Customer wants to pay extra for green wood.

[quads]

Generally the oak firewood I sell I is cut, split , and stacked for up to three years. This winter has been a record for sales. They have all but cleaned me out of the good stuff, which I inform each and every customer of, and I am currently selling 7-8 month old oak wilt wood. Eventually, if sales keep up like this, I will either have to turn people away or sell fresh cut wood. When asked, some people tell me they don't want fresh cut, which is understandable. Others tell me they will buy it anyway and stack it themselves to be used in the future. And still others tell me they don't care what it is because their stoves will burn anything they put in it.

As a rule, I do not cut green trees. The trees I cut are all long dead of oak wilt, most of the time I wait until the roots rot off and they tip over on their own before turning them into firewood. The only time I will cut a green tree is if it was taken down by a storm etc. Yesterday I was told by a customer that my seasoned oak wilt wood burns too fast. I had previously told them that I don't cut green trees. This customer said that they are going to buy some green wood from somebody else to mix in with my seasoned wood so that they will use/buy less wood. Even though the guy is selling green wood for $110 for 2 face cord, which actually figures out to be $10 more than what 2 face cord of my seasoned oak wilt wood costs them from me! But they really want green wood to mix in and 'slow' their fire down.

They ordered two more loads from me today, which I will be delivering this afternoon, and I will talk to them more about it. If they really want wet-ish wood, I can certainly sell them all the fresh cut wood they want, but it won't be green.

 

[NH_Wood]

Well Quads, as they say, the customer is always right..........okay, perhaps not in this case! Oh well, I guess it saves you some work - you can cut and deliver, instead of cut, stack, wait, and deliver! Sounds like you have a good thing going. A buddy of mine is trying to convince me to sell wood. I'm back to nearly 20 cord on hand - even with what I've pulled out for this season. He thinks I should sell 5 cord of seasoned wood per year, for say ~ $220 cord, and then buy green for ~ $150. The extra $70 or so a cord, or ~ $350, could go toward offsetting my oil bill for the year (DHW) while maintaining the same amount of wood on hand. I guess I like the idea, but I've put so much effort into putting the wood away, the splits are like my children - albeit children that I like to burn in a stove. Cheers!

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Olde Tyme wisdom's going to make someone some money.

There's a sucker born every minute- but they don't have to volunteer like that.

 

[firefighterjake]

Olde Tyme wisdom's going to make someone some money.

There's a sucker born every minute- but they don't have to volunteer like that.

A rather shady businessman in my town used to say . . . "They say there's a sucker born every minute -- but I only care about the ones with cash or good credit."

 

[FLINT]

I also won't cut living trees unless someone is having them taken out of their yard and they are going to be cut either way. In the forest, I only cut dead or down trees.

If it were me, I would sell them your recently cut stuff and say thats as green as you have and tell them to turn the air down on their stove!! or to install a damper in their stove pipe. or say for each of your splits of wood you sell them to go outside and collect some snow and throw it in their stove with the wood - and thats the same as having green wood. that will save them even more money as snow is free.

don't listen to me though, as I could never ever be a salesman or business man. I'm so stubborn, that i couldn't be motivated to change the way I do things by money.

 

[Gunks]

Quads, your customer just want to do their share to support the economy -- pay you extra for green wood and hopefully pay someone soon to clean the chimney.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Quads, just sell them what they want if you can't convince them of the proper way. Besides, some folks just have their minds made up and no amount of facts will change it. My guess is they talked to a relative or friend or maybe Grandpa paid a visit and told them the wood is burning up too fast and they need some fresh cut stuff. No question, I'd try to convince them but in the end would sell them whatever they wanted.

I have a case here where I offered free wood to a new wood burner to get them through this winter. Nope! They have their own woodlot and will cut the oak from there. Well, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

 

[lukem]

"A fool and his money are soon parted."

