My bought cord

[southpaw]

You were ripped off by this seller and he knew exactly what he was doing to you , very much doubt you are the first he has pulled this on.

You can call back and have more delivered, then confront him and refuse to pay .... now you will have 1 1/2 cords for the price of 1, tell him it's a penalty you charge for people who try and rip you off.

Eye for and eye type thing , I'd be setting this guy straight no doubt about it.....he would be crying like little girl when all was done. Don't settle for being cheated.

For what it's worth sorry for your situation and very nice of that offer you had from a member to make things good for you.

 

[Davej_07]

If you are stuck, and need some ready to burn red oak, and can drive to Chester County with a truck, I will make you whole in the spirit of Thanksgiving.

Sorry, crummy iPhone picture, but it's dark now, so I used this one I had.

View attachment 263475

Rep sent, for for being a good egg.

Dave

 

[cantoo]

Another good reason why if I ever sell any wood it'll be by the load and not by the cord. I deliver my load for my price, take it over leave it before I hit the dump button. No arguing over the amount of wood then. They can measure my trailer and figure out whatever they want but it's still a "pile" of wood for "x" dollars. If they don't want it I just drive back home with my wood. As far as I know we don't have cord cops around here and I really don't care if I sell it or not.

 

[smokee]

I am going to take a wild guess and say that there were probably other ads with firewood for sale that were higher priced. But you went with price instead of quality? I mean, what seller wouldn't say his firewood is dry! If he is in for the one time sale, anyway.

The OP's situation is exactly why I do things the way I do:
1. I stack each cord of wood in my yard, 4.25 ft tall, 16 inches wide and 24 ft long, a fence post every 8 ft(1/3cord sections). That way I know there is over a cord of wood going to the buyer. Almost all new customers will make a comment about how much more wood they are getting than the last person they bought from.
2. I use a moisture meter. People ask if my wood is seasoned. I explain to them that more important than seasoned wood is DRY wood. I tell them the MC of my wood and how it is better to know that, than if it is seasoned or not.
3. I charge more than a lot of sellers, because my wood is worth the extra money. Those who sound hesitant, I tell them to come and take a look at the exact wood they will get, and if they would like, they can take some home and try it out before buying. Of those who have indeed came out and looked at the wood, not one of them has taken some home to try first!

Ted

Dang it, I just read your later post where you said there were others cheaper! Dag nabbit, foiled again! Sorry for my rant now! lol

No, I didn't go cheap on this. I could of went Craigslist and even got some offer here but I already had put the order in last week as I was leaving for bear hunting. I actually paid $205 for the "cord" which was among the higher prices I found.

I'm not going to flame the place... just yet. My guess is that I'll call and they apologize and offer to make up the difference. Which is fine but if they do this to everyone, how many people know the difference.

As me and the wife were heading to a party tonight we drove past the place and she pointed it out to me. I didn't realize that's who I bought it from. It's in a prominent place so I'll bet they sell quite a few loads.

 

[turnkey4099]

Or he could, using the water displacement method, measure each piece individually, total all of the pieces and know exactly how much is there.
He would need to seal each piece completely to keep it from absorbing any water.
This is a little labor intensive but it's a small price for the OP to pay to satisfy our curiosity.

Nit picking: Nope. Definition of a cord is split and tightly piled (or variations of that) which includes a lot of air space. Your method eliminates all the air space.

Harry K

 

[blackdogon57]

If this guy sells a lot of wood he should have known you were short unless he is in the habit of shorting every customer. I can see being off a few cubic feet being an honest mistake but as others have pointed out your "cord" is under 100 cubic feet. As for the wood being wet it looks well seasoned bit has gotten wet from rain. It should dry out fast if you cover the top. I keep plastic bins next to my stove. Wood that is wet from rain dries out in a day or so when there is a fire going. I hope this guy makes it right for you. Keep us posted.

 

[mountainmandan]

Around here almost all firewood sellers are shady. If you are going to buy wood around here you better measure before paying and wait a year.

I actually had a customer want to haggle a little when he called me. When I delivered and stacked he paid me more than I was asking, said it was worth it. Who knows how many times he was ripped off before he called me.

