Its been a very slow start to the stove sales season

Ya think it'll be the first cold snap or flake of snow to get things going ? Or just that it has been so hot/warm through the country that nobody is thinking of winter yet ?

Over here in WI our retail side of the store has been rockin pretty good for a couple of weeks. The guy who does retail previews shares an office with me and he's got piles of jobs going out.

It's global warming. It would be best to get in the business of inspecting air conditioners Elk. ;-) I'm sure it will pick up shortly.

I did my part, bought my Quad the 1st week of Sept

Hell it was so hot and humid here yesterday, I saw a tree chasing a dog...Now thats hot!

I'm certain not many people are thinking of cold yet....at least in the south east.......it's still mid 90s here in Tenn.,

It's so hot and dry here the trees are showing signs of stress, leaves wilting and falling etc......the grass has been brown and dead for a couple months now.

Just wait until the first cold blast and see what happens.......people will be scrambling to get wood and stoves installed I think.

Robbie

I know last year I didn't buy my wood until late September, and I've already got it all in, so in my mind I'm ahead of the game.

Upstate NY temps are slowly dropping. We've had some nights in the 50s, so in my mind, it's only a matter of time.

One thing for certain though, everyone views oil/gas prices as extremely expensive and its typical to hear people complain about the lack of affordability of heating your home. There may be a substantial upfront cost to a stove-hearth,chimney installation, but there is no question that the pay-back is certain within at most a few years, and that is at current oil/gas prices. I don't believe those fossil fuel prices are going anywhere but up in the future. Wood especially has great economic value to many, many potential customers. Can't believe at least in the longer term and bigger picture the future for the great stove products on the market today is anything but good. Short term economic conditions may bite into sales now, but they'll come around.

Wow so different out here on the other ocean. Not even thinking about winter, covering wood, etc. The only thing Ive done is top off the propane tank ( summer prices ) and order the stove. ( lead time and installation time ) We should have at least another month or better before the weather turns. On the other hand we have to live in one of the most expensive states going.

I spent the last four days at a small community fair n/w Pa. I had three pellet stoves on display with one running, Breckwell p-2000. I had a lot of people ask very good questions on the stoves. I did not make a stove sale at the fair. I did have a lot of people tell me they would be in for pellets. I was hoping for a couple sales. I hope to get a lot of walk in sales from the fair. Eric

I was speaking with my chimney sweep just yesterday and he said on tax-free day (couple weeks back), his company sold 83 stoves in 2 days! Not bad! (Massachusetts)

BB
OUCH! very funny
But on the other hand I would love to have Elk Inspect my install. I would sleep better knowing I was protected at least as well as a nuck reactor. As he says "better safe....

Here in Michigan we are taking it on the chin pretty hard. If Puerto Rico becomes a state, then we won't be last in current economic growth! Otherwise things are really ugly. I live in a fairly small town. Last year we had 3 fireplace shops in my town and one in the next town 10 miles down the road. This year 3 are out of business. What a shame. 5 years ago our county was the fastest growing in the state and one of the fastest growing in the country. Now nothing! 3 or 4 houses in our sub have never been lived in and my sub is about 8 years old, and those homes are about 4-5 years old. Sitting vacant, still for sale.

Hopefully things will pick up when the first cold snap hits, however the smart ones have bought or are buying now. KD

We're doing our part. Picked up our new stove from the dealer yesterday!

Hey Elk, what do you look for when you inspect? I want to make sure we're safe.

Do you install and/or inspect in Holbrook?

Could this be another volunteer install guy's????????

got wood? said:

I was speaking with my chimney sweep just yesterday and he said on tax-free day (couple weeks back), his company sold 83 stoves in 2 days! Not bad! (Massachusetts)

Click to expand...

Looks like "higher taxes" are counterproductive..... ;-)

Everything is slow around here. I've been talking to some contractor friends, nobody has more than a month of work lined up. No one is sure what they'll do this winter, gonna be a lot of poached deer in these parts. I was talking to the plumber that I used to work for, he just roughed in his first new house this year about a month ago, usually he'll be scheduled to do 4 or 5 in March, and more through the summer. He also said that he's had more trouble than ever with people sticking him with bills, guess nobody has "discretionary funds" available now.

The scary side of this is: have people just gotten accustomed to high oil/gas prices, and just plan on "sucking it up"? I'll burn tires for heat before I pay 2-something a gallon for dirty #2 fuel oil or propane! Guess I'm cheap or old-fashioned, maybe both- but I just can't get past paying more than 69 cents a gallon for heating oil. Heck, I'm so cheap I quit burning coal and switched to wood!

Our economy is hurting, but no one will admit it. We are very close to having lots of people starving and/or freezing this winter. Actually, we're one bad day at the stock market away from a big crash and subsequent depression. Glad I can at least keep my family warm, no matter what.