Thread: Firewood, how much $$ compared to last year?

I think that this has been addressed somewhere on here, but I have spent the better part of an hour looking for a post that pertains to it, and havent turned up anything.
I have spent the last few evenings getting the wood stacks in order, counting the cords that I have, and looking over my receipts for all expenses to harvest the wood. The fuel bill is scary. I charged $50 a rick last year for mixed stuff, and by my calculations I am going to have to charge close to $60 a rick to make the same profit as I did last year. I am wondering a number of things, but do you reckon that the higher cost of wood is going to drive off a lot of customers? I know you will have those that rely 100% on wood for heat and they dont have a lot of choice, but I had a lot of customers last year that burned because they like a fire, found it cheaper than electric etc. I wondering if those customers are going to refrain from wood heat this year.
I hate to sit on all this wood too long!

Last year:
1 rick= $60
2 rick= $115
1 cord= $140

This year:
1 rick= $70
2 rick= $130
1 cord= $160

I try to encourage people to buy up to a cord per delivery to keep my costs down. That's why I discount a bit by volume.

I don't think you'll lose any wood customers. All of the local hardware and farm supply stores around here are selling woodstoves and logsplitters like there's no tomorrow... because electricity rates and fuel prices are... well you know.

Originally Posted by Junkfxr

I don't think you'll lose any wood customers. All of the local hardware and farm supply stores around here are selling woodstoves and logsplitters like there's no tomorrow... because electricity rates and fuel prices are... well you know.

You are right about that one, but those dont really figure into the equation because they will be supplying theirselves with their own wood, rather than relying on me to bring them some.
I know I have been fighting tooth and nail this summer for wood cutting spots, unless I move fast someone gets in there, takes all the big stuff that is easy to get to and leaves the junk and hard to get stuff behind. I am lucky in one respect, I got a place that is clearing 400 acres, and I am the only one that has permission to cut there. 5 large peperoni pizzas and a ice chest of Mt Dew at lunch time convinced the crew that I was a nice guy so they look they other way when I show up to cut. They even load my trailer once in awhile with the knuckle boom when I show up the third trip in a day and look tuckered out.

To give you an idea of what I am talking about, I have a list of customers that reserve all hickory every year. The list varies from year to year, but i average about 20.
This year I had 26 people on the list, and of the 18 that I have been able to reach so far 6 said they couldnt afford the wood this year. All hickory was 60 bucks a rick last year, now i priced it at 70 per rick. Of those 6 that said they couldnt afford it, 4 said they would consider some of the cheaper stuff, the mix, but have to wait until they could actually burn it, they couldnt fork over the money now while they are still paying summer time cooling costs.
I am beginning to wonder if a lot of folks are going to keep with their electric heat if the wood gets to expensive. The natural gas and propane customers would be nuts to pay for gas when the wood costs are a little more than half but I dont know if they will make up the difference. On top of that every joker that can pull a rope is out cutting their own this year.

i sell it for 130/cord pure hardwood and 30 flat rate for delivery in the summer months. i've had just as many if not more orders when its warm then i do in the winter time.

i raise my prices to 150/cord 30 delivery about this time of year.

i had a guy stop by and pickup two cords a couple weeks ago, he drove sixty miles one way with a ford F250 V10 pulling a big trailer to get the wood. where he's from, the only guy who has wood for sale owns a tree service, and because gas and electric has gone up, his price of wood for a cord, that you pickup, is 280.00 and people are buying up all he has. it looks like it might be a banner year folks.

Last year I was on average $100 for a rank of wood. I have a couple people for $80 and a couple for $120. The people for $120 are a little further drive. I don;t sell out every year by choice. I always have wood for people when they call. I could sell a lot more but I don;t have the supply. This year the price for all new customers is going to be $120 a rank. Some of my older customers will get a slight increase. I never raise prices on a person 2 years in a row. There are a lot of people around here cheaper then me and some that higher. I am different then a lot of people. Some of my price is convience. I drop wood off and leave a self addressed stamped envelope for them to mail me a check. I have been selling wood to some people for 5 years that I haven't met. I get burned about once a year and have to do a collection run (firewood repo). Most people I deliver to get one rank. For them it's a one time a year expense. They don't care that they are spending 20% more for my product. They know they are getting a good product,getting the correct amount,delivered and stacked where they want,without having to be home at a certain time. I tell new customers if you don't like what you got don;t send the check. I always get the check.

Scott

Originally Posted by avalancher

The fuel bill is scary. I charged $50 a rick last year for mixed stuff, and by my calculations I am going to have to charge close to $60 a rick to make the same profit as I did last year. I am wondering a number of things, but do you reckon that the higher cost of wood is going to drive off a lot of customers? I know you will have those that rely 100% on wood for heat and they dont have a lot of choice, but I had a lot of customers last year that burned because they like a fire, found it cheaper than electric etc. I wondering if those customers are going to refrain from wood heat this year.
I hate to sit on all this wood too long!

Nice of you to think kindly about those that need the wood.

In our system you can charge what you want to whom you want.....anytime, anywhere. Many businesses do it all the time: think "wholesale", or variable rates charged by some vendors. You do need to make a serious buck, but why not pick and choose ? Around here in Downeast Maine, Hickory would be gold for firewood.