The bad sellers make me look bad too, since I cannot tell you how many times I have heard someone say, "I have got a guy who will do it for $xx." (pick any amount, I have heard it all) And they say it is seasoned.

Having said all of that, I still will sell all I can cut this year without going bigger.

I have been out of wood before, and to get wood you need to burn tonight, you have to think small. Where you cut look for dead limbs, dead mullberry, dogwood, and elm, etc. If you need to split it, it will probably be too wet.

Dan

 

[Whitespider]

I measured every piece on the top and the average was 14.5". Very few were 16", a lot were 14".

That "cord" just keeps getting smaller and smaller...
213 x 48 x 14.5 = 148,248 cubic inches
148,248 / 1728 = 85.8 cubic feet… only 67% of a full cord!

Man, you’re a full 1/3 cord short (a “so-called” face cord)… getting really hard to believe there was any sort of “honest mistake” about this sale and delivery. Just looks to me (as an arm-chair quarterback) like the guy “shorts” every-which-way-he-can… short-cuts, short-stacks, and if it’s wet from being on the ground he shortcuts storage also… hopefully it ain’t wet (green) because of being short-seasoned.

No way trying to tell you how to handle this… but I’d do it face-to-face. I’d want to be looking right at his eyes when I politely registered my complaint(s); a man’s eyes will tell you a lot about who and what he is. If it was, in fact an “honest mistake”, his eyes will let you know right off… if it was an intentional rip-off, you’ll know that right-off also. If I got the gut feeling it was an “honest mistake” I’d just let him make it “right” and life goes on. If I got the gut feeling he was intentionally giving me a screwin’… well, I’d have my demands ready. Most likely I’d be demanding he refund the cash immediately, and I’d give him 24 hours to retrieve the firewood or I’d lay claim to it. I simply will not do business with dishonest people. There are vastly more honest people than dishonest people in this world and life is to short… personally, I try to do as much business as possible with people who still consider a handshake to be a binding contract.

But… like I said… I am “armchair quarterbacking” this.

 

[Swamp Yankee]

To the OP, smokee

I have a couple thoughts that may or may not help, coming from someone that's been selling wood for, lets just say longer than I really want to admit.

First, don't assume just because the person sells wood he's lower on the food chain than a six term politician. The seller doesn't read minds, if you don't let him know there's an issue, he can't even begin to try to make it right. This is what I tell all my customers both repeat and new when I deliver. When you speak to him speak with the intent of resolving the issue, not from the attitude of you ripped me off you stupid, worthless piece of scum. If he's legit he'll work with you. Several years ago I unknowingly shorted a customer when I lost count of the number of loads I had delivered on his order. He called, I went to his house, checked the situation, apologized for the shortage, and asked him if he preferred a partial refund or the missing load. As he was happy with the product, I brought the missing load and we were both happy. Mistakes happen, correcting them is part of running a good business.

As to your wood being wet, did you take delivery after Sandy? Last year I got nailed big time by Irene and Alfred as they both blew the tarp(s) off the piles and absolutely soaked what was very nice stove ready wood. I let people know when I delivered about the circumstance and they understood. All wood sellers here in the Northeast were in pretty much the same boat. Some of us were upfront about it, others not. It's really hard to keep wood dry under those conditions. If it's surface moisture put it near the stove for a couple days if possible before use and it will dry out quickly. If it's green well not much you can do short of a kiln. By the way this year when Sandy approached all my tarps were both staked to the ground and tied to trees in the landing / processing area.

I hope all works out for you and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Take Care

 

[trophyhunter]

Heck of a business model, every 3-4 loads they get a full cord up on their buyers. That's a scumbag wood seller all the way, and they give credible, honest suppliers a much harder time of ethically practicing their trade.

That's no mistake being that short, any experienced seller knows what a full cord takes to load and haul for delivery.
They'll have a typical excuse, "Oh sorry that's a new guy doing those deliveries, and or sorry that guy doesn't work here anymore we'll make it right though."

Get weights and measures involved so they stop doing this to people, it's in the interest of credible suppliers in the area and people's hard earned money.

