Can you really trust people on facebook that sells firewood ?
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Some yes, some no. It's the same as purchasing firewood from any freelancer. Personally, I have not had the best luck. Generally "seasoned" wood, is not and a cord can be quite ambiguous. If you are shorted, good luck getting the balance made up. Now, I only buy green loads from the pros.
No. Much better to buy from somebody you know or who came recommended. You may get lucky, but are you really going to be able to verify quantity and moisture while the delivery is happening, and then refuse delivery? Some people maybe, but probably not. I sell some firewood, I only have 2 customers (my in-laws and another guy), and they both told me that the other firewood sellers they’ve used have shorted them and/or sold them completely green wood—they’ve had zero luck with random people on marketplace. I bought wood once from marketplace, someone with good reviews even, and the wood was green. It was ash, but still not seasoned.
It’s easy to verify to customers that they are not getting shorted. Have them walk onto your property and see a stack of firewood that they can measure, check dryness etc. unfortunately, by stacking it pre sale you have increased your workload greatly and will need to charge more. You’re also inviting people onto your land and around equipment that they can get hurt on.
Option 2. Dump the pieces into containers of known volume and have them overflowing enough to make up for any shortfall, Less work, can be done easier with a conveyer.
The hard part of the whole situation is you have only so much land to process on. Odds are you aren’t going to have 100 cords lying around drying. You also can only charge so much for a cord. Call around your area for prices.
The only way to make money is to cut down on the amount of work you have to do for it. This means automation and more money invested at the beginning.
Run your numbers. How long does it take to process a cord? What does the wood cost? How many extra hours are invested processing it. How's much is your work worth? Now how much can you sell it for? Can you make more at your regular job? Most likely yes.
Automation and volume are the only ways to make money in firewood. And that carries substantial upfront costs.
Option 2. Dump the pieces into containers of known volume and have them overflowing enough to make up for any shortfall, Less work, can be done easier with a conveyer.
The hard part of the whole situation is you have only so much land to process on. Odds are you aren’t going to have 100 cords lying around drying. You also can only charge so much for a cord. Call around your area for prices.
The only way to make money is to cut down on the amount of work you have to do for it. This means automation and more money invested at the beginning.
Run your numbers. How long does it take to process a cord? What does the wood cost? How many extra hours are invested processing it. How's much is your work worth? Now how much can you sell it for? Can you make more at your regular job? Most likely yes.
Automation and volume are the only ways to make money in firewood. And that carries substantial upfront costs.
I would just revert (as a customer) to buy green wood and season it myself.
Then only the volume could be an issue.
Then only the volume could be an issue.
I know a guy who is space challenged. He sells loads the size of his dump truck(known volume). He backs it up to his processor and then fills it straight off his conveyer. All wood is green and high quality. Other than moving logs from the as delivered stack to his processor by tractor he doesn’t touch it.
There’s another operation by me that is much bigger. He has a pile in the sun bigger than my house. (I don’t have a large house, lol) He has a farm so plenty of land and equipment to move wood. He probably has 3-4 acres devoted to it.
About 45 minutes north of here there’s a boutique dealer that splits up logs by species, stacks and air dries them. He puts a lot of money into advertising and appears to run out every year. I doubt the wood is dry, but his clients can talk about their face cord of hop hornbeam. Look how he’s measuring the water content.
www.seasonedgourmetfirewood.com
There’s another operation by me that is much bigger. He has a pile in the sun bigger than my house. (I don’t have a large house, lol) He has a farm so plenty of land and equipment to move wood. He probably has 3-4 acres devoted to it.
About 45 minutes north of here there’s a boutique dealer that splits up logs by species, stacks and air dries them. He puts a lot of money into advertising and appears to run out every year. I doubt the wood is dry, but his clients can talk about their face cord of hop hornbeam. Look how he’s measuring the water content.
Shop | Exit 15N Firewood | Saratoga Springs | New York
Order dry seasoned firewood for your heating, camping and cooking needs. We offer multiple types of firewood such as Hickory, Cherry, Birch, Oak, Pine and Mixed Hardwood. We provide delivery and stacking services.
If I was selling firewood I wouldn’t stack it. it’s too much time and work. I sold three cords of ash firewood for my Neighbor 3 years ago but I stacked it on my property. And sold all 3 cords for $600. He wanted it for $400.. I think the average person doesn’t see how much time goes into firewood. But I will never do that again. I found out neighbors. Think they deserve a discount just because we are neighbors.I know a guy who is space challenged. He sells loads the size of his dump truck(known volume). He backs it up to his processor and then fills it straight off his conveyer. All wood is green and high quality. Other than moving logs from the as delivered stack to his processor by tractor he doesn’t touch it.
There’s another operation by me that is much bigger. He has a pile in the sun bigger than my house. (I don’t have a large house, lol) He has a farm so plenty of land and equipment to move wood. He probably has 3-4 acres devoted to it.
About 45 minutes north of here there’s a boutique dealer that splits up logs by species, stacks and air dries them. He puts a lot of money into advertising and appears to run out every year. I doubt the wood is dry, but his clients can talk about their face cord of hop hornbeam. Look how he’s measuring the water content.
Shop | Exit 15N Firewood | Saratoga Springs | New York
Order dry seasoned firewood for your heating, camping and cooking needs. We offer multiple types of firewood such as Hickory, Cherry, Birch, Oak, Pine and Mixed Hardwood. We provide delivery and stacking services.
