Pellet price complaints

[newf lover]

I was floating around hearth.com on my lunch hour, and stumbled across a post from July 2006. This is from 3 years ago. I don't see where the prices have changed all that drastically. I am new, so I haven't seen all the cycles, but it doesn't appear to me that the sky is falling in the pellet world....Here's the post-

For me, $248 is good. It irks me to see how low the prices are outside the northeast. I spent several more days this week calling around for pellets and the prices have gone up since we went on vacation (so between June and July). A lot of places were already out of hardwood pellets and were preordering against September shipments. But I really want to get the pellets in hand now in case something unforeseen happens to the supply chain between now and the fall. So I finally broke down and bought 3 tons of New England at $270/ton before they were gone too; they were in stock with a low delivery charge. The cheapest hardwood pellet I found around here was Dry Creek at $260, but the place that had them wouldn’t deliver to our town. I might still get a ton of Dry Creek from them to try because we could probably get only one ton in the back of our truck.

I am now wondering if we should get 5 tons rather than 4, considering the size of the P68 and not knowing how much we will burn in our first year. I don’t want to get stuck in January or February with nothing. Perhaps the 5th ton could be a softwood pellet as a trial. However, the softwoods are even not cheap here. The lowest price was at Lowe’s, something called American Wood Fibers, for $241/ton, but I don’t know how they burn. A friend with a Harman said she had bought some at Lowe’s last year that she didn’t like. After that, the next best price is LG at $240-255 or $255 for Eastern Embers but with delivery it turns into $275/ton.

Here are some of the lower prices I found in southeastern MA:

softwood:
Granules LG (in stock) - $240
American Wood Fibers (in stock) - $241.50
Eastern Embers (in stock) - $255
Energex (del. Sept.) - $260
Eagle Valley - $275

hardwood:
Dry Creek and Ambience (?) (in stock) - $260
Lignetics (in stock) - $270
New England (in stock) - $270-280
Cubex (in stock) - $279
Appalachian Hardwoods (del. Sept.) - $270
Freedom Oak (del. Sept.) - $270
Blazer (in stock) - $299
Pinnacle - $290

 

[exoilburner]

That is a very interesting find.

Could you post the web link; I'd like to read the whole thread.

 

[newf lover]

It was in the Hearth Room. The thread was Pellet Brands, but I htink you can get there by clicking here-
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/2336/

 

[summit]

I concur. Two years ago, our cheapest pellets were selling for 240/ton, the most expensive were 285/ton. Now the cheapest pellets run @260/ton, the most expensive at 300/ton. We deal w/ several different brands, so the prices scatter around in between. There really has not been that huge of an increase, but most people want to see no increase. Pellets are becoming more expensice to produce due to competition for raw material, and I think the industry as a whole has done well to keep cost down

 

[MoeB]

Oil is over $68.00 a barrel today. It keeps on going up. Not too many weeks ago it was below $45 a barrel. It's nice to have an energy choice because who knows what next week, next month, next winter will bring in terms of oil prices. It's amazing how fast we sometimes forget, when the price goes down, how vulnerable we all are to the rising price of energy, especially those of us who live in colder climates -- whether pellets, NG, oil, or cordwood we have to buy, for those of us who don't have wood lots in our financial portfolios.

I'd rather get screwed by my neighbor, knowing at least the money is going back into the local economy, than get screwed by a non-neighbor. Exxon Mobile is not my neighbor. The Saudi royal family is not my neighbor. Hugo Chavez is not my neighbor -- although he has been more neighborly when it comes to helping out with oil prices for the needy than Exxon Mobile.

Whoever thought it was a good idea to give corporations the rights of natural persons was not doing it for the good of the country. If a corporation was a natural human being it would be a sociopath. Now before everyone comes unglued, let me state that not all sociopaths hurt people, but they exist only to serve themselves -- the very nature of what a corporation is legally required to do.

Moe

 

[rowerwet]

I'd rather get screwed by my neighbor, knowing at least the money is going back into the local economy, than get screwed by a non-neighbor. Exxon Mobile is not my neighbor. The Saudi royal family is not my neighbor. Hugo Chavez is not my neighbor -- although he has been more neighborly when it comes to helping out with oil prices for the needy than Exxon Mobile.

Whoever thought it was a good idea to give corporations the rights of natural persons was not doing it for the good of the country. If a corporation was a natural human being it would be a sociopath. Now before everyone comes unglued, let me state that not all sociopaths hurt people, but they exist only to serve themselves -- the very nature of what a corporation is legally required to do.