 

[Big_Al]

How did the seller deliver the wood? Was it just piled on a truck or stacked up? One reason I like using my trailer, its made from an old stepside Chevy p/u bed. Dimensions are 50" x98" with racks that I can stack to 48". Makes it easy to do a full cord & show the customer if they have any questions. Most are ok with it but have had a couple come out with tape measures. They were happy once they measure it. The seller in this case should make good on it.

 

[smokee]

How did the seller deliver the wood? Was it just piled on a truck or stacked up? One reason I like using my trailer, its made from an old stepside Chevy p/u bed. Dimensions are 50" x98" with racks that I can stack to 48". Makes it easy to do a full cord & show the customer if they have any questions. Most are ok with it but have had a couple come out with tape measures. They were happy once they measure it. The seller in this case should make good on it.

Dump truck.

 

[flyboy553]

Get weights and measures involved so they stop doing this to people, it's in the interest of credible suppliers in the area and people's hard earned money.

The problem I see with this idea is there is no way to prove that all of the wood sold to the buyer is still in the stack. Some could have been burned, hidden, taken somewhere else, whatever. Lots of crooked folk around who would do anything to get one over on the big guy.

Ted

 

[JimiLL]

Some of you guys are funny....

The wood in question does look seasoned, the ends of the pieces have turned black. Not sure what the inside looks like though.

Let it sit out for 3-4 sunny days (or more) then cover it before it rains again. Its even a good idea to uncover your wood piles if you have a stretch of good weather. Cold, sunny and windy weather is GREAT for drying out wood!

 

[smokee]

Letting it uncovered till just before it rained was what I had in mind. Not too worried about the wetness.

I did just go out and get more detailed measurements.

I measured all the top pieces (45 total) and the average length was 14.7"

The stack measured 235" across the bottom and 184" across the top.

I was clearly shorted.

If the guy doesn't want to make good on the difference I will call Weights and Measures. If he says it was a full cord and there's nothing he's going to do about it, I'll move on. I'm not going to piss and moan, just chock it up as a learning experience. I will let W & M know and they can do what they want.

 

[trophyhunter]

That stack does looked aged, no one seems to be disputing that. Smokee got shorted big time on what he agreed to purchase and pay for. Oldest trick in the firewood selling biz to unwary buyers. If he doesn't let them slide it might prevent someone else from being taken, not much worse than a thief or someone that toes the line for one.

 

[SpiralAcacia]

Some of you guys are funny....

The wood in question does look seasoned, the ends of the pieces have turned black. Not sure what the inside looks like though.

Let it sit out for 3-4 sunny days (or more) then cover it before it rains again. Its even a good idea to uncover your wood piles if you have a stretch of good weather. Cold, sunny and windy weather is GREAT for drying out wood!

JimiLL,

You sure about cold weather good for drying? Intuition says it's warm what helps water content evaporate - no?

SA

 

[smokee]

JimiLL,

You sure about cold weather good for drying? Intuition says it's warm what helps water content evaporate - no?

SA

I thought the same thing, SA, till I thought about ice cubes that fell behind the bin in the freezer and kept shrinking. Ice does evaporate. Now, the rate at which it does is debatable.

Sorry, I'm spitballing here at the in-laws.

 

[JimiLL]

JimiLL,

You sure about cold weather good for drying? Intuition says it's warm what helps water content evaporate - no?

SA

actually temp has nothing to do with it....unless its close to 200* :msp_ohmy:

Its more with the relative humidity.... which is typically lower when temps go below freezing.

 

[srb08]

Letting it uncovered till just before it rained was what I had in mind. Not too worried about the wetness.

I did just go out and get more detailed measurements.

I measured all the top pieces (45 total) and the average length was 14.7"

The stack measured 235" across the bottom and 184" across the top.

I was clearly shorted.

If the guy doesn't want to make good on the difference I will call Weights and Measures. If he says it was a full cord and there's nothing he's going to do about it, I'll move on. I'm not going to piss and moan, just chock it up as a learning experience. I will let W & M know and they can do what they want. I could take my .40 with me but I don't think it's worth it.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.