Selling "bolts" of firewood rather than cut and split- Fair Price ????

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clinchscavalry

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I have an oversupply of firewood and try to sell a little during the winter. It's almost 100% pecan from the several orchards I manage, and most of the wood is from limbs that break off with the occasional blow down or dead tree. Pecan wood can be a bear to split, and it can also be rough on the hands when it has twisted, knarly grain. I have been asking $200/cord picked up at my place and $250/cord delivered and stacked for the customer. This might be a little higher than the average price around here, which is around $65/pickup load (about 1/3 cord), but I figure pecan is worth a little more than misc. hardwood since it is primo cooking wood and also a great wood to heat with.

A friend asked me what I would charge for a cord of 7 ft. pieces that he intended to cut up and split himself. I really didn't know what to ask since that was a new question for me, but I finally told him $65/cord if he would come and get it. I load it on his 14 ft. trailer with the tractor, so my time is picking up the laid out limbs, measuring the length, cutting the pieces, stacking them up and then loading on his trailer. It's far less work than cutting up pieces to 16 in. lengths, loading, carrying them home, splitting and stacking, reloading on a trailer, delivering and restacking, but still, it does require a good bit of time on the tractor and some sawing, mainly of fairly big rounds.

What say y'all? Is $65 bucks fair to both of us ?
 
Up this way, split wood prices are pretty much the same $200 as yours, but log length wood is closer to $100 a cord. Of course part of that $100 is certainly due to fuel/delivery, so with him coming to pick it up it's not a bad deal for either of you. I think it'd still be fair for you to get $75 though.
 
$65.00 is a great friend price.

The friends that go into the woods and get the wood themselves, don't get charged anything. The ones that want it cut, split, and delivered get charged what everyone else gets charged.
 
pecan is premium

I have an oversupply of firewood and try to sell a little during the winter. It's almost 100% pecan from the several orchards I manage, and most of the wood is from limbs that break off with the occasional blow down or dead tree. Pecan wood can be a bear to split, and it can also be rough on the hands when it has twisted, knarly grain. I have been asking $200/cord picked up at my place and $250/cord delivered and stacked for the customer. This might be a little higher than the average price around here, which is around $65/pickup load (about 1/3 cord), but I figure pecan is worth a little more than misc. hardwood since it is primo cooking wood and also a great wood to heat with.

A friend asked me what I would charge for a cord of 7 ft. pieces that he intended to cut up and split himself. I really didn't know what to ask since that was a new question for me, but I finally told him $65/cord if he would come and get it. I load it on his 14 ft. trailer with the tractor, so my time is picking up the laid out limbs, measuring the length, cutting the pieces, stacking them up and then loading on his trailer. It's far less work than cutting up pieces to 16 in. lengths, loading, carrying them home, splitting and stacking, reloading on a trailer, delivering and restacking, but still, it does require a good bit of time on the tractor and some sawing, mainly of fairly big rounds.

What say y'all? Is $65 bucks fair to both of us ?

Pecan is premium wood. No doubt about it. $65 is more than a fair price for the buyer. Up to you if you consider it the best price you can get for it.

Me..if it was a long time great customer, sure, or a friend, etc..but if I didn't need the money real fast, and could store it handy, I would cut it and stack it and sell for a premium. Imagine the advertising potential if you could say, "split, stacked and seasoned for two years", instead of one year or a few months like most guys who sell wood.

Then have two or three grades, split smaller BBQ wood (most money per cord), then split regular for firewood (local top dollar premium price per cord), then oddball big chunks for slow smoking (priced in between the other two).

And small stuff could be chipped and sold by the bag, a few bucks a bag maybe for ten lbs? something like that.
 
As long as you are happy with that price for that amount of effort. I guess the scientific was would be to figure out exactly how much time it takes you to gather the wood, figure in a gallon or two of fuel and add it all up. Just curious...why go through all the trouble of measuring? Ballpark the limbs to about 8 feet and call it a day. If you eel like you may be shorting him by not measuring, toss on a few more.
 
I think that is a fair price especially if it's a good friend. You may want to take some of the smaller wood and wrap it up in small bundles and sell it for bbq wood or for smokers. I wish there was some pecan wood up here in Ky, would love to smoke some meat with that. I sell bundles of hickory up here for that reason and people love it. You should get about $5.00-$7.00 per bundles for good smoking wood.
 
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