Wood sellers Hall of Shame

[WoodyIsGoody]

Here's a Craigslist ad where the owner doesn't seem to know whether it's 1/2 cord or full cord, whether you will pay him or he will pay you and whether a load that "looks like" 2.5 cu. yds. (67.5 cu. ft) will actually be a full cord (128 cu. ft.). Actually, a "chord" has no legal definition and I imagine he might be aware of that.

I'm guessing he's not as confused as he sounds but that he only wants to deliver to complete idiots.

1/2 CHORD DRY MIXED FIRE WOOD - $140 (Bellingham/ferndale)
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I am offering 200 per chord of dry wood, split and a good 6-7 months dry under cover. this is not NOT SEASONED ( seasoned wood is typically dried for a year or longer) This will look like 2.5 yards in the back of my truck which is a full chord. I want to earn your business and I make sure to bring a little extra than a chord. This wood is a mix of

cherry, maple, alder, fir and locust. It burns great now but will be better if you want to season it.

. $140 gets it to your house. If I can stack it easily I will do it for free but if it requires a wheel barrel and a hill I will require extra cash. I can only haul 1/2 chord at a time as you can see from the pics but if you close I only have ONE LEFT thanks for looking

 

[PA. Woodsman]

My head is spinning trying to make sense out of what he said, he's like the weather all over the place?!

 

[Woody5506]

Lol "wheel barrel"


Craigslist is the best and worst thing ever. All my wood scores pretty much come from there. I've posted a detailed ad explaining I will take unwanted logs from fallen trees or other firewood for free and have gotten many responses of people thinking that means I'll take down and clear their trees for free. "WELL YOU CAN HAVE THE WOOD IF YOU TAKE THE TREE DOWN AND CLEAR IT ALL..." oh....thanks...

One older lady recently called me because a big maple blew over in her yard and she told me to take what I wanted. I went over, checked it out and told her I'll hack up what I could and take it but much of it will require more equipment than 1 guy with a maul and chainsaw. So hire a professional service to do the rest. She said fine. I do what I can and I don't go back. She calls me 2 weeks ago forgetting I'm the same guy who was there and leaves a message explaining the same situation and that some guy (me) was supposed to get rid of it but never came back. LOL.

I know I'm scrounging wood, but it's amazing what other people try to do to save money.

 

[TheAardvark]

Chord is a musical term. Cord refers to firewood. See it all the time.

 

[Sprinter]

Actually, a "chord" has no legal definition and I imagine he might be aware of that.

Many states actually have a legal definition of a cord as being 128 cf. Here is Washington's:

"2.4.1.2 Cord The amount of wood that is contained in a space of 128 cubic feet when the wood is ranked and well stowed. For the purpose of this regulation, "ranked and well stowed" shall be construed to mean that pieces of wood are placed in a line or row, with individual pieces touching and parallel to each other, and stacked in a compact manner."

Here is the official and more inclusive website: (broken link removed to http://agr.wa.gov/Inspection/WeightsMeasures/FirewoodInformation.aspx)

Now what we need is a definition for "seasoned".

 

[Hasufel]

Chord is a musical term. Cord refers to firewood. See it all the time.

Don't forget about geometry! A chord is also a line segment joining two points on a curve.

 

[Allagash350]

I see this stuff all the time it drives me crazyy haha. I don't know who would stack a cord of wood for free, most likely needs fast cash. As confusing as it is at least he was upfront about it not being seasoned haha

 

[TedyOH]

Looks like an 8 foot bed and about 16" splits randomly tossed in the bed.....that equals about 1 face cord (1/3 of a cord).....sold about 100 of them 25 years ago with my 1991 Chevy.

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[Chas0218]

Looks like an 8 foot bed and about 16" splits randomly tossed in the bed.....that equals about 1 face cord (1/3 of a cord).....sold about 100 of them 25 years ago with my 1991 Chevy.

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I have a 6x12 landscape trailer and i can get a full cord stacked neatly 16" splits about 24" high. I'm with you a pickup load like above is closer to 1/3.

