is your wood pricing viable, with increased fuel cost's

[TMFARM 2009]

what should you price your wood at if the price of gas goes over $5.00 a gallon? how much will you have in a cord price wise?
do you factor in the costs of new saws etc, wear and tare on equipment into cost per cord pricing? what about the delivery vehicle,
how much does it cost you to maintain it to make deliveries?
chains - bars - oil - gas -air filters - tires - tuneups etc... do you factor all this into your pricing? if not what would be your price per cord if you did then?...
seeing the cost of splitters at $5000.00 and saws anywhere from $500 - $900.00 disposable wedges $8.00 each etc. then the bar oil $10.00 a gallon, hydraulic oils going up too. just what is your costs? take a good look at it before you find out your losing money folks, thats what i am driving at..the bigger you are the more you need to watch your costs before it is too late..
how many of you have looked at this situation really hard lately?

 

[chucker]

sounds like you better get out while the gettings good! or are you just trying to figure out all the expences we all over look at some point an time for different reasons? wood wont make anyone rich ! wood is like a farmers crop cost, cost and more costs to make a product that may or may not develop into a master plan for a late retirement... wood is a just means of warmth an income to a certain point and then its like an addiction with the brown bottle!! you just do it because its what you like to do for no reason other then to spend money you dont have to keep your brain from rotting with all the **** that makes a guy go crazy ... most of the money we spend is the same as if we were just going to work for someone else to do our hours and get a pay check !! so in little words " IT DONT REALLY MATTER " ???

 

[Circle B MN]

I takes money to make money. Price your product accordingly and make your purchases wisely. If you're paying $10 for bar oil, you're paying twice what you should be. "Local" delivery is factored into the price and the price is always subject to change. Anything other than local delivery is done at an additional charge according to market conditions. The business world does not stop turning if the price fo fuel goes up or down, it adjusts.

 

[TMFARM 2009]

the reason i posted this is i am still seeing people selling wood for $75.00 a cord around here,,, there is a few guys still doing this, when they should be adjusting there prices..why cant you make money at it? thats the real question to some...
i do this as a hobby business only...and it gives me a needed resource and exercise as well..lol
but for the guys starting up into this they need to watch their expenses.. i see bar oil at shops around here for $10.00 a gallon..yes i buy tsc bar oil on sale for $6.50 a gallon. anyhow i have been looking at splitters and 80 cc saws etc. and costs are high...
i know some just dont care about the expense, just dont let customers get to comfortable with todays prices for wood...

 

[banshee67]

the reason i posted this is i am still seeing people selling wood for $75.00 a cord around here,,, there is a few guys still doing this, when they should be adjusting there prices..why cant you make money at it? thats the real question to some...
i do this as a hobby business only...and it gives me a needed resource and exercise as well..lol
but for the guys starting up into this they need to watch their expenses.. i see bar oil at shops around here for $10.00 a gallon..yes i buy tsc bar oil on sale for $6.50 a gallon. anyhow i have been looking at splitters and 80 cc saws etc. and costs are high...
i know some just dont care about the expense, just dont let customers get to comfortable with todays prices for wood...

$75 a cord!?
please tell me thats a "face cord" or 1/3 cord?

 

[chucker]

not pickin tm!! we hear you question and all have tried to answer it our selves... save anywhere you can and haul all you dare for future sales!! those that sell wood real cheap are either worried or hungry! time will pass and widdle out the weak or unlucky wood jockies.. lost a few customers to this system for a few seasons only to happly get them back (wanting it for the same price i might say as before they left) lol...... i have to admit i also sell small sums of wood for less to get it out of the way so not having to move it again !! lol but not as a general rule of sales...

