Why don't any firewood sellers let their wood season??

[Moss Man]

I sell firewood and I "seasoned" some wood this year to sell. I piled it in single rows of pallets going from east to west and I did it back in June. This is actually exactly how I dry my own wood to burn. It's now ready for the firebox. Wind, sun and a proper pile is all you need.

 

[STLfirewood]

Generally people who sell firewood don't have a lot of money. They do it because they have the tools and can. How many people selling firewood do you know that can pay for their truck fuel saws splitters and everything else and let it float for a year. Think about how much money that is in fuel alone. You'll have a couple thousand real easy in a big firewood pile if your trying to be a seller. I'll have over 10k in my wood pile before I start selling anything and I'm a small time seller. I buy a lot of the wood I sell. Every time I sell a stack I put money aside to replace it. If I cut wood I take money out of those stacks also so I can purchase more the next year. I only had to bite the bullet slowly over time.

I get a lot of business off the guys who lie about their wood being seasoned. People call wanting something that burns. They don;t mind paying $100-$120 for a 4'x8'x16" stack if it burns. Then you have a customer for life.

I think it's more about keeping the rain off the pile then it is about the sun. I built my building and wood seasons really fast when it stays dry all the time.

Now that I have my kiln I'll have dry wood all the time. To bad it's a small kiln. I'll only be able to season around 4 cords a week. But that's better then running out in the winter.

Scott

 

[wdchuck]

:agree2:

 

[Circle B MN]

Now, I have several thousand in firewood stacked, and I still won't sell it till it seasons. Regardless of your investment, you have to have a quality product if you want to be in business for long. What if GM sold a car that didn't last 100k miles..? Er well, perhaps that is not a good example. Point is, regardless of your investment if you are selling green wood as seasoned you're not going to make it. It's not a hard business to be in if you are honest.

 

[USMC0802]

im surprised how many people on here, who obviously own chainsaws.. are buying firewood every year it seems

if you arnt doing tree work, and you arnt cutting any firewood, what are you guys doing with them, other than shining them up and taking pictures of em? :greenchainsaw:

The couple cords I bought last year were in the middle of the winter since I moved into the house in December and didn't own a saw at that point.

 

[qweesdraw]

Seasoning recipe!
It's easy
Cut green wood
Split it
1 cup of salt
1/4 cup of pepper
Parsley to the taste
Sprinkle it on the wood
It's seasoned
SELL IT(the next day)
It all depends on where you live i guess.
I buck into 16's let them sit in July i will start splitting.
We have 90's + and very low humidity here.
Then i kiln so i guess i don't season my wood.
Mark

 

[stackwood]

:chainsawguy::biggrinbounce2: LMAO

im surprised how many people on here, who obviously own chainsaws.. are buying firewood every year it seems

if you arnt doing tree work, and you arnt cutting any firewood, what are you guys doing with them, other than shining them up and taking pictures of em? :greenchainsaw:

 

[WOODHOGG]

seasoned wood

Hi, i do not know for sure if this real ,but i was told year's ago that if you cut
your wood in the winter when the sap is down the wood will be dryer because
for the lack of moisture.

 

[woodfarmer]

And there are enough cheap idiots who never learn to keep them in business.

My wood was split last year and all I ever hear is why is your wood more than most of the other guys? Will you match their price?

Are you kidding me?

I'm not selling firewood in CT anymore.

Have a sizzling winter you cheap bastards!

i love it, i sold seasoned wood to a guy that complained my wood was all wet, i was at his place one day he had a fire going, he goes outside to his pile all covered in snow takes a few pieces off the top brings them in and throws them in the fire, "listen to it sizzle he says" duh that was the last load i sold him

 

[Vangellis]

im surprised how many people on here, who obviously own chainsaws.. are buying firewood every year it seems

if you arnt doing tree work, and you arnt cutting any firewood, what are you guys doing with them, other than shining them up and taking pictures of em? :greenchainsaw:

Some people thought this statement was rather cute!


I probably use about 5 cords a season. I have property to cut on and two saws that I have pictures of. Because of the demands of my job I usually
can only round up about 3 cords a year. So then I have to buy a few cords to get through the winter.

Oh, by the way, I lost that job due to the economy a few weeks ago, so I guess I'll have a little more time for firewooding. Maybe I'll get a jump on next years supply.




Kevin

 

[scotvl]

I thought a chainsaw was almost a requirement for home-ownership? I have a jig that I'll cut down larger wood for my stove, or if stuff falls on our property, etc. Does a man really NEED to have a reason to own a chainsaw?

Somewood_guy you are.......