Talk with some of your loyal demanding customers about "all Hickory", and those that can't really afford to pay you market prices. Remember that BTU for BTU firewood can sell up to $800.+ a cord to equal the present costs of fossil fuels and electrcity ( here: .14 kwh for electricity; diesel = $4.59/gallon !!! ).

You work hard for not a very high margin or profit at the end of the day. It's your business to sell how you want to. And yes, competition and whether or not they'll buy at a higher reasonable price are important.

If you're running out of seasoned wood, you need to increase your price until you don't sell it all. What have you got to loose? I've got 300 cords ready now (wish I had lots more), sold out by December last year at $150/cord, $200/cord (so far) this year. Never sold any in previous years in July, this year sold almost 50 cords!!! Sept/Oct are going to be !
Before you call me a money-grubbing thief, I've been known to double what I take to the elderly and fixed-income people, and even stack it for those unable; but I am looking foward to clearing more than $3/hour this year .

is there actually a market for firewood if the customer has to pick it up? i only have a ram 2500 longbed and i dont think it would be worth it for me to deliver wood. does anyone sell by the pickup load?

Originally Posted by husky455rancher

is there actually a market for firewood if the customer has to pick it up? i only have a ram 2500 longbed and i dont think it would be worth it for me to deliver wood. does anyone sell by the pickup load?

Sure there is a market, I give a discount if someone wants to pickup themselves, and I average about ten percent of my sales they pickup. But be warned, in some states it is illegal to sell firewood without an exact measure of wood, and a pickup load is anything but an exact measure. how long is the truck, how high do you stack it, how tight is the load, etc.
However, you can sell by the rick which fits nicely in a pickup bed. That is how i sell wood, by the rick. If the customer buys one rick and I deliver, i load it in my Dodge Dakota Short bed and it fits fine with side boards. Any more than one rick I deliver in my trailer.
Check with your local government, I am sure someone on here knows a great deal more about that sort of thing, who to check with etc.
Here you can sell anything however you want.

Originally Posted by logbutcher

Nice of you to think kindly about those that need the wood.

In our system you can charge what you want to whom you want.....anytime, anywhere. Many businesses do it all the time: think "wholesale", or variable rates charged by some vendors. You do need to make a serious buck, but why not pick and choose ? Around here in Downeast Maine, Hickory would be gold for firewood.

Talk with some of your loyal demanding customers about "all Hickory", and those that can't really afford to pay you market prices. Remember that BTU for BTU firewood can sell up to $800.+ a cord to equal the present costs of fossil fuels and electrcity ( here: .14 kwh for electricity; diesel = $4.59/gallon !!! ).

You work hard for not a very high margin or profit at the end of the day. It's your business to sell how you want to. And yes, competition and whether or not they'll buy at a higher reasonable price are important.

I have always tried to be fair, and many times I have left a house with a warm feeling in my heart rather than a big pocket of money. The elderly always makes me feel like a jerk for charging anything, especially when I see that they dont have a whole lot. But i remind myself that if I gave it all away, I will end up just the same as them, old and not a penny to my name so I try and make up for it where i can. I stack their loads instead of dumping, drag along some serious bundles of kindling and throw them in for free, etc. Some of my oldest customers that have bought from me since I started get one free rick a few days before Christmas. I load five ricks in my trailer and make the rounds to each of them. The sad part is that they know I am coming, and all of them have developed a habit of making a ton of goodies to take home to the family so i really dont know who makes out better really.

Hi Husky455, I sell wood by the pickup load,1/2 cord per load.Last year I was getting $125 1/2 cord delivered and dumped.I sold about 12-15 cords and could have sold more if I had it.I don't think I had to deliver anymore than 10 miles away from the house.You will need more truck(not to mention alot of other expensive equipment like a processor ect.) if you want to make a living at firewood.But small scale to make a few extra bucks a pickup a couple saws and alot of sweat and your in business.The trick is to get the wood for free or next to free.It is tuff to make any money small scale if you have to pay for logs.Why not sell a few cord.It helps pay for the saws and gives you an excuse to buy more saws.I am in Ct. as well and I will definitely be upping my price this fall.

dodge firewood.jpg

rockland is that a 8ft bed you have? i made sides 18" high ontop of the bed rails. im just trying to guage your truck compared to mine. so you were charging 125 for that load last year? i have some wood i could sell as im prolly 3 or so years ahead at this point. i really dont mind doing the work and it would give me an excuse to cut more trees lol. thanks, Mike

Originally Posted by nickblaze466

i sell it for 130/cord pure hardwood and 30 flat rate for delivery in the summer months. i've had just as many if not more orders when its warm then i do in the winter time.

i raise my prices to 150/cord 30 delivery about this time of year.

i had a guy stop by and pickup two cords a couple weeks ago, he drove sixty miles one way with a ford F250 V10 pulling a big trailer to get the wood. where he's from, the only guy who has wood for sale owns a tree service, and because gas and electric has gone up, his price of wood for a cord, that you pickup, is 280.00 and people are buying up all he has. it looks like it might be a banner year folks.

at $130 a cord I'll take 50 cord and pay cash