 

[Junkrunner]

I hear ya fellas, Yaw'll think that my prices are low, but like I stated that's what they are. I still make out good, I think.. I'm at the place I cut about everyday, I get paid to cut and haul 70 percent of it off anyway. Mostly dead standing or problem trees in the private community I do work in. And sometimes the wood never makes it back to the house anyways. Someone will usually want it dropped off....
So for me, I do OK. I have no helpers to pay, trucks payed for many times, I repair saws, sharpin chains, buy my oil by the cases and I just have a blast cuttin & splittin wood.. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[RAMROD48]

$75 a cord? NO WAY...Why would you even bother?...

Its $200 a cord or I hang the phone up....

 

[TMFARM 2009]

nope.. its full cord 4x4x8 or 4x8x16 etc. no joke...its too cheap
the good news is they wont be in business long at that price...as gas prices here are jumping up faster now...thats why i started this post.. the only wood we sell is extra wood only.. but like i have stated until i have five years worth set back i wont be selling any..i just need to be able to price fence row jobs, but the fluctuating fuel costs will make pricing jobs harder in advance..i have to get pricing up for three jobs for next fall by the end of the month... ?????? dont know what the fuel will cost to run a hoe and saws that far out yet..and yes i dont want to loose my butt doing it either..:bang:

 

[Outlander]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, "Wood heat ain't free, unless you're one of my friends".

I typically don't sell wood unless someone wants a small amount for a fireplace for occasional burning. Around here cut, split hardwoods sell between $150-$200 a cord. If I don't account for my labor, there is a little profit at that price. If I add my labor costs I might as well get a job asking people "Do you want fries with that?".

I cut and burn wood because I like doing it and it's a great way to heat my shop. If I were to try making a living at it in these parts I would probably be broke. When I figure up what my actual cost of a cord of wood is it scares me. However, I owned chainsaws before I started heating with wood so I could clear fencerows. I use my pickups and trailers for farm use so I already have them anyway. The only thing I have purchased solely for firewood production is my splitter, $875. So, when I get all the numbers together I figure 2/3 of my saw costs (including fuel), a flat mileage cost on my pickups and trailers and 100% of my splitter costs and $20 per hour for labor I usually come up to the $130-$150 range, depending of fuel costs and difficulty of accessing the wood. That is the wood sitting here on the farm, stacked and drying. Delivery costs would add more $$. I also add in tractor/loader costs, skidsteer costs and ATV costs on a per hour basis when I need to use them.

The numbers just don't add up to make a decent profit.

I was asked by a business owner in town if I would like to sell bundled firewood at his store. He has offered me what seems to be a good deal. I would provide the wood bundled in 1 cu. ft. bundles wrapped, a lockable outside storage crate and keep it supplied year 'round. He would give me outside retail space and handle the sales. $5 per bundle, he would keep $1 and give me $4. I would be left holding the bag if there was any theft. His store is open 24/7 and the crate would be within view of the cashier. No one else in town is selling bundled firewood at this time. With projected sales averaging 2 cord per month and my expected costs I'm looking at $200 per month profit. Not enough to live on but, it would buy some beer.

 

[Dalmatian90]

but the fluctuating fuel costs will make pricing jobs harder in advance

Include it right with the quote.

"Fuel Surcharge:
If the cost of 87 Octane Gasoline at the Brooklyn Xtramart station the day clearing begins is between $4.519 and $5.509 there will be a $5/cord surcharge; if the price is $5.509 or higher there a $10/cord surcharge."

I just threw random numbers into that as an example, pencil it out for yourself. But it gives you a specific grade of gas, at a particular dealer, at a specific time as a trigger event.

Yeah, some guys will give you grief.

Most I think will see that and realize you're actually thinking about this as a business and aren't likely to leave them with a bunch of trees dropped and left on the ground.

Just make the surcharge something reasonable so folks know you're sharing the pain, not bending them over.

