Let's start a pellet buying co-op in NW NJ

[northernnjnewbie]

I'm serious. I see alot of posts on here from those of us in Morris, Sussex, Warren. I'm sure we could get a great deal on a truck of Lignetics (a brand most of us seem to like). I'd be glad to rent a Ryder truck and buy four tons at a good price.

Has anyone on here ever done this?

 

[shupe]

I would love to be in a buying co-op. I already have one quote from Rocky Mountain Pellets at 274/ton delivered 8500btu <4%ash. I am waiting for Dansons from Alberta and Lignetics. I can store up to 4 tons. It would take coordination and cooperation but it could be a good savings for everyone.

 

[CamperDan]

I would be interested. I am in Chester. I usually buy the pellets from SOS Fireplace in Mansfield. I know they sell the ones you mentioned.

 

[shupe]

I will post the numbers when I recieve the quotes and hopefully I can get enough people interested to make a bulk purchase worth our while

 

[MrVStar]

I would like in on this pellet run. I can take 4 or 5 ton. However I do think $274 a ton is a bit high. Their website (Rocky Mountain) claims there pellets are rated @ 7951 btu. Seems a bit low to me. I am going to make a trip to PA. soon. Its only 37 miles from me. I found pellets there for $5.00 per bag. At this time they had Turman or Penwood brands. I searched and found people like the Turmans. I can't find any info on the Penwoods. After I try a couple bags of each I will see what he wants for delivery. I also would have no problem dropping 18-22 pallets in my driveway if they were all spoken for.

 

[UglyTunaSaloona]

I would be interested in the co-op provided that we could get quality pellets for a good price. I too am in Warren County and buy from SOS. I am down to my last 5 bags from ton #3 and I'm currently planning on purchasing another ton over the weekend. I do not know anything about Penwood or Turman and would like to try few bags before jumping in for 2-3 tons. So far this season I've used American Wood Fiber, Energex, and Lignetics from SOS. I do not have any complaints about any of those.

 

[squeed]

I'm interested as well. I would be in for 4 tons. But like everyone else said, they need to be high quality pellets for a good price. A good price is $200/ton. From what I've read, a truck load is 22 tons. There is a pellet mill in Glen Gardner in Warren county. I've talked to the owners, they also have a mill in Allentown, PA about 20 mins drive from Alpha in Warren County. They won't sell to end users even if you buy a truck load, they said they have to protect their dealers. Whatever.

I posted about this yesterday and here are my questions.

1. Who runs the co-op ? Lets say you pick 1 person. Do they collect the cash up front ? A truck load is $6K-$7K

2. For at least the first season, nobody knows anyone else. So how do you trust sending $1,000 to someone that you're actually going to get your pellets ?

3. When the pellets get delivered, where do they get delivered ? Who unloads the truck ? Who has a forklift ? Who disposes of the pallets ?

4. What happens when not everyone shows up on the same day or the same time to get their pellets ? Who watches them so nobody steals them ? How are they protected from the rain ?

5. If the supplier of the pellets screws you and sends you horse bedding instead, who deals with that problem ?

6. When someone who agreed to buy drops out for whatever reason and demands their money back, who deals with that problem. Who coughs up the cash to pay the supplier ?

If you've ever ran a football pool you know what I'm talking about. Collecting $5 from the 50 people on your football grid is hard enough, let alone dealing with $6K-$7K and a bunch of
people that you don't know. A lot of variables.

I think it is a great idea, obviously, I posted about it myself, but it seems like a lot of potential issues, to save not that much money. If the average person buys 4 tons for the season at $200/ton vs. $290/ton
from a dealer. Is it worth the hassel to save $360 ? I'm not saying $360 is chump change, but in the grand scheme of things, is it worth it for the person who has to run the Co-Op ?

-S

 

[MrVStar]

I ran football pools and that is so true. OK another idea is to find a dealer lets say sos on rt 57 (or anyone else). Find out how big a truck they have for delivery and tell them we can take the entire truckload. Might only be 8 pallets. So then we go to the store and pay them. Then they deliver us the pellets. It would be better for the store to send out an entire truck load and be sweet if we lived fairly close. Grasping at straws guys. I refuse to pay $290 after delivery from pelletsales for an EARLY BUY I had a flatbed truck, probably could have fit 18+ tons on it come down my street (from pellet sales). Take his fork lift off the back and drive the pellets to my garage door. So maybe JUST MAYBE instead of the truck going to the store to drop them off they come to us. All arranged through the store???? Sounds good on paper.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I'm serious. I see alot of posts on here from those of us in Morris, Sussex, Warren. I'm sure we could get a great deal on a truck of Lignetics (a brand most of us seem to like). I'd be glad to rent a Ryder truck and buy four tons at a good price.

