is this possible?

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iceman

Minister of Fire
Nov 18, 2006
2,403
Springfield Ma (western mass)
I was thinking... Any way we can start our own co-op or something where groups of us can buy (hopefully at better prices) ?
Maybe we don't want all of specific kinds of tons ...maybe we want some variety? But this way we could have it? Or just get it cheaper if we do purchase specific tons... Set up a " pellet swap"
Just throwing ideas out there ... I know there are places that give better prices for volume and there would also be places that would give people here discounts.. just wondering.. please excuse me if this post is not appropriate
 
This could be done and you would save some money, not as much as you think
We buy directly from Somerset in KY and get good pricing, 22 tons at a time
then you have to add shipping to your location and
have a way to unload a semi box or flatbed
then you have to have a place to store them
possibly for a couple of years
so it might just be easier to buy a ton at a time
 
I tried to set up a group buy with Vermonts. Had a shipper, a place to temporarily store them, had a forklift and everything. The Price from the factory was alright. but by the time you factored in shipping, it was approaching not being worth it. Then people started with the "Well I can only take 2 of the 4 tons I was going to order," "How long can we leave them in the hangar?" and "I don;t have a way to pick them up, you have a trailer, can you deliver them?"

I finally just canceled the whole thing. My buddy and I were the only ones being reasonable, so he split the gas with me and we made a couple runs with the trailer for about the same money.

I wish you luck, but your logistical needs seem like they would be even higher than mine were...
 
Best trying to find one and get in on it. Mentioned to a buddy at work I boughtan insert and he mentioned he was in a coop. May have to give it a try next year.
 
AVIVIII said:
....Then people started with the "Well I can only take 2 of the 4 tons I was going to order," "How long can we leave them in the hangar?" and "I don;t have a way to pick them up, you have a trailer, can you deliver them?"

I finally just canceled the whole thing........

I did the same thing a few years ago when I first started burning pellets, and had the EXACT same problem....I canned the whole thing too.
 
I understand it can be difficult, I too tried at work and it wasn't worth it.. that's why I was thinking here it would work... We are all pellet heads!
Not sure just how we could but even if we went to a store and said we want 25 tons or whatever ... We all go on a day or pay under the name we should get a better price?
 
I have done this and this is my thoughts
you have to layout in the area of 4000 dollars
you have to be able to recieve and unload a tractor trailer
box van you need a dock, flatbed enough room to get around but costs more
1 ton pallets are BIG weight wise
need an 873 bobcat to unload or adequate forklift
need someplace to put 22 pallets long term
pellet mark up is low, you will save some money
not as much as you think
basically over four years I will save 800 dollars
but I have a warehouse to store them with a loading dock and forklift
if you have to rent a bobcat at 240 a day and have them delivered by flatbed
you just lost half your savings
if you sell them you will need a way to load a trailer or truck for the customer
do you want that responsability for 50 bucks??
sounds really good, but in reality is it worth it......maybe
4000 tied up for 4-5 years????
price on pellets flat, sometimes I could of bought them local cheaper
will I do it again........not so sure
but they sure look pretty all stacked there
 
OMV, you know if we dont buy a load this year
the pellet prices will jump to 400 a ton next winter
then we will be kicking ourselves
 
I don't mean to be discouraging, but another problem you may run into is the mills themselves.

When I contacted the Vermont plant and wanted to buy 22 tons they said, "Great, when do you want to pick them up." Whats the price? $250/ton, just like everyone else pays. No bulk discount? No. Screw that.

So I called back a week later from my family's retail store and was going to sign them up as a dealer. We have the space and a fork lift and the only pellets that we can currently get from our suppliers are Lignetics and (barf) infernos, so for the same price point as the Ligs we could be selling a much better product. My Dad was on board, so I made the call. Nope, there are too many dealers in your area already. What? The closest dealer is 20 miles away and they gouge the $hit out of people, last time I checked they were getting $320/ton (yes, three hundred and twenty and they are generally SOLD OUT). There are 2 more within 50 miles who are reasonably priced ($259-$269), but a bit of a hike and no where near any place I ever go.... So I did some homework and found that (at the time) there were no dealers in a 30 mile radius of the airport I was working at. The boss said I could use the name, the forklift and the back corner of the maintenance hangar as long as he could get in on it. No problem. Called up the factory, got the wheels spinning again, and when I asked about delivery costs, they then mentioned that they didn't have their own trucks and I would have to hire a trucking company. Fine, did that too, everyone I called said that for a palletized load, they got $20/ton, which cut into the deal a little more, but was still kinda worth it. I then tried to start getting hard commitments from people. Thats where we ran into more problems.

The only place I called that offered good pricing, no questions asked and delivered was MWP, though they would only deliver in the state of Maine....

What I gathered from all my discussions was that there is a large enough demand for pellets that none of the mills have to do anyone any favors.
 
oldmountvernon said:
im looking into it ( emailed a few pellet companies today BUT ill go super premium if i do it ) but im just gonna buy the whole load ( if i think its worth it ) and make it available. craigslist is a pretty powerful tool 22 ton isnt much with a few people in on it

Now that makes sense rather than dealing with the very predictable nature of people as described above. You might even end up with free fuel for a year!
 
AVIVIII said:
I don't mean to be discouraging, but another problem you may run into is the mills themselves.......

What I gathered from all my discussions was that there is a large enough demand for pellets that none of the mills have to do anyone any favors.

Its not really about doing favors. They are in business and they need to treat these transactions as business transactions....not favors. These mills have a network of dealers that they rely on to move large volumes every year and cannot be doing "favors" for the thrifty minded consumers when they cannot meet their obligations to their own dealers.
 