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Maybe someone could help him find out why the better wood is burning up too fast? Assuming he is using a woodstove -which I know almost nothing about- I'd say that if the seasoned wood is overheating the house, he needs to fix the air leak. If the seasoned wood is burning up but not overheating the house, then the green wood is not going to heat the house satisfactorily.

 

[woodchip]

he needs to fix the air leak.

The only usual air leak in new woodstoves I can think of is when you don't dial down the primary at all and the fire roars away.

I say that as nobody told me that you had to do that until I read the posts on this forum. Honestly.

This forum must have saved me a pile of wood in the last few weeks

 

[quads]

Maybe someone could help him find out why the better wood is burning up too fast? Assuming he is using a woodstove -which I know almost nothing about- I'd say that if the seasoned wood is overheating the house, he needs to fix the air leak. If the seasoned wood is burning up but not overheating the house, then the green wood is not going to heat the house satisfactorily.

Well, I could describe their wood burning system to you, but unless you were familiar with the way people do things around here, you might not believe me. But anyway, here goes:

They have an ancient wood furnace in their garage. The ducts from the furnace are piped into the house. The garage is a sheet metal building with no insulation; you can see daylight under the eaves. Air leak? What's that? HAHA!

 

[quads]

Well, I talked to them this afternoon. Told them the wood I have is not green, but I can sell them all the fresh-cut dead wood they want and for less money than the other guy selling the green wood. So they decided to just keep getting their wood from me (even if it isn't the green that they really wanted) and they doubled their original order. So I finished up delivering it to them tonight, which was the same 2 face cord as the other guy wanted to sell them, but for $10 less from me. And I always make sure they get a little extra.

This picture was taken this morning. This is some of the wood they were happily putting in their stove as I drove away, another satisfied customer, even if I felt uneasy about selling it to them to burn right away:

 

[SolarAndWood]

This is some of the wood they were happily putting in their stove as I drove away

That is one sweet setup for you. Did they get a moisture meter out when you delivered to make sure it was high enough?

 

[ChillyGator]

This is some of the wood they were happily putting in their stove as I drove away

That is one sweet setup for you. Did they get a moisture meter out when you delivered to make sure it was high enough?

ICE TEA all over my monitor....thanks a lot :shut:

 

[Danno77]

You still enjoying that new handle, Quads?

 

[quads]

You still enjoying that new handle, Quads?

Yes I am! It has stayed tight and seems like it's going to last pretty well. An old friend of mine stopped by the other night and was asking me about how I tightened it up by putting extra metal wedges in it. As he was looking at it, he asks; "where are all the over-strike marks?" He said later that I gave him such a dirty look that he couldn't hold a straight face and burst out laughing. He is an old enough friend that he knows I haven't had an over-strike in close to 30 years! HA!

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

This is some of the wood they were happily putting in their stove as I drove away

That is one sweet setup for you. Did they get a moisture meter out when you delivered to make sure it was high enough?

ICE TEA all over my monitor....thanks a lot :shut:

TFF :vampire:

 

[quads]

HA! I get all kinds of people. Here are a couple more samples:

This guy calls me several times a year, and has even stopped in a few times, just to tell me that the price of my firewood is too high. He has contacted me so many times over the years that I even recognize his voice on the telephone now, and he has never bought one single stick from me. One time he told me that I would never sell any wood at that price and that it would all rot first. To which I replied that it didn't matter to me because I would just haul the rotten wood back out in the woods and dump it. The last time he called me was a few weeks ago and he has not called me since. Maybe I finally ditched him for good? Here is how the conversation went:

Phone rings.
Me: Hello?
Guy: How much is your firewood.
Me: $25 for 1/2 face cord.
Guy: So, $50 for a whole face cord.
Me: Yes.
Guy: That's too expensive.
Me: How much is your firewood?
Guy: I don't have any firewood.
Me: Not such a bad price after all, is it?