Has anyone on here ever done this?

off topic, but i visited warren county a few years ago, was pleasantly suprised stayed in belvedere at the hotel belvedere. walked the little town found friendly folks and some great fishing very nice little hamlet snuggled in there , anyone who ski's its a nice town near to some slopes away from the bustle. look it up for a nice getaway, i'd go there again just for the fishing.

 

[BadDad320]

Welcome to Belvidere..... Next time stop by....... I live in one of the old Victorian homes around the park......

 

[shupe]

I posted this long detailed response and it vanished....this time a short one.


This is not a football pool. it is co-operative purchasing.
I don't think that the folks on this board are your average shmo. We live where it is cold. We burn pellets. Some of us do it to reduce the carbon footprint, others because we like fire.
Personally I do it for both, plus I am frugal and try to come out ahead of the heating cost game.

The idea would be to get 4-8 people (not 50) to purchase a truckload and have it come out so it is worth the effort. I volunteered to pay for the shipment and have it delivered here. That would be my "worth it to the coordinator" I would ask for one other person to co-chair in case I got hit by a bus on the way to the recycling center.

There are lots of details and yes perhaps hesitation but I am trying to get a group of good peole together and make it worthwhile. I am in Bergen county which is not really convenient for most of you who have responded.

Perhaps a better way to accomplish this is to approach a dealer as a group and have it arranged so that the dealer could deliver to those who want oit delivered.


S.

 

[squeed]

I contacted a pellet mill in Allentown, PA. Here is what I asked them.

C&P;FROM MY EMAIL

A bunch of guys in NJ are looking to buy a full trailer load of pellets. We would be looking for them to be delivered to either Warren or Hunterdon County NJ. Here are some questions for you.

1. If there were between 10 and 12 people in the co-op, all spread in 2 counties in NJ, would you be willing to deliver them to their houses ? (Note we'll still take a whole truck, just a few delivery stops)
2. What would the appx price be for a full truck 22 tons ?

I'll post the response. I posted Warren because a few people referenced it and I think that Belvidere is in Hunterdon. But it sounds like either county is close to where everyone here is posting.

-S

 

[ebengel]

I am the very north end of Hunterdon county and I would
be interested in getting in on this.

 

[kilbury]

I'm interested as well. I would be in for 4 tons. But like everyone else said, they need to be high quality pellets for a good price. A good price is $200/ton. From what I've read, a truck load is 22 tons. There is a pellet mill in Glen Gardner in Warren county. I've talked to the owners, they also have a mill in Allentown, PA about 20 mins drive from Alpha in Warren County. They won't sell to end users even if you buy a truck load, they said they have to protect their dealers. Whatever.

I posted about this yesterday and here are my questions.

1. Who runs the co-op ? Lets say you pick 1 person. Do they collect the cash up front ? A truck load is $6K-$7K

2. For at least the first season, nobody knows anyone else. So how do you trust sending $1,000 to someone that you're actually going to get your pellets ?

3. When the pellets get delivered, where do they get delivered ? Who unloads the truck ? Who has a forklift ? Who disposes of the pallets ?

4. What happens when not everyone shows up on the same day or the same time to get their pellets ? Who watches them so nobody steals them ? How are they protected from the rain ?

5. If the supplier of the pellets screws you and sends you horse bedding instead, who deals with that problem ?

6. When someone who agreed to buy drops out for whatever reason and demands their money back, who deals with that problem. Who coughs up the cash to pay the supplier ?

If you've ever ran a football pool you know what I'm talking about. Collecting $5 from the 50 people on your football grid is hard enough, let alone dealing with $6K-$7K and a bunch of
people that you don't know. A lot of variables.

I think it is a great idea, obviously, I posted about it myself, but it seems like a lot of potential issues, to save not that much money. If the average person buys 4 tons for the season at $200/ton vs. $290/ton
from a dealer. Is it worth the hassel to save $360 ? I'm not saying $360 is chump change, but in the grand scheme of things, is it worth it for the person who has to run the Co-Op ?

I contacted a pellet mill in Allentown, PA. Here is what I asked them.

