your time and consideration.


Steve

 

[svk]

If I was you I would probably start selling through Facebook, Craigslist, or whatever local online site seems to work best. You can try to cut a deal with the sweep but those often do not work as well as one would hope or expect.

If you provide a good product with good service you should start getting repeat business from your individual customers and you make all of the money rather than giving a cut to someone else.

 

[Circle B MN]

Sell a good product at a fair price. You dont have to be the cheapest guy. Well seasoned wood will generate customers far faster than wet junk.

 

[rarefish383]

Welcome to the site Steve. My Aunt and Uncle live in West Chester. I was going to make a wise crack that the fastest way to sell it was to offer it for $20 a cord delivered. It would all be gone tonight. But, since you might know Buzz and Donna, I'll be civil, Joe.

 

[unclemoustache]

Welcome to the site Steve. My Aunt and Uncle live in West Chester. I was going to make a wise crack that the fastest way to sell it was to offer it for $20 a cord delivered. It would all be gone tonight. But, since you might know Buzz and Donna, I'll be civil, Joe.

I was just going to say that!

Still, for a serious answer, I'd echo MNGuns. Good product good price will win in the long run. I just sold two cords and I don't even sell anymore! (Well, sorta - the city doesn't want me to sell anymore, so I don't advertise anymore).

 

[Big_Al]

Craigslist, Facebook & word of mouth.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Dunno, but I do know I can't process it fast enough. I'm moving 10-15 cords a week and still getting further behind on orders.

 

[jrider]

Well for starters, how much wood do you have ready to sell and how much more can you produce? If you have a quality product and are timely with your deliveries, you will have an inventory problem within a few years - meaning you won't have enough firewood. I would imagine in West Chester (south Jersey here) there are a lot of people that don't mind paying well for a quality product. I started out years ago advertising on Craigslist which is great because it's free but it also came with problems. Some of those problems were people calling up from an hour away wanting firewood, people wanting to get you to bring your price down or bicker if there's a delivery charge, people committing on a purchase then telling you last minute they found someone cheaper, people being persistent on paying with check (cash only here), etc. For the last few years I have belonged to some local towns facebook pages and selling wood couldn't be easier now. When someone puts up a post asking about firewood recommendations, my name is repeatedly mentioned. What makes this better over CL in my mind is it's all local, there's more trust because of that, and along with that comes people more willing to pay my price in cash without bickering. I used to post pictures of my firewood "piles" as an advertisement on those pages but no longer need to as I can't keep up with demand. I have also been able to raise my prices $40 in the last few years.
And as far as making connections with a good chimney sweep, I have done that as well but only through coincidence and mutual friends. We once swapped business cards and we have each benefited.

 

[Jere39]

I'm just up the road (route 100) from you. I used CL about 7 years ago to find a couple of regular customers, and haven't had to advertise since then. FWIW, I deliver to the Dub-C, and coincidentally, I'm cleaning up a large oak that was taken down by a tree service there this weekend. As already mentioned, good product, fair dealing, and reliable availability sells itself.

And, for the occasional extra couple new customers I pick up each year, I put one of my stacks in a conspicuous location and let my summer picnic attendees walk-about and see the product. I've picked up several good customers that way.

Finally, word of mouth. Every year I get a good reference from someone, the referee calls, asks my price, acts stunned, and hangs up. Some people must think I'm a dense hick who plays in the woods and doesn't understand economics. My suspicion is they will buy junk wood, unseasoned, and cheap from someone they will never find again and wonder why.

 

[Wood Doctor]

If you talk to a chimney cleaner and give him a few business cards, he can pass the word. Just be sure that your firewood quality is good, dry hardwood and competitively priced. Using this procedure, I lined up two dozen new customers and then they passed the word. The chain reaction is fun to watch.

Last year I only had to call three customers to remind them that it was getting cold outside. One gal got married and her new husband collects his own, so you will always lose a few that way.

 

[TimberWolf530]

Just trying to think outside the box here, but has anyone thought of setting up a booth at a farmer's market and selling small bundles for $5, $10, whatever? If it would work, you would make a huge profit for the amount you're selling.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Just trying to think outside the box here, but has anyone thought of setting up a booth at a farmer's market and selling small bundles for $5, $10, whatever? If it would work, you would make a huge profit for the amount you're selling.

I have one outside the shop. It's not something that rakes in money, but every bit helps.

Sold around 2000 bundles this year. (about 20 cords). I sell them for $5ea, 5 for 20, 3.50 ea in qty of 100 or more (I supplied a few campgrounds thus summer). 50/50 mix of poplar and burch, 1 cuft.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

As far as moving wood, try to not handle it much.

I go processor, truck, customer. (I don't sell seasoned wood). I've doing it since 2011, since 2013 as a full time job.

I'm thinking about putting 30-40 cords in bulk bags to season. Will sell it for more, probably $100-150 more a cord.

There's nothing wrong with selling green wood, just for sure don't advertise it as being dry!
There isn't anyone around here that sells seasoned wood in large quantities. One thing to sell a few dozen cords, but it'd be quite an effort to setup a system to handle 500 cords (about what I sell of processed wood a year).

Hope that helps.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Firewood bundle selling is fun, but at $5 apiece you need to sell several thousand bundles to support yourself. That's a bundle of bundles. I doubt if anyone is in this business to get rich quick. Believe me, it ain't going to happen.

 

[alderman]

I've sold some to local people but have only hauled a couple of times for people who really needed it.
I give away more than I sell to family and friends who can't get their own.
The best deal I ever got was selling six cord to the FEMA team after a local flood.
They contacted me, paid more than I was asking for it and had it loaded up on a big truck in short order.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Odd1or2even]

Thank you everyone for your comments. I have posted a few ads on Craigslist and it's been working wonderful for me so far. I always knew word of mouth is the best, but it's getting that word to spread needs a little kick in the butt to make the bills paid if you know what I mean. Thanks