Valley is on track.....The less you touch it, the more profitable you can make it and the longer your back will last........but that is a big outlay of $$$$ to get the right equipment. If you get lucky and look around for (and find) a niche market where people will pay a lot for a little wood you can do a little better. We have one lake with a state park on either side of it and the campers go through firewood like crap through a goose. We are on track to do 60K (50 cords) just at those parks with 30K profit. If I invested in a setup like Valley the profit would be higher.....we will get there...for now, I buy from the hard workers
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- Thread starter DSW
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TimberWolf530
ArboristSite Guru
DSW, where in Indiana are you located? I live on the North side of Indy, and there is this smartphone app called Nextdoor. It's got messageboards for neighborhoods, and people can link together their neighborhood with other neighborhoods around them. You can make it specific to your own neighborhood only, or have it widespread throughout the area. Anyway, I'm not suggesting you join it because you have to live in that area to do that. However, people are always recommending someone for one service or another. You may want to ask your city customers if they use it, and if they're satisfied, they could recommend you on their site. I'm pretty sure this app is in all cities too.
CentaurG2
Addicted to ArboristSite
We are at $375 a cord this year. Covers delivery and dump in drive. Sales this year have been slow. Weather has just been too warm and no cold weather in sight.
Help is on the way. There was snow in a few Rocky mountain ski resorts yesterday. Regardless, if I could raise my price to $275 a cord, I would do it. If I did that, all my customers would evaporate.
It takes a little over 130 lb of hardwood to generate a million BTU's of heat (five to six bundles). Many of my customers can spend $5 in natural gas to equal that or buy 10 gallons of propane at a buck a gallon. So, we are expecting people to gather up and stack over a ton of firewood from the driveway to generate heat that they can buy with almost no labor for less than half the price?
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Not sure where you live, but sounds like you're in a bad area to make a living with firewood.
I have plenty of customers that simply enjoy burning wood, doesn't matter what is cheaper.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Yeah, it's $$. Could very easily spend a few million between a small shop, logging equipment needed and the firewood processing equipment.
I mean heck a feller buncher, grapple skidder, delimber and a log truck would be in the 750k- a million area if all bought new.
Needless to say, most of my stuff is "throughly used"
This is my son's "side" business - he started last year with 16 cord, expanded to 60+ this year and it's all sold. I help out, provide some "business guidance" and manage some of the orders / scheduling. He does all the real work
He enlists his younger brother and girlfriend as needed too.Draw a circle through Belleville, Trenton, Frankford, Stirling, & Foxboro and we're somewhere about the center. We call that our local area. Once we go beyond - we start tacking on the delivery fee. Marmora and Madoc are pushing the limit for where he'll deliver - His best friend is located just north of Stirling and also sells firewood - so they swap orders back and forth depending on the destination. He usually passes those along unless it's a 2 cord order and he can borrow his buddies dump trailer and take the second cord on the same trip.
I live in Omaha, NE, rather close to the crossroads of the USA (as listed under my avatar). We have more inexpensive energy here than just about anywhere and it does get cold. Most of my customers do the same -- enjoy the heat and the atmosphere made possible by the wood stove and/or fireplace insert. It's a good hobby for me, but it could never be a full support business. I earn almost as much money servicing and restoring chainsaws and other small engines.
Not looking to buy wood. I have a supplier near me. Just saw that you were nearby and thought I'd say hey.This is my son's "side" business - he started last year with 16 cord, expanded to 60+ this year and it's all sold. I help out, provide some "business guidance" and manage some of the orders / scheduling. He does all the real work
Draw a circle through Belleville, Trenton, Frankford, Stirling, & Foxboro and we're somewhere about the center. We call that our local area. Once we go beyond - we start tacking on the delivery fee. Marmora and Madoc are pushing the limit for where he'll deliver - His best friend is located just north of Stirling and also sells firewood - so they swap orders back and forth depending on the destination. He usually passes those along unless it's a 2 cord order and he can borrow his buddies dump trailer and take the second cord on the same trip.
lknchoppers
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![20171006_100722[1].jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/arboristsite/data/attachments/289/289316-04d64995bb61f336ddcf838f3e15528c.jpg "20171006_100722[1].jpg")
I have a 2003 F250 with F350 Suspension 8' bed plus tall sides built all around it and I tow a 6x10 10K Dump Trailer with sides on that too. A dual wheel drive truck would be useless for me. The driveways can be tight and sometimes I have to unhook the trailer or figure it out. 1/2 cord drops are where the money is plus stacking sometimes. If the area you service is far away it's best to bring a full load even if you have an extra half cord on the truck. Lot's of times I get a call when I'm there and just head over to them. I agree over an hour is long and makes for a long day or night. I have serviced areas as far away as 2 hours if the money is right. I have an hour and 20 minute ride tonight one way with two full cords.View attachment 605571
jrider
Addicted to ArboristSite
Wow how much more do you get for going an hour and 20 minutes?
lknchoppers
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I don't get anymore, this particular customer is a good repeat customer and took two full cords at once. I drove the truck & trailer to my day job and left straight from work since it was about 45 mins from my job. On the way back it was 1 hour and 20 minutes. Left the job at 4:30 and home by 7:30. It's extra driving but not too bad since my prices are based on a 1 hour drive. Sometimes I do better and other times there is a bit more fuel.