 

[Gypo Logger]

If there was any money in firewood, the Mafia would be involved.
It all comes down to wood availability, customer base and travel distance. To make a profit your costs should be no more than 10% of the gross value unless your moving huge volumes. Stay small, keep it all. Here in the north a cord of blocked pine or spruce fetches 200$ and the customer base is only 10 miles away, I already have the truck, snowmobile, atv, and saws, which I have already as well as the stumpage, so I put them all together and turn a profit.
Look at it as glorified recreation and I great chance to get excercise and meet people and make a few bucks. Bigger is not always better.
The trees are growing and dieing faster than we can cut them down.
Now You're Loggin'
John

 

[STLfirewood]

I'll up my price a little this year to offset the fuel costs. I already put a fuel surcharge on my weekly deliveries. Not much just enough to cover increased costs. I'm looking at having more wood delived to me to resell. That is one way for me to cut down on fuel use. When I deliver in the winter I carry between 2 and 3 cords of wood with me on a delivery day. This helps me a lot with fuel usage.

Scott

 

[TMFARM 2009]

i do not by no means want to be a big firewood retailer etc. i just clear cut fence rows for farmers wanting the extra six inches of ground for crops.:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:
i do have a friend that wants to put his hoe to use for this operation
and i could use it for this. but am not sure if i want to get involved in borrowed equipment..even if it just sets in his barn never being used..we have discussed this a time or two lately but i like the option of him coming in after i have cut to clear the stumps himself.
that was option #2.. besides i have enough to do with the other two business's to keep me busy..
i am basically just wondering if anyone has thought it out lately about cost's rising and fuel keeps going up...

 

[wampum]

35 years ago I use to get $75 a cord. I always felt back then that you never sold wood,you gave it away and the $75 paid for your labor and equipment. I get my wood off of my property,and once in awhile I get some, someone asks me to take. Some folks around here buy semi loads of uncut un-split logs,I believe they run about $650 a load. I think they get 5 to 8 cords out of a load depending on how much is on there.
I knew a guy that never hardly ever did any off his own cutting,he would get the low ballers to bring it to him. If it was bad wood he would not take it.He paid their price or insisted on a better price because he bought so much. He then sold all the wood he could get for at least double.
It just makes good business sense to me to go ahead and buy up as many cords as you can for $75 and resell it for $200 or more. The guys buying semi loads of logs should buy from the low ballers that would be 10 cords for $750 cut split and stacked. Just a thought.

TMFARM,I am pretty sure I saw wood last fall in our our area shopper that was $75 to $100 a cord also. As far as expense I do not sell much any more,but if I did the added prices would be tacked on.

 

[Como]

Semi Loads is the way to do it.

I paid $600 last year, more like 15 cords. I was told you can get a load for $450 now.

They get paid both ways, for removing and delivery.

 

[wampum]

Semi Loads is the way to do it.

I paid $600 last year, more like 15 cords. I was told you can get a load for $450 now.

They get paid both ways, for removing and delivery.

Good for you glad to hear you like it,I stand corrected,what area are you in?

Here is what a truck load around here sells for http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/grd/2290275347.html

 

[redprospector]

I've asked this question before, and most said they weren't worried about what it cost to process a cord of wood.
I get paid to cut the trees and clean up the mess, and most of the time dealing with firewood isn't worth the time I'd loose thinning.
Last week I gave about 100 cords of tree length logs to a guy in the firewood business just to get it out of the way. The cost of processing the wood, and the time it would take away from what really makes my money was just more than it was worth to me.

Somebody told me a long time ago that the more times you handle firewood, the less money you'll make. I revised it to the less times you handle firewood the less money you'll loose.

Andy

 

[Como]

Good for you glad to hear you like it,I stand corrected,what area are you in?

Here is what a truck load around here sells for log truck load firewood logs

Colorado, my wood came out of Summit, no risk of running out, unless the County burns.

I have people around me who have said I can help myself, but it just is not practical.

 

[wampum]

Colorado, my wood came out of Summit, no risk of running out, unless the County burns.

I have people around me who have said I can help myself, but it just is not practical.

Welcome to the site,hope you enjoy your time here. Colorado is a truly beautiful state. I am retired so I just go back in my woods and bring out what I can. I do not go as fast as I use to,but I have fun doing it.