Moe

Exxon-Mobil is my neighbor, I have a 401k (what is left of it thanks to B.O.) and part of it is invested in oil stocks. if you have a 401k or an IRA you are probably in on their profits also. I also work on an airplane at work that is owned by an oil company, they are our best customer, you may not personaly own stock in Exxon Mobil but a lot of people you know get a benefit from the fact they still exist. Give our current national leaders a chance and they will be even less than the 5% of the world oil market they are now or another company hijacked by D.C. (like government motors GM). This is the reason Drill here, drill now makes sense, it puts Americans to work with jobs that aren't minimum wage.

 

[BrotherBart]

Exxon Mobile is not my neighbor.

I just looked on my quarterly dividend check to make sure. There is no "e" in "Mobil".

 

[sinnian]

Exxon Mobile is not my neighbor.

I just looked on my quarterly dividend check to make sure. There is no "e" in "Mobil".

BB you know that's bad form correcting spelling over the internet, no matter how much it may bother you (and me :coolmad: )

 

[BrotherBart]

Exxon Mobile is not my neighbor.

I just looked on my quarterly dividend check to make sure. There is no "e" in "Mobil".

BB you know that's bad form correcting spelling over the internet, no matter how much it may bother you (and me :coolmad: )

I thought Bell's Law only applied to usenet. :lol:

 

[GVA]

I was floating around hearth.com on my lunch hour, and stumbled across a post from July 2006. This is from 3 years ago. I don't see where the prices have changed all that drastically. I am new, so I haven't seen all the cycles, but it doesn't appear to me that the sky is falling in the pellet world....

[/quote]
Well a quick summary of what happened in that time...

winter 04-05 pellets in MA averaged between $150 and $200 a ton

Spring 05 pellets come down about $50 bucks a ton as dealers clear their inventories... (this used to be the norm till recently)

Fall 05 KATRINA...................................................................................Prices Double, First major shortage of pellets That I had to deal with....

Pellet stoves selling like hotcakes, the original pellet pigs appear and buy thier seasons worth with thier stove (nothing wrong with that)..

Demand for pellets goes even higher another $25 to $50 bucks added to the cost.........(I paid $325 once in 05)

No more stoves to be sold........

Harman mass produces stoves through the 06 season.

winter 06-07 very mild...... Harman and the pellet industry take a beating, both sit on a huge inventory

Pellet prices don't drop...........And still havn't....
It's comparable to the gasoline prices skyrocketting last spring and summer but never coming back down...

It was a tough time.......Fast forward to 20?? Pellets still go up based on supply and demand, but don't seem to come down... at least not the amount one would expect based on what the market bears...

I hope this makes sense

 

[MoeB]

Will somebody please find some glue?!

The stock market crashed when??? It wasn't on the current administration's watch, no matter what Rush tells you.

Choice is good, whether we're talking about the choice to replace leaders who do not look out for this country's best interests or energy choices.

Thank you to the gentleman who pointed out my spelling error. I also don't know how to spell the Saudi royal family's name. I do know how to spell glue and unglued. Usually Rush fans come unglued whenever their world view is even gently nudged.

As of last fall, I stopped playing at the Wall Street casino, so I do not have stock in Exxon Mobil, although I know good people who do.

Everybody wants to make money for doing nothing -- whether on welfare or Wall Street.

Moe

I'd rather get screwed by my neighbor, knowing at least the money is going back into the local economy, than get screwed by a non-neighbor. Exxon Mobile is not my neighbor. The Saudi royal family is not my neighbor. Hugo Chavez is not my neighbor -- although he has been more neighborly when it comes to helping out with oil prices for the needy than Exxon Mobile.

Whoever thought it was a good idea to give corporations the rights of natural persons was not doing it for the good of the country. If a corporation was a natural human being it would be a sociopath. Now before everyone comes unglued, let me state that not all sociopaths hurt people, but they exist only to serve themselves -- the very nature of what a corporation is legally required to do.

Moe

Exxon-Mobil is my neighbor, I have a 401k (what is left of it thanks to B.O.) and part of it is invested in oil stocks. if you have a 401k or an IRA you are probably in on their profits also. I also work on an airplane at work that is owned by an oil company, they are our best customer, you may not personaly own stock in Exxon Mobil but a lot of people you know get a benefit from the fact they still exist. Give our current national leaders a chance and they will be even less than the 5% of the world oil market they are now or another company hijacked by D.C. (like government motors GM). This is the reason Drill here, drill now makes sense, it puts Americans to work with jobs that aren't minimum wage.

 

[toastyinri]

[quote author="Moe" date="1244039436"]Will somebody please find some glue?!

The stock market crashed when??? It wasn't on the current administration's watch, no matter what Rush tells you.

Choice is good, whether we're talking about the choice to replace leaders who do not look out for this country's best interests or energy choices.

