Too much wood?

[Ih8TheGasCompny]

I recently sold my first cords here. I used to sell wood years ago and quit for some time. I built a rack 4x4x8 ft, that I filled with stacked hard woods and used this to figure put how much my trailer holds when I just throw wood in it for delivery. So I deliver these 2 cords of wood and the customer says he never got that much wood as he got from me! He paid me more than I asked, and said his dad is not going to believe how much wood they got as 2 cords. He also said that he wished that he could get the last Guy who sold them wood to come and see what 2 cords really look like! Now in the past, I have bought wood here and never got anywhere near what I thought I should have got as a cord. That is thee very reason I started cuttin and splittin wood to sell. Am I missin something? A cord of wood is supposed to be 4'x4'x8' stacked, isn't it? I never had anyone give me more than I asked before. Is it common for guys to sell 1/2 or 2/3 of a cord as a full cord? Still scratching my head over this. I would appreciate your thoughts on this issue.
Warm regards,
J.M.

 

[CTSawTech]

All I know is there is a lot of fly by the dashboard type wood dealers in some area's that don't really know what a real cord is.

Craiglist firewood sellers come to mind.

Any self respecting woodcutter knows what he is selling and has repeat business from word of mouth and that is far cheaper than advertising anyday.

 

[bass_on_tap]

Possibly the buyer was buying a face cord at a full cord price. It's hard for some to tell a full cord when it's dumped on the ground but they find out quickly once they stack it. Or maybe it was someone just trying to make quick cash, either way, sounds like you got a customer for life and when he tells a friend and they tell a friend etc, your business grows. Good for you.
When I sold firewood, I would measure before I loaded the truck, then I threw in some extra. I didn't want a call-back complaining that "when it was stacked, it was a little short".

 

[Plankton]

Is it common for guys to sell 1/2 or 2/3 of a cord as a full cord? Still scratching my head over this. I would appreciate your thoughts on this issue.
Warm regards,
J.M.

It unfortunately is very common at least in these parts. I was recently just chatting with a friend of mine, the conversation turned to wood and they started telling me about all the different people they had bought wood from in the last few years.

Turns out they had discovered it's almost everyone in the areas normal behavior to deliver 1/3 of a chord calling it a chord. She said they had to change wood sellers each year trying to find someone who delivered a full chord.

I went out back and looked at there shed and about 1/8 of the wood they had was 8" and shorter. So not only are they getting stiffed with the price but they're not even getting good wood in there overpriced 1/3 of a chord!

I told here that I sold wood and always sold full chords because I measure first then throw some extra in always. I got a new customer. score!

 

[esshup]

While I hate to admit it, I did buy 5 cords of wood a few years ago. I wanted wood that was 16" long. The guy selling it was an out of work friend of a neighbor. He gave me a price that was comparable to other wood suppliers that I called, AND he said 'cause he was out of work he'd stack it in my shed. Good deal I thought. The shed was filled and stacked by the time I got back from my hunting trip.

I thought otherwise when it came time for me to use it. I found wood that was 23" long down to 10" long and the stuff on the bottom of the pile was punky.

Never again. I ended up having to dig into my pile that I had for the next year, I figure that I was a cord short due to the crappy wood and the short lengths. There's nothing that frustrates me more than bringing a piece of wood into the house, and not being able to fit it in the fireplace insert.

 

[stackwood]

I all ways stack my wood neat , when I pull up I measure and explain what a cord is 4x4x8 = 128 cu ft ( I do this for new customers) this keeps everything honest and up front , I charge 20 extra to stack , I do prefer my customers to be present with cash . never had any problems this way ;

 

[Ih8TheGasCompny]

I'd like to thank you all for your responses. It surely reinforces what I was thinking. This world sure has changed a lot since I was young, yet at the same time there are still honest folk to be found for sure! My pleasure to be acquainted with you all.
Warm regards,
J.M.

 

[Mr. Firewood]

we built racks that hold a rick/face and built the delivery truck to hold 190 cubic feet exactly so a full load is a cord, no disputing the quantity

 

[USMC0802]

This comes to mind...a local Craigslist ad from a month ago.

in the next two months me and my freind are going to be cutting over 50 trees we are going to split the wood and let it season properly for the following months so it gets nice and burnable it is nice hard wood locust,maple, cherry, and pine. will burn long and hot i will put more posts up in the meen time the cords 4tall 4wide and 6 long of already split wood in 16 inch lenghts will be 150 $ a cord so if your buying for more money choose us.

emphasis is mine.

I emailed the seller to explain that pine is not hardwood and a cord is 4x4x8 and that it takes more than 3 months to season wood...got no response. 4x4x6=96 cubic feet, or 3/4 of a cord of wood, yet he is charging a full cord price, and is mixing pine in as a hardwood. I don't know if the guy is just dumb or is actually trying to scam people.

 

[Henry G.]

There are some mexicans off hwy 126 here in Piru California that sell supposed half cords, except that the rack is not fully stocked 2 foot wide, is barely 4 feet tall, its more a face cord. They poke some of the pieces out to 2 feet, the rest dont make it. Total ripoff, the worst part is i see RV'ers stopping there all the time on the way to the beach to get wood. Even worse, its mixed citrus and crap wood mixed in with some euc and other good wood, so its not even all good wood. They get $110 per "half" cord!
I have had a number of first time customers ask, "is ALL THAT wood for me? I say yep, they say the same thing, 'thats way more than I got from the last guy"....

 

[J.W Younger]

Over the years I've had several people ask me how much wood I burn in my OWB.
When I tell them about 1000cf a year the next question is how many ricks is that.
I tell em from what I see its about 25.
What do you tell someone who has no idea what a cord of wood is and that you heat the whole house and your hot water year round.
Granted 8 cords is a lot of wood but 800 gallons is a lot of propane and I can't cut it from my land.

 

[RAMROD48]

I get the same from lots of new customers, so I explain to them what a cord is and that I promise there will not be a single piece of pine in there....