SIB's Update ~ sort of

[sinnian]

Received a call from SIB's last night, and they don't have the MWP Softwoods, but have a product out of New Brunswick that is 100% softwood called Crabes for $269/ton plus the drop charge.

Never heard of them! Who is going to spend $269 on an unproven pellet? Anyone have any information on these?

 

[Bob Sorjanen]

Received a call from SIB's last night, and they don't have the MWP Softwoods, but have a product out of New Brunswick that is 100% softwood called Crabes for $269/ton plus the drop charge.

Never heard of them! Who is going to spend $269 on an unproven pellet? Anyone have any information on these?

I burnt some this past season I thought they were hot and fairly clean burning, would definitley burn again. Crabbe's are out of eastern canada, I believe. Will buy more for next fall.

 

[mepellet]

Received the same call last night here too.

Although i didn't particularly care for how the conversation went.

Them "i see that you are on a waiting list for softwood pellets."
Me- "yup"
Them "Well We have these Crabbe pellets for $269 out of Canada."
Me- "Ok. Are you not going to get the mwp softwood? Because I am on the list for them, not these Crabbe pellets."
Them- "oh, Yea we are still going to get them. Just not until later in the summer."
Me "Ok well I don't need any pellets right away and I put my name on the list for mwp so I'll wait for them."

So instead of calling to inform me that the mwp were not going to be ready in April (last month, now may) like they said and ask if i still want to remain on the waiting list, they tried to sell me a different pellet.....

First the new delivery fee.
Then the hint that the mwp softwood would be as expensive as they ended the year at last year (no price confirmed yet so we may be jumping to conclusions on this one)
Then the pre-pay for pellets now and take delivery in the fall (always a bad idea to pre-pay for any heating fuel)
Now, this..... I think they will be losing quite a few customers.

Time to start thinking about other options.

 

[Utilitrack]

Received a call from SIB's last night, and they don't have the MWP Softwoods, but have a product out of New Brunswick that is 100% softwood called Crabes for $269/ton plus the drop charge.

Never heard of them! Who is going to spend $269 on an unproven pellet? Anyone have any information on these?

I picked up 10 bags of Crabbes at the end of the this season to get me through...I found them to be the worst softwoods that I have ever burned, very heavy dark ash, first clinkers of the year in March and April because of these pellets. definitely would hold off for MWP softies or pay extra for Spruce Pointes if it were me.

 

[Lousyweather]

Received the same call last night here too.

Although i didn't particularly care for how the conversation went.

Them "i see that you are on a waiting list for softwood pellets."
Me- "yup"
Them "Well We have these Crabbe pellets for $269 out of Canada."
Me- "Ok. Are you not going to get the mwp softwood? Because I am on the list for them, not these Crabbe pellets."
Them- "oh, Yea we are still going to get them. Just not until later in the summer."
Me "Ok well I don't need any pellets right away and I put my name on the list for mwp so I'll wait for them."

So instead of calling to inform me that the mwp were not going to be ready in April (last month, now may) like they said and ask if i still want to remain on the waiting list, they tried to sell me a different pellet.....

First the new delivery fee.
Then the hint that the mwp softwood would be as expensive as they ended the year at last year (no price confirmed yet so we may be jumping to conclusions on this one)
Then the pre-pay for pellets now and take delivery in the fall (always a bad idea to pre-pay for any heating fuel)
Now, this..... I think they will be losing quite a few customers.

Time to start thinking about other options.

: Another pellet retailer here......!

While I also cant agree its a good idea to buy pellets that aren't on the ground (what if the mill burns down?!).....from what I've heard from all of you, SIB's is an up front outfit.......haven't heard a lot of bad about them, even here in the "Pellet Retailers Are Evil Forum".......

Sadly, SIB's has absolutely NO control over what MWP produces......and this year, they decided, for some reason, to produce softies later in the year (and I think May is a pipe dream......put me down for MAYBE July).....so, they are merely trying to offer you an alternative for those folks who wanted to secure their pellets early......nothing more, nothing less. As for delivery, well, cant comment, as I don't know what they charge to go how far.....I know our trucks, new, cost upwards of $200k with a forklift attached, I know they get 6-7 mpg, and the driver around $20/hr. I know insurance is well into the thousands per truck per year, I know a new engine costs $38,000 installed (wont bother to enumerate the myriad other repairs for the lift and forklift), and I know the taxes (excise, IFTA, heavy highway use, etc) is also in the thousands per truck per year. Given the small margin on pellets these days, well, cant really offer free delivery, especially if travelling a long ways. But, to be fair I am not apprised of SIB's delivery fees either. Hey, I've got an idea, howza bout you pick the pellets up? I've found that usually puts a value on delivery......