In my area it’s common to see people selling firewood by the pickup or trailer load, at least you have an idea of the volume your buying.
Ad: Toyota Tacoma bed jammed full of firewood. At least 1.5 cords. Aged in the round 2 years and split so it is ready to burn this year. This oak is some of the best wood you can get. Hurry before it is gone.
Hey the wood buyer is responsible, too. Don't fall for ads like this.
Hey the wood buyer is responsible, too. Don't fall for ads like this.
Yea it’s an incredible amount of work for such little money. There’s really no real market for it here like there is in other countries. I just looked it up for where I lived in northern Germany, firewood right now goes for the equivalent of ~$620 USD, up to $785 per cord there (they sell by cubic meter and it’s in euros, and prices vary by species and length of splits; I did the rough conversion for high quality hardwood, and those are the numbers I got). If we had such prices here, making money from firewood would be much more viable for small-time producers
That's what I do. The company has the volume down to a science. Fortunately, doug fir delivered in April is nice and dry by fall. With our drought summer this year, it's already downright crispy.
If you see a splitter in the pictures of the wood they are selling, dead giveaway it’s green.
You need to respond to any seller like this.
I’m picky about my wood. I will check through it with a meter . If it’s not dry I won’t accept it.
99% of the time they won’t respond back.
You need to respond to any seller like this.
I’m picky about my wood. I will check through it with a meter . If it’s not dry I won’t accept it.
99% of the time they won’t respond back.
Many sellers think their wood truly is dry because the do not know you have to resplit a piece before you can get an accurate reading. They test the outside and it comes up 12% so they are convinced their wood is dry.
They also know how much work and cost is involved in processing the wood. Driving it out there and then driving it back for free doesn’t help the business model, especially with fuel prices as they are.
If you wanted to come test the wood at my lot I’d welcome you with open arms. You can pick it up then too. You want me to load the trailer bring it out there and then you reject it? In order to be polite I probably wouldn’t call back. Even if my wood was 12% MC. I’d rather deal with other people. Time is money.
Remember that you are being interviewed as much as you are interviewing the seller.
Buy it green. You know the product, there are no surprises.
If you wanted to come test the wood at my lot I’d welcome you with open arms. You can pick it up then too. You want me to load the trailer bring it out there and then you reject it? In order to be polite I probably wouldn’t call back. Even if my wood was 12% MC. I’d rather deal with other people. Time is money.
Remember that you are being interviewed as much as you are interviewing the seller.
Buy it green. You know the product, there are no surprises.
I don't buy firewood on FB but I am a seller and have not had one unhappy customer yet. There are sellers on there that are legit and some that are sketchy. You just have to know your wood and what to expect. Never be afraid to reject if it's not to your likings.
I receive my wood from an Semi-Amish guy who cuts logs into 16" piece. He has one of those $100k log cutting machines. I then split it myself and stack it along the property in 4x8 stacks. They are seasoned to 15% or less before I sell and I only sell by the face cord cuz that's all my 5x8 trailer holds. If you want a cord then it will be three trips at the advertised price. I also do what not too many sellers do, stack it. This has sort of boosted our sales, mainly to the elderly, because the idea of having wood delivered and stacked is convenient to them. To some, it's more work as we touch the wood multiple times but to me it's just making the buyer happy that they buy more later. I have three customers who buy a FC every couple weeks.
The stacking part does require having a capable rig to get to where they want it stacked which is why we use our 99 Jeep Cherokee to deliver.
I receive my wood from an Semi-Amish guy who cuts logs into 16" piece. He has one of those $100k log cutting machines. I then split it myself and stack it along the property in 4x8 stacks. They are seasoned to 15% or less before I sell and I only sell by the face cord cuz that's all my 5x8 trailer holds. If you want a cord then it will be three trips at the advertised price. I also do what not too many sellers do, stack it. This has sort of boosted our sales, mainly to the elderly, because the idea of having wood delivered and stacked is convenient to them. To some, it's more work as we touch the wood multiple times but to me it's just making the buyer happy that they buy more later. I have three customers who buy a FC every couple weeks.
The stacking part does require having a capable rig to get to where they want it stacked which is why we use our 99 Jeep Cherokee to deliver.
Buyer beware on FB!! A lot of scammers out there. Never I mean NEVER pay for any firewood until it is dumped on your land!! That being said I did try to purchase some firewood from a local dealer a few months ago. He said it was seasoned wood. I asked him what his definition of seasoned was. I said mine is a moisture content of under 20%. He said oh yes it's plenty dry. Truck showed up I had my meter in hand. Drive asked if I was doing a science project. lol I said I'm paying extra for seasoned wood I want to check a few pieces. I checked 4 pieces and got between 25-31 moisture. The driver who wasn't the owner had no patience and didn't want to hear what I was saying. He said he would just take it back. So back it went. Got some delivered 5 days later. Seasoned and a bit cheaper.
You can trust anyone, of course, but you might regret it. Trust but verify.
I've sold lots of wood and will not drop a single piece until I have cash in hand. I make sure they are happy with the quantity and quality before taking money or dropping the load. I've never been sent away yet.
I've sold lots of wood and will not drop a single piece until I have cash in hand. I make sure they are happy with the quantity and quality before taking money or dropping the load. I've never been sent away yet.
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