JohnnyBoy1986
ArboristSite Operative
alot of people dont even know around here how much wood is actually in a cord of wood, it turns out to be alot just piled up on the ground. here around VA a true cord stacked measures about 4ft wide x 4ft high x 8ft long, thats just traditional method of determining. when people buy a tossed on truckload from me to the std 8ft bed without side racks and then look at me and say "well looks like a good load, you think i got a cord there?" and its hard to explain to alot of them "no you dont, actually far from it" lol. I've read some of the other people venting and yes i've heard alot of things just in my first few years of selling too, people are funny and ALWAYS trying to get the price down. i've had customers only want oak and nothing more, down to customers who want a cord thats 60-70% pine & poplar for quick and easy burning. I dont usually mix in any pine or so with my normal hardwood pile but i've got oak, ash, walnut, hickory, locust, all that stuff. people want them cut and split a certain size, usually no more than 14" - 18" long and anything 3" or more in diameter you might as well split it just once, i'd bet that 80% of the people who bought from me this year wouldnt even burn 3" logs! they'd rather have em split, so i split em all from here on out. I've had customers that wouldnt take pieces that used to have knots in em because where the wood gets black and forms a ring, they tell me "thats dirty wood, bugs live in that and i dont want em in the house!", i cant help but laugh. all in all price i font have much of an issue with, i sell my wood $80 std 8ft pickup load tossed on, $40 per 'tall rack' (depending on), or $160 cord and i hold firm on all my prices. I had one guy ask me about a pickup load and then he said "well i was buying it for $70 a pickup load" and i just told him "thats a great deal im glad he could do that for you, but i'll be happy to load you up with mine for $10 more" he thought it was a joke i suppose and he never did buy any from me, point and case for me is people are lazy, not many want to even do this. so for my time, my saws, the materials i put into the saws (gas, oil chains, etc), my trucks labor, my splitter and so on.. i feel like the woods worth what im asking for it. people will always be looking for whats the most they can get for the least amount of money, its just our nature, but from a sales point of view you just cant let all the bad ones get to you, hold firm, stay truthful and keep doin it. I enjoy my time out in the woods and cutting so im not stopping anytime soon! This year coming up will be a muuuuch better year for me now that i've got a plenty acres to cut on