We can order from a dealer , I am just suggesting... We get together ...
I am sure if we told a dealer we were gonna move .. say 50 tons he would give us better pricing... I would like to have some variety so a dealer might be our best option... But if we are gonna get a super premium for a good price then oh well...
I might be wrong for feeling this way but I feel that with all the pellet junkies here we should be able to save some cash together

Occupy pellets movement!
 
iceman said:
I am sure if we told a dealer we were gonna move .. say 50 tons he would give us better pricing

Lets say profit for a dealer, on average, barely tops $20 a ton, not including any delivery or storage fees he may charge (I use $20 because I've seen that number mentioned on here several times before).

Let's say this dealer gets a discount off his usual price because it's a large quantity order (and that's not guaranteed), and is able to sell to you at whatever his regular cost would be (he needs to make money too)

Saying this, your savings on 50 tons would be $1000

How many people are going to need to be in on this? Say 10 people at 5 tons each...

Saying this, that's a savings of $100 each.

A hundred lousy bucks on FIVE TONS, and you still haven't even figured out transportation, storage, etc with your 10 people.

Even if you save $50 a ton, by the time you add in the expenses of such an undertaking, and your time, it's simply not worth it when you can pick up the phone and get a couple of tons delivered for a few extra bucks and you don't have to do jack squat.
 
76brian said:
iceman said:
I am sure if we told a dealer we were gonna move .. say 50 tons he would give us better pricing

Lets say profit for a dealer, on average, barely tops $20 a ton, not including any delivery or storage fees he may charge (I use $20 because I've seen that number mentioned on here several times before).

Let's say this dealer gets a discount off his usual price because it's a large quantity order (and that's not guaranteed), and is able to sell to you at whatever his regular cost would be (he needs to make money too)

Saying this, your savings on 50 tons would be $1000

How many people are going to need to be in on this? Say 10 people at 5 tons each...

Saying this, that's a savings of $100 each.

A hundred lousy bucks on FIVE TONS, and you still haven't even figured out transportation, storage, etc with your 10 people.

Even if you save $50 a ton, by the time you add in the expenses of such an undertaking, and your time, it's simply not worth it when you can pick up the phone and get a couple of tons delivered for a few extra bucks and you don't have to do jack squat.


Guess that means your not in? .... Lol jk
Good points.....I guess I was dreaming....
Our only shot would be a warm winter and hoping for them to have some surplus at the end of Feb march..
Oh well....we could always buy/build our own mill!
 
76brian said:
iceman said:
I am sure if we told a dealer we were gonna move .. say 50 tons he would give us better pricing

Lets say profit for a dealer, on average, barely tops $20 a ton, not including any delivery or storage fees he may charge (I use $20 because I've seen that number mentioned on here several times before).

Let's say this dealer gets a discount off his usual price because it's a large quantity order (and that's not guaranteed), and is able to sell to you at whatever his regular cost would be (he needs to make money too)

Saying this, your savings on 50 tons would be $1000

How many people are going to need to be in on this? Say 10 people at 5 tons each...

Saying this, that's a savings of $100 each.

A hundred lousy bucks on FIVE TONS, and you still haven't even figured out transportation, storage, etc with your 10 people.

Even if you save $50 a ton, by the time you add in the expenses of such an undertaking, and your time, it's simply not worth it when you can pick up the phone and get a couple of tons delivered for a few extra bucks and you don't have to do jack squat.

there are a couple of issues
if you go thru a dealer he needs to make money, there goes your savings
it is prime time right now, you need to buy in the summer
the more people involved the more work there is
not worth 20=30 dollars per ton
been there done it
learn form others experience
 
I belong to an oil buying coop, that also sells pellets. They get all exited when they tell you they have a great deal on pellets through the coop. Well to be honest, their prices aren't even competitive. Not worth the hastle of arranging, delivering, not to mention the price. I think I'll pass!

Tom C.
 
You'll do better simply using coupons at Home Depot and having them deliver a few tons for you than you would spending all that time dicking around.

As others have stated, it's quite a logistical nightmare for the average joe.

If you're not moving a full truck and don't own the equipment for unloading one, there really isn't any savings to be had.
 
Checkthisout said:
You'll do better simply using coupons at Home Depot and having them deliver a few tons for you than you would spending all that time dicking around.

As others have stated, it's quite a logistical nightmare for the average joe.

If you're not moving a full truck and don't own the equipment for unloading one, there really isn't any savings to be had.

Someone is actually listening...........
 
ironpony said:
Someone is actually listening...........

Did you read my post? :cheese:

ironpony said:
76brian said:
iceman said:
I am sure if we told a dealer we were gonna move .. say 50 tons he would give us better pricing

Lets say profit for a dealer, on average, barely tops $20 a ton, not including any delivery or storage fees he may charge (I use $20 because I've seen that number mentioned on here several times before).

Let's say this dealer gets a discount off his usual price because it's a large quantity order (and that's not guaranteed), and is able to sell to you at whatever his regular cost would be (he needs to make money too)

Saying this, your savings on 50 tons would be $1000

How many people are going to need to be in on this? Say 10 people at 5 tons each...

Saying this, that's a savings of $100 each.

A hundred lousy bucks on FIVE TONS, and you still haven't even figured out transportation, storage, etc with your 10 people.

Even if you save $50 a ton, by the time you add in the expenses of such an undertaking, and your time, it's simply not worth it when you can pick up the phone and get a couple of tons delivered for a few extra bucks and you don't have to do jack squat.

there are a couple of issues
if you go thru a dealer he needs to make money, there goes your savings
it is prime time right now, you need to buy in the summer
the more people involved the more work there is
not worth 20=30 dollars per ton
been there done it
learn form others experience

We're arguing the same points :)
 
thats what I meant, we are saying the same thing and you get it
wheras alot of others think they are going to save big bucks
 
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