Would you sell Poplar as Hardwood firewood?

[CUCV]

I've been selling firewood for close to 20 years now and never sold any poplar. I've cut tons of poplar and given it to family or burned it myself. 2 years ago I had my daughter and suffered many health issues that prevented me from cutting enough fiirewood for my customers the following year. With my next kiddo weeks away I thought I would be pro-active and buy in some green wood to ensure that I would have enough wood for my customers next year. So I found a guy who would give me a fair price on green wood and I have bought over 50 cord from him. The wood has been very nice and clean and a nice mix of hardwoods, in fact the first 12 cord where mostly red oak. I just got another load of 4 cord and found it to be over 90% poplar and was very disappointed. I called they guy and he said poplar is hardwood. After a bit of reading I did find that it is in fact a soft hardwood. I think If I sold 4 one cord loads to 4 of my customers with 90%+ poplar I would loose all 4 customers. What are your thoughts on how to deal with this situation?

 

[burroak]

He's right - poplar is a hardwood, same as cottonwood.

I have a ton of poplar I will be selling next year. However, it will be at a 20% price reduction compared to what I charge for regular hardwoods. Should be ok to sell it, just drop the price and make sure they know what they are getting before you deliver.

 

[HeX0rz]

Tree species being a hardwood or softwood is not the issue. The BTU output from dry wood is the key. Poplar does not bother me any to burn or sell. But, like the above, because it has less BTU than the best tree species in your given area, you should reduce price. Its a big hit to take in my book. Considering that almost all wood takes about the same time to process in labor. But, because it has less BTU it is less valuable and sells for less.

Working more for less is going to become your motto for next year.

 

[CUCV]

He's right - poplar is a hardwood, same as cottonwood.

I have a ton of poplar I will be selling next year. However, it will be at a 20% price reduction compared to what I charge for regular hardwoods. Should be ok to sell it, just drop the price and make sure they know what they are getting before you deliver.

So should I ask for a discount on what I paid?

 

[forestryworks]

Hardwood and Softwood are lumbermen terms.

Typically, any tree that loses all of its leaves in one growing season is a hardwood, and trees that lose only some of their leaves in one growing season are softwoods.

I'd do like burroak said, do a sort of price reduction if you feel that is necessary to get the wood sold.

In the end though, wood is wood and it all burns.

 

[burroak]

So should I ask for a discount on what I paid?

Yes, I would kindly ask him for a discount. If he refuses, I would tell him he will be no longer receiving business from me, and I will tell everyone I know not to buy from him as well.

Poplar has 1/2 the BTU's as White oak - there's no way they should be in the same price group.

 

[forestryworks]

So should I ask for a discount on what I paid?

How did he advertise the wood? If advertised and sold as "mixed hardwood", I think any hardwood is fair game, as "mixed hardwood" is a very broad definition.

 

[CUCV]

Well the original advertisement is long gone. In the original discussions he was happy to give me oak and other dense "red" woods that he has trouble selling seasoned because he seasons in log length. Well duh I said of course its going to burn like crap seasoning like that, but I'm happy to take it. The loads have been getting whiter and whiter...

 

[thejdman04]

I don't know if you are lucky enough to have any camp grounds in your area, I have one fairly close to me and get lots of campers who drive by and buy firewood. I sell some of my "junk" hardwoods for the same price as premium hardwood, (80 a face cord). Most campers don't know, and don't really care. I don't lie to them, I tell them what kind of wood it is, if they ask, or will give them better wood if they ask, but most campers don't know and don't care. In the summer it doesn't get dark until 830-9pm and most people just want a 2 hour fire anyways, heat content doesn't matter. I sell 1/4 face cords (4ftx2ftx16") for 20 bucks and most people who pay 6-8 dollars for a bundle at a gas station love it. If you can get rid of it that way, and still charge a good price for it, that would be the way to go.

 

[CUCV]

jdman, I plan to work on the campground market in the future but don't plan on it for two years. I have a friend who sells tons of pine into campgrounds. Kinda funny I actually got a call for a couple cord of pine. Since I have giving my parents a 5 year supply of pine, I was happy to sell the gentleman some of what I gave my parents.

 

[rwbinbc]

I sell poplar to a guy that sells it at a state park by Grand Haven, He buys cords of poplar, pine and other woods. My price to him is $75 per cord in rounds. I have a large supply of softer wood tops to sell so its more of a side job deal. I would mix it in with the better wood but not more than 10%. I dont even sell soft maple as hardwood. I also have a large pile of birch that I wouldn't say was hardwood But I slowly mix it in.