Sorry I couldn't resist lol

 

[JEA]

In my area, the majority of the ads on CL don't say much about seasoned firewood, which I assume means it is not. So, to differentiate the wood I sell, I clearly state that my wood is well seasoned and was cut, split, and stacked during time period "x" and has been drying in my shed ever since. I am a small time seller, but have a good group of customers and those relationships have paid dividends as I have picked up new customers who are friends of my established people. Right now I am getting to the end of my firewood stock that was cut during the fall of 2008 and should have it all sold by this weekend. Then I will change my ad to reflect that the 2 year old seasoned wood is gone, and I now have seasoned firewood for sale that was cut during the fall of 2009. I also clearly state in my ad that my wood will be dry and ready to burn upon delivery and that I do not sell "green" firewood. So, I tell potential customers exactly what I am selling and let them decide if they want to buy it from me or not. If they want to buy it, great. If not, then buy from someone else. If I don't sell it this year, it can sit in one of my sheds for another year. It won't go bad.

 

[STLfirewood]

In my area, the majority of the ads on CL don't say much about seasoned firewood, which I assume means it is not. So, to differentiate the wood I sell, I clearly state that my wood is well seasoned and was cut, split, and stacked during time period "x" and has been drying in my shed ever since. I am a small time seller, but have a good group of customers and those relationships have paid dividends as I have picked up new customers who are friends of my established people. Right now I am getting to the end of my firewood stock that was cut during the fall of 2008 and should have it all sold by this weekend. Then I will change my ad to reflect that the 2 year old seasoned wood is gone, and I now have seasoned firewood for sale that was cut during the fall of 2009. I also clearly state in my ad that my wood will be dry and ready to burn upon delivery and that I do not sell "green" firewood. So, I tell potential customers exactly what I am selling and let them decide if they want to buy it from me or not. If they want to buy it, great. If not, then buy from someone else. If I don't sell it this year, it can sit in one of my sheds for another year. It won't go bad.

If your product is that good and you are selling out you need to raise your price. a $5-$10 dollar jump shouldn't make your customers leave. If some do others will be there to take there place. Very few people sell truly seasoned wood. It sounds like you do. You should get a premium because your doing something others aren't.

Scott

 

[sunfish]

Way do most people wait until fall to buy wood?

 

[qweesdraw]

Way do most people wait until fall to buy wood?
In this economy many people wonder if they will still have a house with a fireplace/stove to burn it?
But they usually wait till snow flies to buy it in good times also.
Possibly camping/fishing in summer months and don't have room to store it.
Mark

 

[J.W Younger]

I wood rather drive around in a large car pickin up alu cans than sell firewood.
the public in general and people who buy firewood in perticual are just idiots anyway.
If you think it takes 2 years to dry then buy it 2 years ahead.
or not
who gives a ####

 

[Edub]

PA, NJ, etc...humidity is brutal throughout the summer. Wood isn't going to season in just a couple months. Logs left to lay rot before they season. Cutting standing dead is one thing, but even that takes time with the humidity that frequently goes from 70-100% throughout the summer.

A lot of firewood sold here seems to come from tree services cutting green trees and dumping the rounds off or they sell firewood themselves.

I wouldn't doubt if there are a lot of the people who buy from these sellers don't know any better.

It's just irritating because any other business would be accused of fraud or deception for doing what a lot of firewood sellers do.

Selling green split wood at a discounted price is another way to be legit about it. Refusing to sell green wood at a discount because they sell it two months later as "seasoned" pisses me off, too. I understand why they do it, they get their full asking price for the same amount of work when they sell it later on.

I sell wood that you would be happy with every aspect of, but the price. Everybody wants seasoned wood for a non seasoned price.

 

[spike60]

Flip it around.

Why don't people who heat with wood buy far enough in advance to assure it's seasoned? Unless it's your first year you knew a year ago you'd need some.

My guess is you'll find the top two reasons for both groups are the same.

Don't want to tie up the money, don't want to tie up the space.

Yup! The OP had a different situation, but most people that burn every year wait until it starts getting cold to do something about their wood.

Say a guy has 50 customers that each buy 4 cords of wood a year. That's 200 cords of wood. Logistically and economically, it's silly for a seller to store all of that wood until it's seasoned. It makes far more sense to have it season at the customer's house.

Another point is this: All of us guys who cut our own wood know full well that we need to do it ahead of time so it's properly seasoned come winter. People that buy their wood shouldn't be excused from planning ahead.

 

[redheadwoodshed]

I have seasoned wood for sale and plenty of it, cut,split,and stacked last year, come and get it!

 

[JRepairsK70e]

i have my annual customers trained to place their wood orders in the spring so i can cut to order and deliver in march/april and let it season at their house ,that said i am getting calls now asking for seasoned wood ,i dont mislead,tell them my firewood supply is still log length and when it was harvested , a couple custs were impressed with my honesty and ordered with the mindset they wouldnt need to burn it till jan/feb or carry over till next year and a happy customer is a repeat customer jk