smoker wood help

[isaaccarlson]

I found a guy to buy my oak. He wants to use it for his smoker and will need 2-3 cord a week minimum. I would like to get $150/cord delivered since he lives almost 30 miles away. Is this too much or not enough? It is semi green wood and I will be loading my pickup/driving/unloading by myself. Am I lowballing myself?

 

[Steve NW WI]

Smoker/BBQ wood needs to be split small, therefore a lot more work. I'd try for more $$$/cord to cover the extra splitting cost, and a separate delivery charge.

If this is going to be an ongoing business (every week forever), you'll be hauling 5+ pickup loads a week if they truly need 2-3 cords a week. (If they are, I want to see that smoker!) Look into a larger truck and or trailer for sure, and make sure you have the capability to adjust your price with fuel prices (Therefore separating the wood price from the delivery price suggestion above).

Make it worth your while, don't get stuck with a lowball contract you have to spend all your time trying to meet just to put a few more $ in your pocket.

Hopefully STLfirewood will chime in here, he's delivering to restaurants, I forget details, but your prices are nowhere even close to what he's getting.

 

[Beefie]

:agree2: with steve I think your price per cord should be much higher. The delivery should be seperate also.

Beefie

 

[Wood Doctor]

I found a guy to buy my oak. He wants to use it for his smoker and will need 2-3 cord a week minimum. I would like to get $150/cord delivered since he lives almost 30 miles away. Is this too much or not enough? It is semi green wood and I will be loading my pickup/driving/unloading by myself. Am I lowballing myself?

$150 a cord is peanuts for good smokin' wood. Double your price at least, especially if you are splitting it down to less than half the size of typical firewood.

BTW, oak and locust are both excellent species for smoking meat. It does not have to be fruit wood.

 

[Jimfound]

For premium oak wood I would charge more. You may think about checking around to see what cords are going from in your area and charge something similar. Once you get that baseline, you could knock some off the price for wood that is not fully seasoned (and let your customer know it's not fully seasoned). If you already told him you would sell for 150 a cord, you could tell him he still gets the first cord at that price (discount), but subsequent cords would be ???.

 

[isaaccarlson]

all I told him so far is that I need AT LEAST 100/cord and I will have to see how much I have, we have not discussed delivery. If $150/cord is pennies then I will raise the price!!! If he won't pay more than 150 then I will stick with 150 just because I need the money. I will call him in a couple days after I get all the wood sorted and stacked. I have lots to go through.

 

[cableguy256]

Kind of off-subject but not really.... what the heck is this guy going to be smoking with 2-3 cords a week?? Try and get pictures of this smoker set-up when you deliver the wood! lol

 

[taylor6400]

Kind of off-subject but not really.... what the heck is this guy going to be smoking with 2-3 cords a week?? Try and get pictures of this smoker set-up when you deliver the wood! lol

Yeah, I agree. I have a smaller smoker and cant fathom how you could go through that much. Even commercially. I can get a fire going with a couple splits. I start a chimney full of charcoal first then throw on a couple splits and when that is going good and starting to ash over i am dialed in on temp and can keep going by adding a couple small splits about every hour. Thats a lot of wood. And my splits are at least 2:1 smoker splits to firewood splits. My average firewood split gets halved, and by larger splits get thirds and rounds over 6" are quartered! Maybe this guy has a fleet of commercial smokers...

 

[Wood Doctor]

Kind of off-subject but not really.... what the heck is this guy going to be smoking with 2-3 cords a week?? Try and get pictures of this smoker set-up when you deliver the wood! lol

+1. Smokin' with wood and cookin' with wood are two different animals. Lots of smokin' out there is being done by electric cookers that can't cook beans without the smoke from hardwoods.

I think that's a cop out. Wood can do it all.

 

[isaaccarlson]

I just talked to him today. He said he got a big load of oak form someone and now wants mostly cherry. I might have access to a few cord. I asked him how big the smoker is and he said it will cook 600 lbs of pork at once. He also said he wants it to be standard firewood size, not small split. He must be hot smoking vs cold smoking. I like cold smoking because the food actually lasts. He said he will take all the cherry I can get together for 150/cord. He also said he would like 1 more cord of oak and he would pay 150. He said he has been paying 40/face cord for oak. it is someone close so he will probably keep getting it from them. At least I can make a little money.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I just talked to him today. He said he got a big load of oak form someone and now wants mostly cherry. I might have access to a few cord. I asked him how big the smoker is and he said it will cook 600 lbs of pork at once. He also said he wants it to be standard firewood size, not small split. He must be hot smoking vs cold smoking. I like cold smoking because the food actually lasts. He said he will take all the cherry I can get together for 150/cord. He also said he would like 1 more cord of oak and he would pay 150. He said he has been paying 40/face cord for oak. it is someone close so he will probably keep getting it from them. At least I can make a little money.

Sorry to see him win and you lose. Guess that's the breaks. You are giving him at least a 50% discount. Make sure that he knows that you know that.

$40 a face cord for oak? ($120 a cord equivalent?) That's what he said? I find that really hard to believe. Dry oak around here is at least $200 a cord. In some areas of the USA it's at least $300 for a delivered cord.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Ike, Ive got good news and bad news for ya.

The good news is I've got fencelines infested with cherry.

The bad news is it's gonna cost hin $300/cord plus delivery. I have a friend that will take any cherry log over 3' for wood working.

Let him rip someone else off.

 

[isaaccarlson]

how much does he pay for cherry logs? If cherry is worth that much then I am not going to sell it for $150!!!! I had no idea cherry was worth that much. I don't think he will pay that much....guess it would not hurt to ask.

 

[flushcut]

I sell a cord of oak for 275 delivered but thats in Milwaukee but I think your to low. Maybe a volume discount would be in order but your are not making any money at that price.

 

[1harlowr]

You need to think ahead a little. Agreeing on a price and then checking into it isn't the way to do it. Going back again to tell him you need more isn't going to keep working

 

[Steve NW WI]

how much does he pay for cherry logs? If cherry is worth that much then I am not going to sell it for $150!!!! I had no idea cherry was worth that much. I don't think he will pay that much....guess it would not hurt to ask.

Sorry, must have missed your reply, happens sometimes when switching between computer and phone.

Last one I sold him was 16" dia x 4'. If I did my math right, that's about 22 cu ft or .17 of a cord. I got a $50 plus a 12 pack of cold ones for delivery (11 mile round trip), figure roughly $300/cord for the log at that price, and with a 12 of brewskis going about $14, $1.25/mile delivery. He did cut into that by deducting 2 off the top for unloading, or maybe putting up with my BS, all I know is my net was a 10 pack.

He makes some nice tables, nightstands, bars, chairs and stools. I'll have to get some pics of his work and his little garage wood shop next time I'm there.