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[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Looks like about a rick to me. ;-)

I watched the Norwegian slow firewood night on Netflix the other night. They sell by the Norwegian cord, or by the litre. They are discussing the idea of changing the regulations to selling by the BTU equivalent. Those Scandinavians really take this stuff seriously.

 

[BoiledOver]

It appears to me that the poster has English as a second language. Maybe just an honest person who doesn't know all that much about the American firewood business. If so, give credit for their ambition.

 

[weatherguy]

I see this stuff all the time it drives me crazyy haha. I don't know who would stack a cord of wood for free, most likely needs fast cash. As confusing as it is at least he was upfront about it not being seasoned haha

Local guy I've bought wood from stacks it for free, he has a one cord trailer so he can't dump it but will only stack it if the trailer can be put where you want your wood stacked. He also has sold me the elusive seasoned wood. Little high in price but if you need seasoned wood his price isn't outrageous.

 

[fishki]

He also has sold me the elusive seasoned wood.

I have heard stories of this urban myth, but I've never seen it for myself.

 

[blades]

Have about 25 cord of that mythical stuff on hand.

 

[BenTN]

at least he posted a pic of a load and was honest about the seasoned part. if you guys want to buy wood from an educated professional be prepared to pay higher prices than this. anyone with an education and sense for business knows selling firewood to homeowners is not at all profitable. i read once that if i wanted to make a small fortune selling firewood i needed to start with a large fortune. this could be some kid trying to earn money to take his girl to movies.

i applaud this guy for his honest effort to earn a dollar and not suckling from the teet of govt assistance

 

[lost in the woods]

don't forget a cord is defined as 128 cubic feet of wood bark and air space. . . that's the tricky part how much air and bark are you buying hahaha

 

[blades]

generally about 10% of 128 cubic ft. is the accepted norm

 

[Lake Girl]

Chord is a musical term. Cord refers to firewood. See it all the time.

Auto correct strikes again

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

i applaud this guy for his honest effort to earn a dollar and not suckling from the teet of govt assistance

To be clear, my posting of this ad was not to accuse him of being dishonest (I do not know whether he is just confused or trying to confuse) but to highlight the irrational message he is sending. However, I do not believe one needs higher education to communicate to ordinary people in way that isn't contradictory on such elemental levels. That's a matter of a persons state of mind more than their level of education. After reading his ad, I still have no idea how much wood I would receive.

As far as applauding him for not "suckling from the teet of govt assistance", I will point out that firewood is typically an all cash business and thus we have no idea whether he is or is not accepting government financial assistance in addition to any small amount he is able to make selling firewood. I think statistically, the fact that he has a relatively small amount of cash income from sales does not appreciably change the odds of whether he is on financial assistance or not. He could be a war veteran with PSTD for all we know. Alternatively, he could be on welfare and/or food stamps. Could be all three. It's not my position to judge, we don't know, and the fact that he has some hard-earned cash income doesn't change that because we don't know if the income is reported.

 

[BenTN]

It's not my position to judge,

maybe if you had purchased from this guy and were reporting a bad experience instead of just bashing the guy for his poor grammar and lack of knowledge, i may have responded differently

 

[Woody5506]

It's OK to laugh at this guy's ad....because it's funny. And stupid.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

maybe if you had purchased from this guy and were reporting a bad experience instead of just bashing the guy for his poor grammar and lack of knowledge, i may have responded differently

I guess I could order a 1/2 cord (or is it more than a cord?) from him. But I'm not going to because it WILL NOT be as advertised. You don't need a degree in woodology to know that alder and maple cut in the fall in the damp, cold Pacific Northwest weather (especially this winter) isn't even close to being "dry" and it's not going to burn "great" in March. This is a maritime climate just a few miles from Canada. I'm not paying $140 for a pick-up load that he swears will be a bit more than a cord just to prove that it's not. If it was a true cord I would get some for next year because that's a good price. It's not dry and it's not going to burn "great" this winter.

I don't know why you're defending this kind of behavior. Is this what passes for acceptable in Tennessee?

 

[fossil]

Easy now boys. Settle down and take a few deep breaths.