Selling unseasoned wood

[avalancher]

I don't have a problem with any of the comments about planning ahead or educating oneself on what seasoned wood is and how to recognize it. I just feel it's a bit of a cop-out to be blaming the customer for being uninformed as an excuse for selling green as seasoned. We all have areas of life that we are knowledgeable about and some areas that we aren't. Not everyone can be a firewood expert, just the same way as not everyone can know how to fix an engine on a car. If one's wife or daughter takes the car in to be fixed and gets ripped off by the mechanic, I wouldn't consider it their own fault simply because they weren't an expert on cars.

I dont mean to emphasize that its okay to sell green wood and call it seasoned because its not okay to deliberately rip some one off. But what I mean is, the seller may feel that what he is selling is "seasoned" because to him red oak that has sat for a year is, where to many, including myself, red oak is in most cases is not ready to burn after a year of being stacked.

What I am trying to say is, you need to educate yourself enough to know if the wood meets YOUR specifications. And the same goes for everything else in your life. You used the example of the car being repaired and getting ripped off, and I will further that example.

Some time ago my mother (who lives 3000 miles away from me) called to chat and mentioned that she had her car in for repair, and that it was a costly repair bill. I asked my mother what was wrong with her car, and she replied that it was running fine except when it was really cold, then it didnt want to start very well. After listening to her describe the symptoms, I corrected her statement. It started just fine, but didnt turn over very fast, in other words it was a old and dying battery. Once the engine turned over, it started just fine. And her repair bill?$2100.

She explained that the mechanic told her that her brake fluid was old, and needed to be changed and charged her $15 a pint. It took 22 pints to flush the brake system. Then he noticed that the pads and rotors were shot, and charged her $400 per axle for a brake job.On a 91 Honda Accord. He explained that if she didnt have all this brake work done, she may not be able to stop and it was very dangerous.Scared her silly.

Then on to the "poor starting" problem. Her fuel injectors were bad, all six of them. Replaced them at $160 a pop. Her Honda is a four cylinder.

On and on it went. I then asked her if they put in a new battery, and she said they didnt say anything about a battery, so I told her to grab her portable phone, go out into the garage, and look at the battery. By jove, she said the battery sure looked nice and shiny, looked brand new.

At that point, I had to question my mothers common sense. If she had a starting problem, why was the mechanic looking at the brakes?We all know the answer to that one.

Like I said before, you owe it to yourself to be an informed consumer, at least reasonably so. You dont have to be a "firewood expert" to recognize burnable wood, and junk that just came out of the woods. If you ask for oak firewood, then you need to be able to distinguish it from pine. If you cant or wont educate yourself in the basics, expect to get ripped off. But like I said before, it doesnt excuse the seller by any means, but in the end you as the consumer is the one that suffers.

 

[LAH]

To you sellers out there how many of you sell green wood this time of the year to be burned next year and how much of a discount?

I normally sell for $180 a cord delivered and sell green for $160. I figure since I dont have to stack it and then reload it in the truck it's worth saving $20.

BTW $180 is about the going rate in my area for seasoned split.

I sell mostly green wood. I can't keep it around long enough to season. Some days they are waiting for it to come off the belt. I got a bunch stacked & covered for me which is 'bout 9 months old.

If you look close you can see my stuff to the right rear of the picture.

 

[Marine5068]

Like MN Guns says.
I'll pay half going rate if someone wants to sell me green wood.
Around here it about $250 per cord for seasoned hardwood.
Delivery is always extra and no one stacks for you.

 

[stihl362]

Food?? People buy FOOD the night before a snowstorm?

Heck they would never know how or what to cook it with in these parts. Around here all they buy the night before a storm is Beer and Cigarettes....and diapers if they have little 'uns.

I love the panic before a storm is announced. Love the crazy Soccer moms driving the Escalades into each other...on the way to the supermarket....hehe

Hate those soccer moms always tailgating me in their escalades or suvs so i just drive slower

 

[logbutcher]

I sell mostly green wood. I can't keep it around long enough to season. Some days they are waiting for it to come off the belt. I got a bunch stacked & covered for me which is 'bout 9 months old.
If you look close you can see my stuff to the right rear of the picture.

