anybody sell firewood on the side? i'm talkin small timers.

[treevet]

Thanks, the crane is an 86, but she runs real nice with some bandaids and bubble gum holding her together.

 

[komatsuvarna]

:agree2: Nice operation there treevet. Mines a little redneckey.lol

 

[treevet]

so's mine....ain't no yuppies gonna do this stuff lol

 

[roberthathaway7]

Around here you run into everybody.. since the winters are moderate we don't have too many people with big furnaces, I always try to keep it 18 or under lengthwise, normally 16" and always about a 6" width. I have done some 14" though and and I get a good response from older people and wives who tell me they buy from me because they can handle it better. I always try to keep some 14" tucked back for those folks gotta keep those customers happy!

what cracks me up also is people here never want knots or cores. Because they are hard to handle? Those are the best! I keep them for myself! Like I said it's not a harsh winter market so you gotta play the cards

 

[treevet]

Good points Robert and conversely we gave a few people some stuff a little too long and we are not gonna do that anymore.

When you cut up the giant logs the length looks relatively shorter than they really are... and after they are split THOSE are the ones that we find to be the culprit.

 

[fishercat]

I get the same..............

IMO it is more trouble than it is worth seperating woods for specialty orders. My wood is either black or white....bad (tossed out or chipped) or good (sent up the conveyor. Ash is ok in limited quantities in a load.

Now the stuff that goes to my basement wood furnace....that is another story. Prime stuff only.

for half cords.

three other rules I have:

someone must be home to inspect and agree to the load or I won't dump it.

NO CHECKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unless I know you.

Custom lengths must be pre ordered and paid for in late winter or early spring..

 

[banshee67]

When you cut up the giant logs the length looks relatively shorter than they really are... and after they are split THOSE are the ones that we find to be the culprit.

i always have the same problem, its like an optical illusion with larger diameter logs, they look 18" but then u start splitting and realize they are more like 2ft

 

[STLfirewood]

for half cords.

three other rules I have:

someone must be home to inspect and agree to the load or I won't dump it.

NO CHECKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unless I know you.

Custom lengths must be pre ordered and paid for in late winter or early spring..

I'm different here. I have never met 80% of the people I deliver wood to. I deliver and stack and leave an invoice. I almost never get stiffed. I have never not collected. I have had a couple slow pays but not enough to be an issues. About 90% of my payments come from checks. Last year I received well over 300 checks. Not one was returned. I only do custom orders if it's 2 cords or more. They also have to pay in advance if they are a new customer. I charge a lot more for custom. To much work to keep it separate. The only custom I cut now is cook wood and they buy 80 plus cords a year.

Scott

 

[smokinj]

Good points Robert and conversely we gave a few people some stuff a little too long and we are not gonna do that anymore.

When you cut up the giant logs the length looks relatively shorter than they really are... and after they are split THOSE are the ones that we find to be the culprit.

When doing the monster rounds I find them to be short. Maybe because I know how heavy it going to be and seem to buck closer to 14inch.

 

[treevet]

When doing the monster rounds I find them to be short. Maybe because I know how heavy it going to be and seem to buck closer to 14inch.

we got a 600 lb log lift on the splitter but that makes sense too.

 

[CSD FIREWOOD]

how dry is it?

thats a lot of weight on a half ton truck most cords weigh

 

[banshee67]

thats a lot of weight on a half ton truck most cords weigh

... waiting for the second half of this post

 

[treevet]

helluva first post you gotta admit......suspense is killing me lol

 

[amscontr]

I can we are considered small timers also.
We sell to some "recreational burners" and the "serious burners".
What burns my @22 are the ones who want to control the prices by selling too cheap. How many times do you hear "so&so" sold me a cord for "X" amount but what you're selling is more wood? Go figure, you cannot throw a cord of wood in a S-10 pickup but some people will pay a hundred bucks for a "load of it"!
If I can't sell a true cord for what it's worth for my time and effort and be honest about it then it's a waste. As a rule we stack every load in our truck and give the customer the tape measure and calculator for there own benefit. We ask them prior to pricing what length, type, etc. and their location before we quote. How do you justify driving 20 miles to deliver for the same price as going across the street?
I guess we've been lucky by having good repeat customers who appreciate the time and effort involved otherwise they would do it themselves.

 

[treevet]

great points. at the end of the day you gotta live with yourself.

 

[burroak]

Has anyone used craigslist for advertising? I was wondering if you got much sales by doing that.

 

[banshee67]

Has anyone used craigslist for advertising? I was wondering if you got much sales by doing that.

yes, and yes
beware of weirdos though - its craigslist, 90% of the people are good normal people though

 

[fishercat]

agreed on the 90%

yes, and yes
beware of weirdos though - its craigslist, 90% of the people are good normal people though

stick with what you state in the ad.you have to have a certain area to deliver in up to a certain distance.after that,charge extra.

you'll get screwballs but I have sold a lot of wood on CL.

 

[Locust Cutter]

I can we are considered small timers also.
We sell to some "recreational burners" and the "serious burners".
What burns my @22 are the ones who want to control the prices by selling too cheap. How many times do you hear "so&so" sold me a cord for "X" amount but what you're selling is more wood? Go figure, you cannot throw a cord of wood in a S-10 pickup but some people will pay a hundred bucks for a "load of it"!
If I can't sell a true cord for what it's worth for my time and effort and be honest about it then it's a waste. As a rule we stack every load in our truck and give the customer the tape measure and calculator for there own benefit. We ask them prior to pricing what length, type, etc. and their location before we quote. How do you justify driving 20 miles to deliver for the same price as going across the street?
I guess we've been lucky by having good repeat customers who appreciate the time and effort involved otherwise they would do it themselves.

:agree2: I've had the "well so&so is selling for x" line a couple of times. Usually from neighbors of repeat customers in well to do neighborhoods. They quit b!tching though, when their wood would barely light, not stay burning and not heat worth a d@mn. Also when their chimney looked like coal fire power plant and the 'regular customer's' looked like a natural gas flu,... they noticed. I've never had that complaint 2 years running though. funny how that works. There are too' many good willing customers to worry about a few scoffers or tightwads. They don't even make me mad anymore. Hell I don't have the time to cut what I'd like to. Whether I cut 10 cords or 20, I still sell out every year, so I have no complaints, (a TW-7, a wood processor, and a single axle FL-60 with a 30' dump trailer would be nice though,...) My 0.02

 

[BPS. LLC]

Has anyone used craigslist for advertising? I was wondering if you got much sales by doing that.

CL is great, but some complain about the spam and the weirdo's. That comes with free advertising. If you want the business and the free advertising, be preparted to deal with that without complaining. I started selling wood on CL and have weeded out the weirdos and now its basically word of mouth. I throw and ad on once in a while if I have a surplus. Meeting firewood customers from CL has helped my regular business as well.