C&P;FROM MY EMAIL

A bunch of guys in NJ are looking to buy a full trailer load of pellets. We would be looking for them to be delivered to either Warren or Hunterdon County NJ. Here are some questions for you.

1. If there were between 10 and 12 people in the co-op, all spread in 2 counties in NJ, would you be willing to deliver them to their houses ? (Note we’ll still take a whole truck, just a few delivery stops)
2. What would the appx price be for a full truck 22 tons ?

I’ll post the response. I posted Warren because a few people referenced it and I think that Belvidere is in Hunterdon. But it sounds like either county is close to where everyone here is posting.

-S


-S

I have been trying to figure something like this out for years to offer my customers. In addition to the problems above, I take alot of deliveries that are multiple stops and most of the companies (not just pellet mfg's) I deal with, charge a fee to make more than one stop. In addition to that most truckers or transporters see their time as value and give you a set amount of time to unload, say 1 hour as an example and then most drivers aren't gonna help you do any of the work. Most pellet mfg's won't sell to you unless you are a retail store with a tax id #, then that would be a matter of finding the right mfg. I would love to help my customers save some $$, wear n tear on my equipment and not to mention storage space (we offer prebuy and we store them for people to pick up whenever they want, 1,5,10bags, 1 ton or whatever they want, no xtra charge). I think if you can find someone to sell to you this way, be sure to ask these questions before commiting to anything.

 

[Lousyweather]

we sold pellets this way last year, and it worked pretty well.....but do have to say, there werent HUGE savings involved. Contrary to popular belief, at least in our area, there isnt a huge margin here to play with. We'd send a truck to one location, and the onus was on the buyer to unload the pellets.....didnt matter how, the trucker would allow one hour for unloading. Then the folks who bought the pellets would just come and pick up their portion. I can say though, as someone who retails pellets as well, that if I ever heard of a pellet mill selling direct to the end user or a group of end users, I would immediately terminate my business with them.

 

[BadDad320]

Belvidere is actually in Warren County along the Delaware River. It is also the County Seat of Warren County. Distance from Allentown PA is about 30 miles. I have been down this bulk buy road last year. I had no success and hope you can come up with something better. I had a whole plan. I got storage, a forklift, and easy access on my 4 acre, business zoned site was willing to pay cash. There was either minimal savings or no interest in adding me to their distrubution system. Good Hunting......

 

[kilbury]

I can say though, as someone who retails pellets as well, that if I ever heard of a pellet mill selling direct to the end user or a group of end users, I would immediately terminate my business with them.

Amen to that, I have a mill about an hour from me that does just that and we were selling there pellets. My customers still drive down there to pick them up at about a $50 savings right now (thats about what they charged me to get them to me per ton). That just doesn't make sense to me because my time, fuel, vehicle maintainence, chance of getting a ticket ( if your vehicle isn't rated for that much weight) are worth something to me. On the back end I tend to "give out" alot of free info or go easy on the service call fees if they are my pellet customer too. Needless to say we did drop this supplier and another retailer is going to do just that and they are about 12 miles down the road from me.

 

[MrVStar]

Ok everyone. This seems like it will never happen. However I will keep my fingers crossed. I guess the next best thing would be to post when you do find pellets at a good price. If you need someone to share a truck because the store won't drive out to you for 2 pallets, add a reply for help. I stopped in at SOS on RT57 to ask about an early buy. She told me the prices were not out yet. She feared the prices were not going to come down much because of the late posting of prices. Just her opinion. She told me to check back in April.

 

[ADVA]

I would like in on this pellet run. I can take 4 or 5 ton. However I do think $274 a ton is a bit high. Their website (Rocky Mountain) claims there pellets are rated @ 7951 btu. Seems a bit low to me. I am going to make a trip to PA. soon. Its only 37 miles from me. I found pellets there for $5.00 per bag. At this time they had Turman or Penwood brands. I searched and found people like the Turmans. I can't find any info on the Penwoods. After I try a couple bags of each I will see what he wants for delivery. I also would have no problem dropping 18-22 pallets in my driveway if they were all spoken for.

Where in PA could you get Turman's?
I am heading to PA by route 80W from NJ.

Would like to try a few bags...

Okanagan's/Turman's/Barefoots/Green Team/Somerset/Dragon Mtn./Spruce Pts./Pure Fire:

I never burned any of these pellets & want to give them a try.
Looking for suppliers on my way out to Nazareth PA. From North New Jersey.
You from Jersey? I'm from Jersey?!?!?!
Will be traveling 80W thru NJ & on 611/512/191 thru Bangor on into Nazareth PA.