Another guy stopped over with a trailer behind his truck. He spent over an hour talking to me about the various cancers he has had and how part of his genitals had to be removed, then about how his insurance company only covers him in certain areas so he is stuck here in the cold country, and then about his family that lives elsewhere, and about how he just has a tiny stove that won't take very big splits, and blah blah blah. I showed him the firewood that I have to sell, asked him if he thought that would work in his stove. He replied that most of it was probably too long, but since that is what I have to sell, he would make do with it. I helped him load $50 worth on his trailer, then talked for another half hour about how he should probably just quit heating with wood and buy gas. Later that night, he calls and this is how that conversation went:

Phone rings.
Me: Hello.
Guy: Could you cut firewood special for me that is shorter than regular firewood?
Me: I'm sorry, I'm so far behind on my regular firewood that I don't know when I would have time to cut firewood special for you.
Guy: (gets mad) Do you have any idea how hard it is to cut each piece of firewood to fit in my tiny stove?
Me: Yes, I'm pretty sure I do, seeing as I cut each piece the first time when it's still a tree in the woods, then split it, stack it, and haul it.
Guy: (grumbles something rude and hangs up)

 

[firefighterjake]

HA! I get all kinds of people. Here are a couple more samples:

This guy calls me several times a year, and has even stopped in a few times, just to tell me that the price of my firewood is too high. He has contacted me so many times over the years that I even recognize his voice on the telephone now, and he has never bought one single stick from me. One time he told me that I would never sell any wood at that price and that it would all rot first. To which I replied that it didn't matter to me because I would just haul the rotten wood back out in the woods and dump it. The last time he called me was a few weeks ago and he has not called me since. Maybe I finally ditched him for good? Here is how the conversation went:

Phone rings.
Me: Hello?
Guy: How much is your firewood.
Me: $25 for 1/2 face cord.
Guy: So, $50 for a whole face cord.
Me: Yes.
Guy: That's too expensive.
Me: How much is your firewood?
Guy: I don't have any firewood.
Me: Not such a bad price after all, is it?


Another guy stopped over with a trailer behind his truck. He spent over an hour talking to me about the various cancers he has had and how part of his genitals had to be removed, then about how his insurance company only covers him in certain areas so he is stuck here in the cold country, and then about his family that lives elsewhere, and about how he just has a tiny stove that won't take very big splits, and blah blah blah. I showed him the firewood that I have to sell, asked him if he thought that would work in his stove. He replied that most of it was probably too long, but since that is what I have to sell, he would make do with it. I helped him load $50 worth on his trailer, then talked for another half hour about how he should probably just quit heating with wood and buy gas. Later that night, he calls and this is how that conversation went:

Phone rings.
Me: Hello.
Guy: Could you cut firewood special for me that is shorter than regular firewood?
Me: I'm sorry, I'm so far behind on my regular firewood that I don't know when I would have time to cut firewood special for you.
Guy: (gets mad) Do you have any idea how hard it is to cut each piece of firewood to fit in my tiny stove?
Me: Yes, I'm pretty sure I do, seeing as I cut each piece the first time when it's still a tree in the woods, then split it, stack it, and haul it.
Guy: (grumbles something rude and hangs up)

Love it . . . you truly are a class act Quads . . . one of those guys I wouldn't mind meeting in person one day.

 

[FireAnt]

This is some of the wood they were happily putting in their stove as I drove away

That is one sweet setup for you. Did they get a moisture meter out when you delivered to make sure it was high enough?

LOL LOL LOL!!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

he needs to fix the air leak.

The only usual air leak in new woodstoves I can think of is when you don't dial down the primary at all and the fire roars away.

I say that as nobody told me that you had to do that until I read the posts on this forum. Honestly.