Hey LAH, you're setting a poor example by completely covering your personal wood pile. You are getting serious demerits from the Season Police.
Wood closed in like that HOLDS moisture in ( for the geeks with those gadget M² things :jester: ). That wood need to get air, breathe, dry. Cover on top ONLY.

You see, if you wish for something by " If you look close...." , we do. I get a rep from you for this. :wink2:

 

[LAH]

Hey LAH, you're setting a poor example by completely covering your personal wood pile. You are getting serious demerits from the Season Police.
Wood closed in like that HOLDS moisture in ( for the geeks with those gadget M² things :jester: ). That wood need to get air, breathe, dry. Cover on top ONLY.

You see, if you wish for something by " If you look close...." , we do. I get a rep from you for this. :wink2:

I should have known better, the stuff is ringing wet. Just look at it.

 

[CrappieKeith]

I can tell seasoned wood real easy...just lick it. Some that use a ton of garlic and cajun are my favorite....

 

[CrappieKeith]

So my firewood guy retires. I went to another guy...I was not happy with what I was getting.A mix of all sorts of wood...some so dead it was getting punky...some not dead enough and sizzling...I also asked for cords....come to find out it was loads ...so what I was buying was not the same value...getting 2-3 weeks of wood instead of a month to 5 weeks for my $125.

So I go back to my old wood supplier's son who took over the biz. He knew what I bought and how I liked it...size wise. We discussed what I was getting and he looked at it since I had some sitting in a pile.I spent some time explaining what I was looking for and how much I needed. I spent $150 and got almost twice the wood and much better wood.No green black ash!

I even helped toss the wood when he delivered. Building a good relationship with your wood guy is important at least in my book....that is if you want to ensure a good wood source.

 

[banshee67]

He knew how I liked it...size wise.

:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[logbutcher]

Building a good relationship with your wood guy is important at least in my book....that is if you want to ensure a good wood source.

Nailed it Crappie !

Now all you unwashed "buyers" from those so bad bad sellers of "unseasoned" wood, some advice from the pits:
get off your butt, use your time year-round to scrounge, share, harvest your own. You'll get to understand ( read: "empathize" ) with those bad boys selling firewood. You'll get to meet the wood butchers who work trees: developers, loggers, arborists, city crews, line workers, et. al. You will discover the joy, yes joy, using your own body to heat your home ( Mr GoodBody here ). You may learn how much skill and effort it takes to fell and work timber. :byebye:

And then, and then, there will be no longer the primal whines about "dishonest" purveyors of the commodity called firewood.:msp_w00t:

JMNSHEO

P.S. You could also invest or share in a woodlot.....we did. It's our home and forever heat.

 

[branchbuzzer]

I'd like to take a turn at the whining podium if I may.

I get a real kick out of somebody that's relatively new to wood burning when they yap about the price of firewood. The reason being not so much about everything that goes into it, but the fact that firewood prices over the last 20? years have stayed about the same or even gone down, while cost of living and expenses have gone up. Be interesting to see what that $200 or so cord of oak from 1980 would be costing if prices went along with inflation. It's probably a better value now than it's ever been.

 

[Bushmans]

I'd like to take a turn at the whining podium if I may.

I get a real kick out of somebody that's relatively new to wood burning when they yap about the price of firewood. The reason being not so much about everything that goes into it, but the fact that firewood prices over the last 20? years have stayed about the same or even gone down, while cost of living and expenses have gone up. Be interesting to see what that $200 or so cord of oak from 1980 would be costing if prices went along with inflation. It's probably a better value now than it's ever been.

I am new to wood burning and have been cutting wood like a mo' fo' and people are telling me to start selling it because I have a pretty good stock pile going. Well I must say that after getting the wood to a "measuring/selling" state I think the $50 dollars (going rate for 1/3 cord) is crazy and all that work for a half tank of gas in my pick up. Of course most of my wood is carried out by hand but still there is a lot of work involved and the hourly rate after expenses for myself would be about $8 an hour. I think the rate should go up. My hats off to all you sellers out there.