To buy or not to buy?

[countk]

Thinking of pulling the trigger with either pelletsales or pellets direct as they are both claiming prices will not come down this year!!

Just as the rest of the dealers on this board, they are stating that the supply of sawdust is low, combined with the fact that there are more pellet mills producing, allows for those selling the sawdust to bargain better prices, therefore higher pellet prices.

I am probably going to go with the LG Granules with pelletsales, although I would rather buy Lignetics or Barefoot, but I can't see paying $279 or $289 compared to the LG for $250. Shipping is about the same, or a little higher with pelletsales!

Does anyone really believe they will be less before Sept. Too many people are agreeing that they don't see prices coming down. Anyone have a differing view with facts to back it up?

 

[slvrblkk]

I'm going to roll the dice and wait for summer pricing. Just a gut feeling tells me prices will be going down. I think worst case that prices will be somewhat the same in August as they are now. Just my $.02

 

[MCPO]

Buy em and don`t look back. They won`t go bad. If only for insurance. Oil`s been climbing steadily . No one can predict energy cost accurately anymore.

 

[abrucerd]

I'm in central MA, and I too was on the fence.

BUT

I just pulled the trigger.

4.5 tons of LG... I've learned my lesson after this year. 3 tons just ain't enough to heat my house worry free.

Worst case scenario, pellet prices plummet. Oh well... nothing I can do about that I guess... that's the name of the game.

If oil prices stay low, then I'll probably just hold onto the pellets for a rainy day. The wife and I like using the stove in winter regardless... but if oil drops down again, we just won't run it 24/7.

Good luck to you all... hope you get the best deal possible for '09-10.

 

[Bxpellet]

I was quoted $305 a ton and was told the price would not go down!

 

[save$]

Like that old Johnny Cash song, "know when to hold them, know when to fold them". My 2 cents says to keep calling around. What you may have going against you is location. You won't be the only one calling around. The dealers do the same thing. Oil dealers do it every morning. Seeing signs of things thawing out in Maine. Some deals discussed already in the $200. range
you'll get all kinds of BS about why, but it is still your $ until you step up to the plate and make your play. I have several friends who locked in to pre buy oil last year at $4.50. They felt it was the "safe" thing to do. The really safe thing to do is not have your energy dependence all in one source, and to invested heavily in prevention of heat loss.
With nearly a full tank of oil, and over two tons left over, I'll be a hold out. Keep your ear to the ground, you will get a feel of how things are moving.

 

[gcugg]

My first year with my Harman XXV. It's performed great so far, very happy we bought this one. Bought beginning of February this year. Burned over one ton of LG pellets and a few bags of Pennington from Home Depot. I don't have too much to compare to yet, but my feeling is that these pellets are okay on heat output and put out a good deal of ash.

I figure to use about 5 tons next year. I've got one ton of LG pellets and one ton of New England pellets on hand. So I'll be looking for at least three tons.

I also saw the $229 price for LG at pelletsales.com. That may be the best price I've seen for pellets yet. Whether or not prices drop further is debatable. I might buy at least one ton of Barefoot pellets from Pellets Direct for $279. Only because I've heard great things about them and it might be good to have a variety so I can make my own conclusions on how they work.

Hey Save$ isn't that a Kenny Rodgers song??

Keep em burning.

 

[hossthehermit]

Like that old Johnny Cash song, "know when to hold them, know when to fold them". My 2 cents says to keep calling around. What you may have going against you is location. You won't be the only one calling around. The dealers do the same thing. Oil dealers do it every morning. Seeing signs of things thawing out in Maine. Some deals discussed already in the $200. range
you'll get all kinds of BS about why, but it is still your $ until you step up to the plate and make your play. I have several friends who locked in to pre buy oil last year at $4.50. They felt it was the "safe" thing to do. The really safe thing to do is not have your energy dependence all in one source, and to invested heavily in prevention of heat loss.
With nearly a full tank of oil, and over two tons left over, I'll be a hold out. Keep your ear to the ground, you will get a feel of how things are moving.

That was Kenny Rogers

 

[Wet1]

My guess is everything is probably going to go up next season. I believe the stock market and the economy will pick up before then and with it oil/NG will increase as well. I expect housing to start picking up also, which means more raw materials for pellets... but I think the days of 'cheap pellets' are probably over (generally speaking) as people are still foolishly paying $300 a ton for pellets today, even though oil and NG is currently much cheaper... so there's little reason for retailers to sell them for less should oil and gas prices go back up.

If you are okay with paying over $225/ton in the northeast (which I'm not), I seriously doubt you're going to see prices significantly lower later in the year, so I don't think you have much to lose by buying soon.

 

[abrucerd]

Yep, that's Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler"

Johnny Cash sings "Pretty Woman"

 

[jtakeman]

Johnny Cash sings "Pretty Woman"

Nope, That was Roy Orbison.

 

[CrappieKeith]

Johnny Cash sings "Pretty Woman"

Nope, That was Roy Orbison.

Van Halen sang Pretty Woman too.

As to pellets.....get the best deal you can and stock up.
You know oil is a volitile market...may as well have your stock of pellets to burn when the liquid fuel goes up.
Better yet why not have them...if the pellets can't be bought from being out of stock then what?

 

[Kittery]

This is the end of my fifth season, and every year I just don't seem to get around to ordering pellets until closer to 'stove fire up' time...and then the scramble starts! I've made calls and gone to places to not only find a good price but in some cases, like last season, just to find a place that already didn't have more orders than they could handle!
Lesson learned! I pulled the trigger over three weeks ago; early order from pelletsales for delivery between mid March and the end of March. Thre tons of LG's landed in the driveway last Thursday; they were all moved into the garage last Sunday (one bag at a time!); and I feel a lot more at ease that I have them. Before the beginning of next season I'll look around for another ton.

Now...as for the Johnny Cash songs...we all loved him but he would want to be credited for the songs he actually did! Songs like "A BOY NAMED SUE", "FOLSOM PRISON BLUES", "I'VE BEEN EVERYWHERE", "WALK THE LINE", and so many more!
Sorry...I just had to! :coolsmirk:

 

[abrucerd]

Now...as for the Johnny Cash songs...we all loved him but he would want to be credited for the songs he actually did! Songs like "A BOY NAMED SUE"

"A Boy Named Sue"... that's the video where the entire band is hippie skeletons, right?

 

[mattbell]

Guys this has happened like clockwork for the past few years. Retailers offer early season specials to get customers to buy ahead. They take advantage of special pricing from manufactures and pass it along to us, the end user. Prices are as low today as they are going to be all season! In fact, you should expect to see them go up some as we get closer to peak season.