I have for years now, been watching with interest, different members of this forum encourage other members to "Try before you buy". And I get the theory behind it, I really do. But I want to offer to you the frustrations of a retailer with this theory and possibly open you up to an entirely different side that you may never have pondered.
You see, when you try several bags of pellets of brand "X" and you find that they perform well, then you can reasonably conclude that you can buy 4 or 5 tons of this brand, and you are safe. Right? Wrong.
At least this is the case with many brands out there and here is why.
Many wood pellet manufacturers will buy sawdust from different vendors to make their pellets from. Some Manufacturers have many, many sawdust vendors. And many manufacturers are currently caught up in "bidding-wars" with other manufacturers over the sawdust. If a manufacturer makes a batch of pellets with sawdust from "Vendor A" and then you try them and like them, then quite possibly when you return, you will be buying the same exact pellet brand but the sawdust for that batch came from "Vendor B." Essentially, its the same bag, but an entirely different pellet. And this is something that I am up against all of the time.
Pellet consistency is something that is much more of an issue today than it was five or ten years ago. Why? well remember, back in 2008, the housing and building market came to a virtual stand-still. Without any new homes going up, lumber facilities halted production, furniture and flooring and cabinet manufacturers became sleepy and the logging industry became lethargic. These are your major sawdust players. If the saws are not turning, the dust is not producing, and vendors who rely on other vendors for sawdust are getting pinched.
In theory, "try before you buy" is still a good way to go, and I am in favor of the practice. But I just offer this often over-looked "other perspective" as a precaution that it is not conclusive.
Happy pellet hunting!
You see, when you try several bags of pellets of brand "X" and you find that they perform well, then you can reasonably conclude that you can buy 4 or 5 tons of this brand, and you are safe. Right? Wrong.
At least this is the case with many brands out there and here is why.
Many wood pellet manufacturers will buy sawdust from different vendors to make their pellets from. Some Manufacturers have many, many sawdust vendors. And many manufacturers are currently caught up in "bidding-wars" with other manufacturers over the sawdust. If a manufacturer makes a batch of pellets with sawdust from "Vendor A" and then you try them and like them, then quite possibly when you return, you will be buying the same exact pellet brand but the sawdust for that batch came from "Vendor B." Essentially, its the same bag, but an entirely different pellet. And this is something that I am up against all of the time.
Pellet consistency is something that is much more of an issue today than it was five or ten years ago. Why? well remember, back in 2008, the housing and building market came to a virtual stand-still. Without any new homes going up, lumber facilities halted production, furniture and flooring and cabinet manufacturers became sleepy and the logging industry became lethargic. These are your major sawdust players. If the saws are not turning, the dust is not producing, and vendors who rely on other vendors for sawdust are getting pinched.
In theory, "try before you buy" is still a good way to go, and I am in favor of the practice. But I just offer this often over-looked "other perspective" as a precaution that it is not conclusive.
Happy pellet hunting!
) is discovered, many people will continue to do so.
![[Hearth.com] Points to ponder...."Try before you buy"](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/83/83839-3ba9e3593da6cf8df59b6383e4babcc2.jpg?hash=2edYtRhUum "[Hearth.com] Points to ponder....\"Try before you buy\"")