$75 a cord yeah, when He buys 50 plus cord a year yeah, He will get a good price.

 

[branchbuzzer]

So should I ask for a discount on what I paid?

I would say you are at least partly responsible because, technically, he is living up to his end of the bargain by selling you "mixed hardwoods". You need to ask specific questions about what kind of wood you'll be getting when it is described this way. If the seller is dodging those questions, that should be a small red flag for you as a buyer.

If it was described as mixed hardwoods, and you've gotten 12 cords of oak and 4 of poplar so far, that's better than an average mix of every type. He might just be giving you whatever comes his way in a random fashion depending on the job. Now, if everything else you get is poplar as well, then you'd have a bit more of a beef. I'd let the situation play out a bit more before demanding money back. Remember, the poplar isn't useless, it's just not as good.

 

[deeker]

We sell cottonwood/poplar here for firewood. Burns quick and hot, with very little ash. Works great for a starter for the harder to light woods.

Also put it on the sawmill for trailer decking. Very good and flexible.

Makes great siding for sheds and barns. Just waterproof it on the bottom or keep it above the ground/snow.

 

[woodbooga]

Were I a customer of yours, I would expect a small amount of poplar if what I bought was mixed hardwood - so long as the dominant species were of the oak, maple, and ash varieties.

But, boy, mixing the amount you have into your current stock of good hardwood... At a ratio I'd consider acceptable, well, most of your popple would go to rot before you could unload it in dribs and drabs.

I like the discount idea as a way to unload. Especially if you can keep it seasoned and dry come Feb & March when the poor planners start to run low. Advertise as bone dry, ready to burn poplar. A cord of dry seasoned popple will put out exponentially more heat than a shot of oak that's got icicles growing in it from the moisture and the cold.

Might want to give a call over to Pentuckaway Park and some other campgrounds to see if there's a market for camp wood for next summer. You're not exactly in a vacation destination area like I am up on Winnipesaukee, but I'd still investigate the campwood/firepit wood option.

Also, if it's ion log length, see if there's someone that'll mill it. Sure poplar doesn't have much of a grain figure. But it takes paint better than most other woods and there's a moderate demand for it for interior finish work.

Not sure if these are solutions, but these are a few avenues I'd be considering were I in your position.

 

[banshee67]

yes, i sold some last week.. to a regular customer. i told him i had a trailer full of it to get rid of(unsplit), and gave him a really good deal on it. i explained to him it was one of the worst hardwoods you could get first, he still said hed take it for the price i offered though.

most firewood around here is sold as "mixed hardwoods" or "100% oak" , "100% locust" etc ... so you have to expect to get a little bit of poplar in the mixed hardwood priced loads i guess, i would assume everyone is doing it unless they list the species in their mixes, but still.. id still expect some poplar.
i guess the amount per cord, if any, depends on the person selling it. one persons worst species in their mixed hardwood cords might be silver maple, the next guys best species in his mixed cords might be silver maple, with the majority being sassafras and poplar.. so i guess it all depends
of all the "mixed hardwood" cords ive sold, id say more than half of them had a tiny bit of poplar, maybe a couple rounds worth of splits per cord, the black locust and oak make up for it though

 

[CUCV]

In this neck of the woods I have never in my whole life ever talked to anyone who considered Poplar as a "Hardwood." I feel like he has me on a technicality, its a soft hardwood not a hard hardwood. I paid alot more than $75 per cord.

 

[banshee67]

I also have a large pile of birch that I wouldn't say was hardwood But I slowly mix it in.

cant forget black birch though, its excellent firewood, very high in btus!
and cant beat the smell as far as in concerned

 

[banshee67]

In this neck of the woods I have never in my whole life ever talked to anyone who considered Poplar as a "Hardwood." I feel like he has me on a technicality,

technically, he has you as a technicality
technically it IS a hardwood.. but about as ####ty as they come

at the very least, it was deceiving
you dont start out selling someone a bunch of oak as "mixed hardwood" then change to poplar.. common sense would dictate he should ask/tell the customer first before delivering, and some sort of price break would definitely bein order

 

[D&B Mack]

I personally can't stand poplar to burn for heat. I wrap that stuff up in shrink wrap and sell it. Those buyers could care less.

 

[yooper]

If I bought a load of "hard wood" here and was expecting "hard wood" and got a load of wood with even 25% popple I would wait for the coldest night of the year and sneak over to your house on a -35 night and toss a hunk through your bedroom window at about 1 in the morning to show how well it heats up the room☺