Thank you to the gentleman who pointed out my spelling error. I also don't know how to spell the Saudi royal family's name. I do know how to spell glue and unglued. Usually Rush fans come unglued whenever their world view is even gently nudged.

As of last fall, I stopped playing at the Wall Street casino, so I do not have stock in Exxon Mobil, although I know good people who do.

Everybody wants to make money for doing nothing -- whether on welfare or Wall Street.

Moe

The last time I used a dividend check from XOM (exxonmobil) instead of saving it for retirement, I bought my Harman Advance....and got change back. There's a big difference between "playing" the market and "investing" and it's got nothing to do with getting something for nothing. The choice I would prefer in electing our leaders would be for those who uphold the principles of what this country was founded on...not those who want to take a giant leap into the cesspool of socialism and call it a "gentle nudge". More than just Rush fans should be outraged at what this thing in the white house is doing.
That being said, and after agonizing whether to respond to your post, I hope this forum for PELLET STOVE people doesn't go political on us.

Over and out until next fall.

 

[rphurley]

I'm sure that all of our retirement funds have taken a bath with the collapse of GM!

 

[smoke show]

what is retirement?

 

[56 chevtruck]

newf $4.69 a bag in fall 2006. $6.49 to $6.99 now. that not drastic difference?

 

[newf lover]

56 chevtruck-
I wasn't trying to start an argument (although it looks like I did), I was just surprised at that 2006 post. The price at that time for New England Wood Pellet according to the poster was $270-$280, I just paid $265. It has been pointed out, however, that prices have been up and down in the past, depending on stuff like Katrina, but the feeling is, the prices don't seem to be coming down this time. Just to compare apples to apples, the price at my dealer for the early buy last year was $225 (before I owned a pellet stove of course), this year it was $265. So for my neck of the woods, it's $4.50/bag vs. $5.30/bag. I have no idea what the price was in 2006. My feeling is, if people think it's too high a price to pay for pellets, don't buy them. That's the beauty and benefit of having different heat sources. Would I like to be paying $200/ton?? Heck yeah. Will we see that again? My uneducated guess is probably not. If I can't live with that, I'll stop buying pellets and sell my stove.

 

[tjnamtiw]

The stock market crashed when??? It wasn't on the current administration's watch, no matter what Rush tells you.


[

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm sick and tired of hearing 'it wasn't on the current administration's watch' comments or constantly blaming everything on Bush. Don't forget that Congress was 'ruled' by Dems for the last two years of the last administration and they were labeled the 'Do Nothing Congress' for obvious reasons as we went down the tubes.

 

[imacman]

The stock market crashed when??? It wasn't on the current administration's watch, no matter what Rush tells you.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm sick and tired of hearing 'it wasn't on the current administration's watch' comments or constantly blaming everything on Bush. Don't forget that Congress was 'ruled' by Dems for the last two years of the last administration and they were labeled the 'Do Nothing Congress' for obvious reasons as we went down the tubes.

You got that right tjnamtiw....the DEMOCRATICALLY controlled congress ruled the land....the mortgage mess started all of this, and the likes of Dems. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd said in 2006 that there wasn't any problem with Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae......yeah, right. Oh, and I seem to remember one member raising serious concerns about this...oh yeah, it was John McCain, a Republican.

Moe, get your Democratic cool-aid drinking head out of the sand.

Ahhhhh, I can see it now.....the Mods or Craig will send this thread to the Ash can very soon.......

 

[MoeB]

Aww, must we get nasty? Do you listen to talk radio -- the cool-aid of the airwaves?

The stock market crashed when??? It wasn't on the current administration's watch, no matter what Rush tells you.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm sick and tired of hearing 'it wasn't on the current administration's watch' comments or constantly blaming everything on Bush. Don't forget that Congress was 'ruled' by Dems for the last two years of the last administration and they were labeled the 'Do Nothing Congress' for obvious reasons as we went down the tubes.

You got that right tjnamtiw....the DEMOCRATICALLY controlled congress ruled the land....the mortgage mess started all of this, and the likes of Dems. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd said in 2006 that there wasn't any problem with Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae......yeah, right. Oh, and I seem to remember one member raising serious concerns about this...oh yeah, it was John McCain, a Republican.

Moe, get your Democratic cool-aid drinking head out of the sand.

Ahhhhh, I can see it now.....the Mods or Craig will send this thread to the Ash can very soon.......

 

[Augmister]

WE are to blame for the government we have.... who put those fools there? WE did.

That said, expecting a Depression and buying all the pellets I can store. Hyperinflation is around the corner and none of the elected goofballs have a clue. They will tax us to death for the next 10 years as the price of everything goes through the roof. Might as well be warm! Good luck to all of you!