DSW
Addicted to ArboristSite
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm in the southern part of the state. I haven't advertised in Indy this year, just too far. I'm on the local Facebook pages and that is doing well for me.
DSW
Addicted to ArboristSite
These are two points I alluded to earlier, there legitimately will be better and worse places to sell firewood. If I was two hours north I'd be in a situation like Jrider.
My grandpa has said if he had to pay anything for firewood he wouldn't burn it, this is a man who has burnt it his entire life. He will trade his time to produce it to save a few bucks. If he had to pay, he'd fill the tanks. My sister has burned very little, none for heat, has a great job, busy lifestyle, and wouldn't hesitate to pay whatever to get a bit of wood to burn in the fireplace for the "smell and ambiance.".
People in my local area are like my grandpa, they buy cheap wood for cheap heat, nothing else. And there's plenty of options. The people in the city, don't have the trees, don't have the time, do have the money and would be compared to my sister.
DSW
Addicted to ArboristSite
I lowered my price locally and have been pretty busy since. I figured I'd be more unhappy not selling it than selling it all for a bit less than it's probably worth.
I add delivery fee and they're close so it's not too bad. I'm still delivering to the city, but there's a minimum and the price is higher.
Got a call from last year's customer who had referred me to others and he was singing my praises and wanting more this year. Too bad I don't have time to cultivate more of these.
Also I was contacted to do bundles. Miscalculated, not worth it, inefficient. Live and learn.
I add delivery fee and they're close so it's not too bad. I'm still delivering to the city, but there's a minimum and the price is higher.
Got a call from last year's customer who had referred me to others and he was singing my praises and wanting more this year. Too bad I don't have time to cultivate more of these.
Also I was contacted to do bundles. Miscalculated, not worth it, inefficient. Live and learn.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Yeah bundles are a tough gig when the outfit buying is reselling.
I wasted many hours this summer working on a contract for a local grocery store (well the ones local to here, they are all over AK, WA, OR, maybe Idaho too). In the end after several months of me filling out all sorts of forms and wasting other's time too (insurance, quotes for equipment, interviewing employees, etc) they decided they didn't want to go ahead with it.
Really annoyed me because THEY are the ones that called ME seeing if I could supply them!
The frigging bar code they wanted me to get was $500. I told them no, not getting it until I have a contract, they wanted it before they would do the contract, more or less told me $500 was pennies. Not pennies to me!
Would have been for around 20k-30k bundles a year (total they sell about 60k, but they already had 1 supplier, obviously was having trouble keeping up!, figure that's in the area of 6000 cords of wood.
I never could get a price out of them too. I gave them what I'd sell for, and never could get a yes or no. I know the local gas station doesn't pay much. It's about $2 each. They turn around and sell for form $6 each, 2 for $11.
I sell them $5 each, 5 for $20, $350 for 100., Oh and they are 1 cu ft, not ".75" (like 4 sticks, I don't think they are actually .5 cu ft.
I wasted many hours this summer working on a contract for a local grocery store (well the ones local to here, they are all over AK, WA, OR, maybe Idaho too). In the end after several months of me filling out all sorts of forms and wasting other's time too (insurance, quotes for equipment, interviewing employees, etc) they decided they didn't want to go ahead with it.
Really annoyed me because THEY are the ones that called ME seeing if I could supply them!
The frigging bar code they wanted me to get was $500. I told them no, not getting it until I have a contract, they wanted it before they would do the contract, more or less told me $500 was pennies. Not pennies to me!
Would have been for around 20k-30k bundles a year (total they sell about 60k, but they already had 1 supplier, obviously was having trouble keeping up!, figure that's in the area of 6000 cords of wood.
I never could get a price out of them too. I gave them what I'd sell for, and never could get a yes or no. I know the local gas station doesn't pay much. It's about $2 each. They turn around and sell for form $6 each, 2 for $11.
I sell them $5 each, 5 for $20, $350 for 100., Oh and they are 1 cu ft, not ".75" (like 4 sticks, I don't think they are actually .5 cu ft.
Yep, Hard to sell by the cord and by the bundle or bag and be efficient at both...... and selling to retailers at wholesale is hard to do unless you are very efficient. You put it in front of their store and they double the price (yes, people steal and store frontage is chargeable sales space). Bags and bundles are all we do, so we are much more efficient at that than selling by the cord and we do not sell to re-sellers. If We did, I would just rent the space from them on a monthly basis and they would not have to account for anything
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
The bundles are nice in that they are in my "off" season, so when bulk wood is slower, the bundles sell well. I sold somewhere in the area of 2000 bundles this year, so about 20 cords of wood. Just did it in the "spare" time.
I view it as my beer and lunch money. If I don't sell any, no big deal. If it sells well, great. Where if bulk wood doesn't sell, my bills aren't getting paid!
If we have a cool winter like last Oak should go for $550 to $600. Stove wood more. It has been at $525 for the last five years. Had two customers offer me $1000 for Pine just before Christmas last year as I only had Oak at the time. Thanks
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