These are hard to get in NJ.
Hoping someone could point me in the right direction :cheese:

 

[slvrblkk]

I would like in on this pellet run. I can take 4 or 5 ton. However I do think $274 a ton is a bit high. Their website (Rocky Mountain) claims there pellets are rated @ 7951 btu. Seems a bit low to me. I am going to make a trip to PA. soon. Its only 37 miles from me. I found pellets there for $5.00 per bag. At this time they had Turman or Penwood brands. I searched and found people like the Turmans. I can't find any info on the Penwoods. After I try a couple bags of each I will see what he wants for delivery. I also would have no problem dropping 18-22 pallets in my driveway if they were all spoken for.

Where in PA could you get Turman's?
I am heading to PA by route 80W from NJ.

Would like to try a few bags...

Okanagan's/Turman's/Barefoots/Green Team/Somerset/Dragon Mtn./Spruce Pts./Pure Fire:

I never burned any of these pellets & want to give them a try.
Looking for suppliers on my way out to Nazareth PA. From North New Jersey.
You from Jersey? I'm from Jersey?!?!?!
Will be traveling 80W thru NJ & on 611/512/191 thru Bangor on into Nazareth PA.


These are hard to get in NJ.
Hoping someone could point me in the right direction :cheese:

The Cozy Barn in Wind Gap, Pa carries Turman's and Pennwoods. That's probably the place he is talking about.

 

[Ladderlieu]

Where I work at my full time job there are easily 30 of us with pellet stoves. We've talked about this very thing for the last couple years, but the logistics always seems to be the sticking point. Between the 30 of us we could easily find enough people who would want enough pellets to fill an entire trailer provided it was a good quality pellet. Nobody wanted to be the one in charge of collecting the money, contacting the company, arranging for an unloading site, arranging for a forklift to unload, and waiting around for everyone to pick up their tons of pellets. Just casual asking at different pellet dealers, the dealers mentioned they could arrange an entire truckload deal, and would shave roughly $10 off the price of each ton. TEN DOLLARS??? That's not nearly enough of a deal for all the hassle involved. I'd much rather pay the $10 additional and have the delivered right into my driveway.

The concept, though, is a good one in theory. It just doesn't seem to be practical.

 

[imacman]

I'm about 40 minutes from Port Jervis. If a group was doing a tractor trailer load near there, and it was decent pellets, I'd be interested.

 

[Lousyweather]

Where I work at my full time job there are easily 30 of us with pellet stoves. We've talked about this very thing for the last couple years, but the logistics always seems to be the sticking point. Between the 30 of us we could easily find enough people who would want enough pellets to fill an entire trailer provided it was a good quality pellet. Nobody wanted to be the one in charge of collecting the money, contacting the company, arranging for an unloading site, arranging for a forklift to unload, and waiting around for everyone to pick up their tons of pellets. Just casual asking at different pellet dealers, the dealers mentioned they could arrange an entire truckload deal, and would shave roughly $10 off the price of each ton. TEN DOLLARS??? That's not nearly enough of a deal for all the hassle involved. I'd much rather pay the $10 additional and have the delivered right into my driveway.

The concept, though, is a good one in theory. It just doesn't seem to be practical.

like I said quite some time ago, Ladder, we tried it as well......there just isnt oodles of profit in these pellets to offer great savings over just a few tons......and I know central MA pretty well, pellet maket-wise. We did do it last year, and it works out for folks who are organized, and can come to a concensus. The cheapest way to go was to buy a truckload though a dealer directly from the mill, but still, you wouldnt save huge amounts of money in doing so.....and I do agree, in many of the cases, given the savings of $100 or even less per household, it is easier to just have it delivered to your doorstep rather than mess around with all the folderall involved in truckload business.....

 

[Tailrace]

I'm about 40 minutes from Port Jervis. If a group was doing a tractor trailer load near there, and it was decent pellets, I'd be interested.

I'm about the same distance from Port, maybe a little less, and I would definitely be interested too.

 

[ADVA]

[quote The Cozy Barn in Wind Gap, Pa carries Turman's and Pennwoods. That's probably the place he is talking about.[/quote]

Excellent It is few block off the main road I will be traveling!

Much Thanks,
Will call in the morning.