 

[mepellet]

Yes they are a good outfit. Just a few things within just the last year that I listed above that are making me (as long as others here) start thinking about purchasing elsewhere. Never hurts to have a backup plan right?!

I fully understand that SIB has no control over MWP's schedule. May is not a pipe dream. I had my MWP softies in my garage by this time last year delivered by SIB. A little birdie told me that they were going to start making the softies in JULY.

I also understand that they were trying to offer an alternative but why not just come out and say that instead of making me ask about the pellet that I was on the list for. The tone of the conversation was more of a sales call instead of a, "hey, we won't get the pellets that you were on the list for a couple months. If you would like some now, we have another brand to offer."

Their delivery charges are very reasonable. I have never complained about what they charge. However, one of SIB's claims to fame when he started out the business a few years ago up until December of last year was that delivery was "free." His delivery charge is based on the distance from their place of business. Jay, Maine. And I FULLY understand the value of delivery having hauled my own in my passenger car before. Another one of his claims to fame was unloading the pellets by hand and stacking them in your basement which was also "free."

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Back awhile ago when some folks were talking about SIB and in particular its waiting list for MWP Softwoods I sent a private message to member ScotL, here is his response.

Thanks for the heads up. I've been on vacation in Florida for the last 2 weeks while we shut down the mill for a lot of annual maintenance, so I haven't been reading the forums for a while.​

We have already ordered the bags for softwood and animal bedding. We should be making them later in the summer when the pine has had a chance to dry out. We don't have pre-dried dead beatle-kill like they have out west so our Maine pine is very energy intensive to dry. The best time to make pine pellets is after we've had some hot summer days.​

ScotL, Apr 22, 2013

 

[DOLLARBILL]

SIB always used me right and I dont have a problem with a drop fee Hell its expensive to drive all over Maine ! MWPs did not impress me one bit I would burn them in my shop cheap heat in the Home I want something better as for the crabbes burnt a few bags early season and they were not bad not great if i was to pay 265 for those I think Id kick in the extra for the SPs or a hard wood

 

[mepellet]

as for the crabbes burnt a few bags early season and they were not bad not great if i was to pay 265 for those I think Id kick in the extra for the SPs or a hard wood

Interesting.

 

[St_Earl]

just called and switched from the waiting list for softies to getting 6 ton of the blend.
looks like just one run of the softies this year and a price of somewhere from $259 to $269.

maybe next year i'll get the softies. but no way i'm waiting till july to get my stash in.
i have 70 bags of softies left for this year anyway.

drop fee to millinocket is $75.
i find that extremely reasonable.

 

[slls]

The big change at SIB is James, his son.

 

[hossthehermit]

How much / ton for the blend, Earl ?????

 

[St_Earl]

$224 at this point.
with me not having a truck, it's really the best way for me to go.
$75 to get 6 ton delivered right to the hatch to my pellet room is great.

i still have the 70 bags of softies and will probably start buying a single ton of something premium from the local stove shop in years to come.
unless the softies are available early and they are doing enough runs to have a low price.

i'm going to have a slowly growing surplus year by year. and am already planning what places in the basement will become annexed.

 

[slls]

$224 at this point.
with me not having a truck, it's really the best way for me to go.
$75 to get 6 ton delivered right to the hatch to my pellet room is great.

i still have the 70 bags of softies and will probably start buying a single ton of something premium from the local stove shop in years to come.
unless the softies are available early and they are doing enough runs to have a low price.

i'm going to have a slowly growing surplus year by year. and am already planning what places in the basement will become annexed.

Not sure Dysart's goes to Millinocket, there blend is $219. $60 delivery and will put them in a garage or where ever.

 

[St_Earl]

could be i checked them out when we first moved here.
their site does say "... to your bangor area home"
but i would prefer to stick with SIB until and unless there is a good reason not to.
always been served well by them.
but thanks for the reminder. i will definitely check again just to know my options.

i just cut one pallet in half to fill the gap between full pallets in the bunker.
i believe i can get about 12 ton in there if i try.
it'll be a few years till they start taking over more of the basement.

 

[mepellet]

The big change at SIB is James, his son.

Ha. I knew that there must have been company changes. Steve still there? He was not the one who called. Steve was very nice when he delivered my pellets last year.

 

[smalltown]

I don't think it me, but I have been trying to reach SIBs web site for at least two days without any luck.
Tried these two links. (broken link removed), and (broken link removed)

 

[St_Earl]

nope. it's not you.
i spoke with them by phone yesterday and mentioned it.
he said they were having some problems with the website.