Danno77
Minister of Fire
When you get garbage wood, they should give you an overage. I'd say you should have a good 2.5 cords when it's done to make it right. I'd be calling him up.
Needing some advice-Firewood delivery not as expected
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smokinj
Minister of Fire
deck2
Burning Hunk
WOW-- this looks like the stuff that most sawmills give away for free and you paid for it-- so you paid to have it trucked to your house and dumped in your driveway. If you dont have a truck and trailer maybe it was worth it but personally I would have told him to leave it on the truck
sullystull
Feeling the Heat
deck2 said:
+1 around here, you can get a truck load of that for $5 at the sawmill. I'd be looking for free wood on craigslist from storm damage before I paid $150 for that mess.
Cluttermagnet
Minister of Fire
The ad says mostly Oak. That wood is mostly not Oak. Looks pretty bad for your dealer- and for you. FWIW it will be ready in the fall.
IanDad
Member
I purchase all of my wood. My advice is to keep reading here and ask a LOT of questions before dropping a dime with anyone you have not purchased from before. There are some incredibly knowledgeable people here, take advantage of the collective wisdom!
The most important thing I have done to weed out the scammers is to request to see the wood BEFORE delivery. Yes, this is a PITA for you but it is well worth it as probably ninety percent will quickly get off the phone or not return the email. This always takes them by surprise, especially when I tell them I will show up with a camera, moisture meter, and some way to measure. Keep track of these guys and don't bother ever contacting them again.
I have one guy that I deal with at this point. It took a over a year to find him after talking with probably a hundred different others. Is he perfect or even close to knowing his product? No! But he is fair and equitable. If you don't have the resources (truck, saw, trailer, woodlot) to process your own wood, you have to be willing to at least spend time wading through the scam artists and ignorance. This is a (for all intents and purposes) completely unregulated area of commerce and it is very difficult to find an honest dealer. Most probably don't even have the knowledge you have gained by spending time here reading a few posts. Mind boggling how uninformed most of them are...
It is a shame that there are very few honest and/or knowledgeable woodsellers out there, but that's just how it is. If you realize this, that's half the battle...
ETA:
One thing that has become completely clear to me that there is probably a very low profit margin on selling wood and therefore most smart or honest people will not even get involved in the business to begin with. Add the fact that the educated/honest woodseller is competing in a market with ninety percent scammers and you can see why it would be very difficult for an honest man to have it worth his time. I'm not a big fan of regulation (!) but this is a total caveat emptor market.
The most important thing I have done to weed out the scammers is to request to see the wood BEFORE delivery. Yes, this is a PITA for you but it is well worth it as probably ninety percent will quickly get off the phone or not return the email. This always takes them by surprise, especially when I tell them I will show up with a camera, moisture meter, and some way to measure. Keep track of these guys and don't bother ever contacting them again.
I have one guy that I deal with at this point. It took a over a year to find him after talking with probably a hundred different others. Is he perfect or even close to knowing his product? No! But he is fair and equitable. If you don't have the resources (truck, saw, trailer, woodlot) to process your own wood, you have to be willing to at least spend time wading through the scam artists and ignorance. This is a (for all intents and purposes) completely unregulated area of commerce and it is very difficult to find an honest dealer. Most probably don't even have the knowledge you have gained by spending time here reading a few posts. Mind boggling how uninformed most of them are...
It is a shame that there are very few honest and/or knowledgeable woodsellers out there, but that's just how it is. If you realize this, that's half the battle...
ETA:
One thing that has become completely clear to me that there is probably a very low profit margin on selling wood and therefore most smart or honest people will not even get involved in the business to begin with. Add the fact that the educated/honest woodseller is competing in a market with ninety percent scammers and you can see why it would be very difficult for an honest man to have it worth his time. I'm not a big fan of regulation (!) but this is a total caveat emptor market.
southbalto said:
Not to put too fine a point on it. but what is "seasoned"? How do you quantify it? (You can't.) Does basil and oregano qualify?
What I'm getting at is that "seasoned" is a "known unknown" therefore totally meaningless; fuzzy beyond redemption.
OTOH, were he to allege MC <= 15%, then you'd be talking something measurable, and you could make a case.
Hopefully, another valuable lesson. May it all work for you this fall, but get busy scrounging.
Do you trust salespeople and lawyers?
hemlock
Feeling the Heat
Looks like slabwood (he should have specified that in the ad) - which is usually quite cheaper than cordwood. Watch when you do burn it (once seasoned) - slabwood burns very hot.
btuser
Minister of Fire
Wood Fox said:
Garbage. Oh well. I count myself among the burned ones as well. Last year I bought wood and was shocked it actually measured up. I'm not used to that.
I agree with CTYank, if he didn't clarify what seasoned meant, and you accepted it and paid for it, I'd call it a learning experience. Better luck next time.
You got ripped off. The problem is, you accepted delivery, stacked it and cleaned up the mess. If I ever buy firewood again, I will just tell them not to bother claiming that their wood is seasoned. Just bring me a full cord of decent wood for the advertised price, and I'll let it sit for a year or two to make sure it's seasoned.
Another poster hit it on the head....firewood is a low margin business and it's tough to find an honest seller. There is a guy on the arborist site with a signature that reads something like, "If you want to wind up with a million dollars in the firewood business, start with two million".
Another poster hit it on the head....firewood is a low margin business and it's tough to find an honest seller. There is a guy on the arborist site with a signature that reads something like, "If you want to wind up with a million dollars in the firewood business, start with two million".
IanDad
Member
Yes, you did get ripped off. Hate to pile on, but that's probably an expensive lesson learned that you will not make again.
Not to totally rag on all woodsellers, but I don't think that any other vendor or trade I have ever dealt with has such a high percentage of dishonest/ignorant people associated with it... If the price of petro skyrockets, it's only gonna get worse as people try to make a buck.
Keep reading here and get educated, scrounge whenever possible, and stick to your guns with the charlatans. Once you find a good vendor (and they do exist) treat him respectfully and appreciate how incredibly hard he has to work to get a quality product dumped on your driveway. You will still save quite a bit of $ vs. LP/Oil and the ambiance of the stove is wonderful.
Not to totally rag on all woodsellers, but I don't think that any other vendor or trade I have ever dealt with has such a high percentage of dishonest/ignorant people associated with it... If the price of petro skyrockets, it's only gonna get worse as people try to make a buck.
Keep reading here and get educated, scrounge whenever possible, and stick to your guns with the charlatans. Once you find a good vendor (and they do exist) treat him respectfully and appreciate how incredibly hard he has to work to get a quality product dumped on your driveway. You will still save quite a bit of $ vs. LP/Oil and the ambiance of the stove is wonderful.
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