 

[GVA]

Why does every thread off season turn political? :roll:

Anyway as far as the exporting of pellets and raw materials to other countries, it's the American way......Take our resources and sell ALL OF IT it to the highest bidder....
Aint it a great way of life, it's all coming back to bite all of us in the A$$......At least some got rich
Forget about ever breaking free of foreign oil.......
It's a ME, ME, ME world...
Hey maybe the paper mills in Europe can start making paper from North American pellets....

As far as the manufacturers go, Why do you still require Sawdust only..... When are ya gonna get off you're butts and start with those switchgrass pellets or all those other new biofuels you guys have been talking about?
Maybe a hybrid pellet half sawdust half switchgrass.......maybe a little cardboard or recycled paper thrown in the mix.....
WTF get creative

 

[toastyinri]

Aww, must we get nasty? Do you listen to talk radio -- the cool-aid of the airwaves?

The stock market crashed when??? It wasn't on the current administration's watch, no matter what Rush tells you.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm sick and tired of hearing 'it wasn't on the current administration's watch' comments or constantly blaming everything on Bush. Don't forget that Congress was 'ruled' by Dems for the last two years of the last administration and they were labeled the 'Do Nothing Congress' for obvious reasons as we went down the tubes.

You got that right tjnamtiw....the DEMOCRATICALLY controlled congress ruled the land....the mortgage mess started all of this, and the likes of Dems. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd said in 2006 that there wasn't any problem with Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae......yeah, right. Oh, and I seem to remember one member raising serious concerns about this...oh yeah, it was John McCain, a Republican.

Moe, get your Democratic cool-aid drinking head out of the sand.

Ahhhhh, I can see it now.....the Mods or Craig will send this thread to the Ash can very soon.......

***********************
Do you even know where the kool aid reference came from? It came from the Rev. Jim Jones when he had his flock drink the mix that killed them. I will assume that when you referenced talk radio that you are referring to Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck...etc. Those guys are about LIFE and the individual as a means to his own end. I would suggest that if you are going to use the "buzz" words, to at least apply them correctly least someone accuse you of "jumping the shark" one too many times.

 

[MoeB]

I know where it came from. You can use the "buzz" words any way you have been taught to use them. As far as Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck . . . well, perhaps if people would lay off the talk radio for a few months, their brain cells may actually repair themselves. Cult group think is all I ever hear come out of their listeners' mouths. There must be a detox program somewhere for these people where they cannot listen for, say, 28 days. Some will need long-term treatment. But like any treatment, the person's got to want it or it won't work. One program is too many and 1,000 not enough.

Combativeness, coming unglued, getting very nasty, all signs and symptoms of the malady. Jim Jones followers in a different form -- not as deadly though, more subtle. The Kool-Aid reference was used with a full understanding.

These people deserve our empathy and understanding because they are in the grips of something they do not understand. A serious program for deprogramming is in order.

Take care now.

***********************
Do you even know where the kool aid reference came from? It came from the Rev. Jim Jones when he had his flock drink the mix that killed them. I will assume that when you referenced talk radio that you are referring to Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck...etc. Those guys are about LIFE and the individual as a means to his own end. I would suggest that if you are going to use the "buzz" words, to at least apply them correctly least someone accuse you of "jumping the shark" one too many times.[/quote]

 

[smoke show]

how bout a group hug?

 

[toastyinri]

I know where it came from. You can use the "buzz" words any way you have been taught to use them. As far as Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck . . . well, perhaps if people would lay off the talk radio for a few months, their brain cells may actually repair themselves. Cult group think is all I ever hear come out of their listeners' mouths. There must be a detox program somewhere for these people where they cannot listen for, say, 28 days. Some will need long-term treatment. But like any treatment, the person's got to want it or it won't work. One program is too many and 1,000 not enough.

Combativeness, coming unglued, getting very nasty, all signs and symptoms of the malady. Jim Jones followers in a different form -- not as deadly though, more subtle. The Kool-Aid reference was used with a full understanding.

These people deserve our empathy and understanding because they are in the grips of something they do not understand. A serious program for deprogramming is in order.

Take care now.

***********************
Do you even know where the kool aid reference came from? It came from the Rev. Jim Jones when he had his flock drink the mix that killed them. I will assume that when you referenced talk radio that you are referring to Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck...etc. Those guys are about LIFE and the individual as a means to his own end. I would suggest that if you are going to use the "buzz" words, to at least apply them correctly least someone accuse you of "jumping the shark" one too many times.

[/quote]

Let the detox program begin with the obamazombies who listen to psuedo intellectuals like Olberman, Maddow, Rhodes and the other loons. I find it mildly amusing that you would sugguest detox from those who express life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness via capatalism as opposed to those who would have us become Stepford Wives.