Finally got the first 3 cord stacked yesterday

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jjhof0306

jjhof0306

New Member
Aug 1, 2008
87
Southwest NH
I got my semi-seasoned stacked yesterday. I ordered and paid for 3 cord and it was 1/2 cord short. The wood guys were delivering another 3 cord of kiln dried wood today, so they called to confirm this morning. I told them that the first delivery was short 1/2 cord. We went throug the calculations (3 stacks, each 16 feet long, 5 ft high, 16" deep comes to 106.67 cubic feet per stack, where it should be 128. It's 64 cubic ft. short, which is exactly 1/2 cord. I was raring for a fight (I've been through this before with another dealer...), but the guy was apologetic, and on top of that, he replaced the missing 1/2 semi-seasoned with an extra 1/2 cord of kiln dried! This was a righteous man, in my opinion, and it's some very nice, clean wood. Can't wait to get it stacked! :cheese:

So, now if the door for my stove would come, I'd be all set to give this little stove a try!
 
Sounds like a dealer to hold onto for sure! Good to hear he did well by you.
 
I think you found your wood guy! I am cheap but if you need to pay for wood, I would definitely use him even if he was a few dollars more. Honesty pays and your guy seems like a true gentleman.
 
Not only is it obviously more dry- but it's "more wood" when you account for drying shrinkage. Good deal.

I hear this a lot and I wonder how many times it's a mistake and how many times it's a dealer that tries to see if they'll get called on it or not- then just squares up when they are called and look good for it...
 
Is the 6 cord what you are guessing you will use this season? I have the same stove and was hoping the 5 cord I have would make it in to winter #2
 
Sorry Todd and John, but if this woodseller isn't on his first season of cutting/selling wood, he did try to cheat you. I only bought 4 cord and once dumped into the driveway(one cord at a time), I could tell if it was short. I shall now meet my wood sellers with a 629 S&W;strapped to my hip. Extreme, yes,,,,,unreasonable ...no. From what I have seen every other wood seller is a crook. No more Mr Nice Guy. I want 128 cubic feet for a cord. No if's and's or but's about it . I deal in lead...
 
Adios Pantalones said:
I hear this a lot and I wonder how many times it's a mistake and how many times it's a dealer that tries to see if they'll get called on it or not- then just squares up when they are called and look good for it...
Click to expand...

That is exactly my opinion on the matter. The same scenario has happened to me already and countless others too. But since your dealer even threw in extra wood, I would use him from now on. Especially because now he knows that he can't pull one over on you. Therefore, the next time you place an order, you'll get what you paid for.
 
I agree with all of you on this. Since it was a perfect 1/2 cord short, I figured he pinched the load. My test was that he made good on it. I made sure my ducks were all in a row when I talked to him so he now knows that I'm paying attention to what I'm getting. He added the (at least) half cord to the wood he delivered this morning, so I'll be very surprised if there's less than 3.5 cord in the pile (which does seem appreciably bigger than last time...).

So, long story short, as long as he makes good, I'm happy.

To the other poster who has a 1400 - I expect to burn 4 - 5 cord this winter. I've never burned one of these fancy new stoves, so I imagine I'll burn considerably less than I did in my monster wood boiler in the drafty old barn of a house we lived in in Vermont. Our house here is smaller and a bit tighter (although not as tight as I would like...). By the time I get through this dry stuff, the other wood will be dry enough to burn, if necessary. Whatever's left comes to the front and I'll buy more in the spring.
 
I do not necessarily think that they are all ripping folks off - they are just not as sensitive as to the exact measure as us customers. Most of the guys I have seen operate never stack the wood unless they are asked to - so really do not know what the actual volume is when loading it with a machine besides the capacity of the vehicle used for transport. They do not use conversion factors for volume of machine loaded v stacked wood.
 
Here is my take, He knew exactly how much wood he was delivering, and he knows how much a cord of wood is. You dont stay in business not knowing the common measurements of the commodity your selling, be it milk, corn, or jelly beans. Why would wood be any different?I bet he doesn't give people a 1/2 cord to much very often. People give crooks the benefit of the doubt way too often, and is why there are so many crooks in the world. If the truth be know I bet he does this to all his customers and then says OPPS! when caught by someone and then gives them the right amount and they are actually happy about it. It pays him better to do that then actually doing the right thing from the start. What punishment is there for shorting people? None, or the law isn't enforced and so the crime keeps getting committed. This would stop tomorrow if they were to be made to pay 5 times the amount on second offense.
 
you know - I never see the "guess what a new dealer delivered my wood and it was half a cord too much " posts !!

think about it - 1/2 a cord short @ $220 - X 600 customers = $66,000 extra profit ! - yeah- sure-accident !

to me it is like mail in rebates - it's a numbers game - how many people call them on it !
 
just my 2 cents -I sell some face cords in front of my house. No delivery. That way what you see is what you get. However -you can stack wood tight or loose and a little bit of "loose" goes a long way in shorting the cord. We always try to stack fairly tight . Also -a cord stacked fresh split will shrink as it seasons. I've seen as much as a whole top row shrink in a few months. But as far as delivery goes -you guys are right -if they can get away with it they will. And I don't think the delivery type wood guys actually stack and measure each cord. They usually just fill the truck with what hey think it should be and dump it. Especially if they don't have to stack it.
 
Another point about unscrupulous dealers -when we first started selling wood we were splitting into pretty large chunks. A lot of pieces were split only once. One buyer took a couple of face cords then came back for 4 more then came back and wanted all Ii could give him. As we were not really in the business of selling I could not sell anymore. Come to find out he was taking it to his place -resplitting it and reselling it for more than he paid and I know he was getting more than a face cord when it was resplit. Once we found that out we never sold to him again. A lot of crooks out there!!!
 
gweldgen said:
Another point about unscrupulous dealers -when we first started selling wood we were splitting into pretty large chunks. A lot of pieces were split only once. One buyer took a couple of face cords then came back for 4 more then came back and wanted all Ii could give him. As we were not really in the business of selling I could not sell anymore. Come to find out he was taking it to his place -resplitting it and reselling it for more than he paid and I know he was getting more than a face cord when it was resplit. Once we found that out we never sold to him again. A lot of crooks out there!!!
Click to expand...

Sounds like good business to me.
You should have provided the service he did(splitting smaller), then you could have charged more yourself. Well, maybe not because then you would have had to call your self the crook.
 
I agree that the dealer's willingness to make good on the missing 1/2 cord is commendable (and not necessarily something that others would do). I had an honest wood dealer when I first retired here. Unfortunately, he developed back problems and decided to quit--I can't blame him, it does require a good back. I've not been able to find anyone dependable and who delivers a true cord since then. This year, I'll burn seasoned pine that I can get from a nearby small mill operation that sells it's scrap. (I waited too long to go in to the forest this year--I'm paranoid about going to areas where I can run in to grizzlies, since they're going in to overdrive eating now to put on weight for hibernation.) I've ordered a dump truck, which is about 4 cords. I also filled up my 8 ft. truck bed today when I went to the mill to order the dump truck load (if I'm lucky, I got about 1/2 cord today--I have to unload, cut, split and stack it in my wood shed tomorrow).
 
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