This forum must have saved me a pile of wood in the last few weeks

Woodchip, it is guys like you that keep me coming back to hearth.com. If I can help only one, it is worth the time. Besides, I started enjoying being on this forum a couple years ago.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

HA! I get all kinds of people. Here are a couple more samples:

This guy calls me several times a year, and has even stopped in a few times, just to tell me that the price of my firewood is too high. He has contacted me so many times over the years that I even recognize his voice on the telephone now, and he has never bought one single stick from me. One time he told me that I would never sell any wood at that price and that it would all rot first. To which I replied that it didn't matter to me because I would just haul the rotten wood back out in the woods and dump it. The last time he called me was a few weeks ago and he has not called me since. Maybe I finally ditched him for good? Here is how the conversation went:

Phone rings.
Me: Hello?
Guy: How much is your firewood.
Me: $25 for 1/2 face cord.
Guy: So, $50 for a whole face cord.
Me: Yes.
Guy: That's too expensive.
Me: How much is your firewood?
Guy: I don't have any firewood.
Me: Not such a bad price after all, is it?



Another guy stopped over with a trailer behind his truck. He spent over an hour talking to me about the various cancers he has had and how part of his genitals had to be removed, then about how his insurance company only covers him in certain areas so he is stuck here in the cold country, and then about his family that lives elsewhere, and about how he just has a tiny stove that won't take very big splits, and blah blah blah. I showed him the firewood that I have to sell, asked him if he thought that would work in his stove. He replied that most of it was probably too long, but since that is what I have to sell, he would make do with it. I helped him load $50 worth on his trailer, then talked for another half hour about how he should probably just quit heating with wood and buy gas. Later that night, he calls and this is how that conversation went:

Phone rings.
Me: Hello.
Guy: Could you cut firewood special for me that is shorter than regular firewood?
Me: I'm sorry, I'm so far behind on my regular firewood that I don't know when I would have time to cut firewood special for you.
Guy: (gets mad) Do you have any idea how hard it is to cut each piece of firewood to fit in my tiny stove?
Me: Yes, I'm pretty sure I do, seeing as I cut each piece the first time when it's still a tree in the woods, then split it, stack it, and haul it.
Guy: (grumbles something rude and hangs up)

Quads, I like your style! Some day we need to meet just to have a chat. Who knows, I get across the pond once in a while; at least once every 20 years or so.

 

[quads]

Thanks guys! I really would like to meet you someday too!

I actually felt sorry for the guy that needed the shorter wood.....up until the point that he got mad at me when I told him I couldn't make him my priority customer. I mean, we've all had our problems (I have an electrical short-circuit in my heart that surgery never did quite fix; farmer's lung, etc. etc.) I didn't ask him his age, but I am almost certainly older than he is, and I know for a fact that I am stuck here in the cold country until the day I die, no big deal. I sold auto parts for enough years to know how bar tenders feel listening to all the problems of their customers. I guess wood sellers get their share too.

Anyway, the problem I had with the guy is that I went through all of that for $50 worth of wood (that he inspected before purchase and picked up himself) only to have him call me later and chew me out. If he hadn't done that, I might have sorted some of my odds and ends out for him as I cut and made him a great deal. But, possibly because I'm Irish, I feel that no one has a right to get mad about anything except me, and I hold a grudge forever! HAHA!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well quads, you can't please them all. As for that fellow, I suspect he is that way with everything and everybody so just don't take it personally. Just give that Irish smile and carry on!

As for being stuck in the north, it ain't so bad. Late winter or early spring is when I like it the least. It seems you get a shot or two of some warm weather and then the cold feels worse. My wife and I were blessed and wintered 5 years near Yuma, AZ. We loved it there during the winter and have some happy memories. I was not sure about staying during the winter again but I actually missed it. I'd like to go out there again maybe for a winter or two but most of the time I'm very happy just staying home.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Me: Hello?
Guy: How much is your firewood.
Me: $25 for 1/2 face cord.
Guy: So, $50 for a whole face cord.
Me: Yes.
Guy: That's too expensive.
Me: How much is your firewood?
Guy: I don't have any firewood.
Me: Not such a bad price after all, is it?

Priceless

FWIW, some newbies here that buy wood and hop out of their truck with a MM in one hand and a hat full of 'tude should take note :coolsmirk: