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Summer firewood sales?

Started by Timberwerks, April 07, 2005, 06:10:20 PM

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Timberwerks

Anyone sell firewood during the summer for bonfires or campfires? I'm not sure if it is worth while running an add for such a thing or if I should save the money and run more or larger adds in the fall?

Dale

Patty

Around here they sell firewood in the summer to the campers at the local camp grounds and parks. Seems I heard folks will pay alot of money to sit around the campfire while they are out camping. You may want to check it out.
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

Larry

Got a friend with a firewood lot on a main road into a corp campground.  He has been there since the beginning of time so he doesn't have to advertize.  He sells quite regular, small quantities of wood for campfires all summer.  What has really picked up for him in the last few years, is hickory wood sales for the bar-b-que guys.  Volume is small but the per cord price is very high.
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

Minnesota_boy

One of my customers shrink wraps hardwood slabs cut to 16" pieces to campgrounds around the state.  Does quite well with it.  He hires one guy full time to cut the slabs plus 2 or 3 others part time to bundle and wrap them.  His big gripes are the campgrounds that run out and need an emergency delivery on Sunday afternoon (from 200 miles away) and accounts recievable that wait forever (sometimes literally) to pay.  He probably only make 60 to 70 thousand dollars a year doing that. :D
I eat a high-fiber diet.  Lots of sawdust!

tawilson

I think you should. There is a market for it, plus I have some customers to like to buy their firewood for their house in the spring/early summer so they know they will have seasoned firewood. I have some who buy a year ahead of time. It is the way it should be anyways.
Tom
2017 LT40HDG35 WIDE
BMS250 and BMT250 sharpener/setter
Woodmaster 725

Daren

I am not in the firewood business, so I can't give expert advice, but... Before I got my mill I would try to find wood to heat my shop in the summer so I knew I had it and it was dry. Big ditto on what was said about the campgrounds. Like I mentioned in a previous post I live by a recreational lake, that is the main (and most profitable) firewood  game going. They sell a little bundle you can fit in a 5 gallon bucket for $3-$4, how many of those bundles are in a cord? I read one time we have 2 million visitors during the summer, most of these folks don't have or don't want to haul wood with them. The market has been cornered for awhile, but I have still thought about trying to get a piece of that action. Are you the only one selling locally, if not is anyone else advertising?
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Timberwerks

Quote from: Daren on April 07, 2005, 07:59:44 PM
Are you the only one selling locally, if not is anyone else advertising?

There are a number of guy's selling during the cold months. Since no one is really selling for the summer I think I will give it a try. I'll post a few adds jut before Memorial Day and see how things go.

Dale

jjmk98k

Timbr, sounds like you could be sitting on a good thing, give it a try... doubt that you will lose money.... safer bet than the stock market is...
Jim

Warminster PA, not quite hell, but it is a local phone call. SUPPORT THE TROOPS!

estiers

Timber - Do you have a campground there local that you are targeting?
Erin Stiers
State Plant Health Director - Minnesota
United States Department of Agriculture

Jeff

The last I knew about the firewood vending at our local State Park was that the vendor was awarded a one year contract by a bidding process. They had to be low bidder per bundle of camp wood and had to guarantee an adequate supply, and be available to deliver anytime the park began to run low. The campers buy the wood from the Park.

This was the procedure at least  few years ago when I looked into it for our particular park.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

tawilson

I think New York operates along the same line. I see a lot of people even set up honor stations, I think that's the term, alongside the road. Even with the occasional no pay, I'm sure it's a paying proposition. I'm on a major camper route, Rt. 37, so I may do the same when I get time. Course this area is full of lakes and rivers and holiday weekends the roads are full of campers.
Tom
2017 LT40HDG35 WIDE
BMS250 and BMT250 sharpener/setter
Woodmaster 725

rebocardo

Location Location Location. Being on the highway to a major camp ground with a sign visible from 500 -1000 feet away is everything along with a place easy to pull into with a trailer. Spur of the moment sales instead of contract sales is the way to go.

Timberwerks

Quote from: estiers on April 08, 2005, 09:09:51 AM
Timber - Do you have a campground there local that you are targeting?

I have a couple in mind. My main thought was to place an add in the local paper and target campers before they hit the road. Now that I know it is an item people are interested I'll start making plans for next summer.

Dale

maple flats

If you're thinking any size at all in scale you might want to check into a wrapper. I saw an ad this week in Forest Products Equipment A free publication I get ( www.fpemagazine.com ) That is quite good., (the magazine that is) The wrapper is available from Twister Industries ( wwwtwisterind.biz ) I don't know much about it but if you want to really get into camper firewood this could be a good way to package it. There's a lot of money in firewood this way, an armload for BIG BUCKS! I've thought of it several times but I would most likely need to wholesale it because I am not on a route to any camping however I am within a couple of miles of such routes.  Good luck 8) 8)
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

SwampDonkey

The large campgrounds here have wood for camp fires. I don't remember paying for the wood directly, but I suppose the price of the camp lot also covered the use of the firewood. Some of the better maintained government camp grounds have firewood on hand from local mills and it was free to use as I recall. I'm sure all those camp grounds bought it someplace. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

maple flats

The ones I have seen that have free wood are not the same ones that have wood for sale packaged, just find other campgrounds, make an offer that looks good to them and you, some will bite.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

Timberwerks

Thanks for all the great info everyone. I'm going to look more into the firewood wraping idea.

Dale

Timberwerks

For some reason the Twister site is not loading for me. Does someone have a link to a picture or price list?

Thanks
Dale

HORSELOGGER

Heres what I use:http://www.mtnvalleymfg.com/bk2e.html

I dont even bother with winter sales much anymore. The prices is much better in the summer.The Twister is a front loaded machine, and while I have not operated one, I have stood in front of one and it seemed akward to me.
Heritage Horselogging & Lumber Co.
"Surgical removal of standing timber, Leaving a Heritage of timber for tommorow. "

Sawyerfortyish

I used to sell a lot of campers wood. They would start comming in 4:00 friday and come most of the day saturday. Sometimes there would be 4 or 5 cars backed up to the slab pile at the same time. I had to put a stop to it :(. There kids would head for the highest log pile to climb. Nobody ever got hurt but this is NJ a sue happy state.  I would always have a mess of what was passed over spread all over the place to clean up. I put in a mulch grinder and have no more liability or mess to worry about. Just back up a dumptruck and load with a front end loader. It all gets sold and I make just as much or more money.

Timberwerks

Thanks for the link horselogger. I'm getting excited about the prospect of selling year round. I'm not sure if I'll do much this summer but I will get a good start for next summer. What is a fair price per bundle? If I sell to stores or gas stations in the area should I charge the same price or what discount is fair. Most pre packed bundles I have seen range from $5.00 - $8.00 some large bundles are in the $15.00 range. How many logs per bundle are average?

Thanks Guy's

SwampDonkey

SawyerFortish,

That's always the trouble when you sell to folks on free for all. It's like the berry growers, they need to supervse the picking because people will not pick in areas someone else did and wastes the berries because they don't get picked. People are so used to this hourly production thing, even when they aren't being paid, like a U-pick berry farm.  ::) ::)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Brucer

I saw some bundles at the local service station last week, about 6-8 pieces of 16" 1x and 2x in a plastic bag. They were selling for $5.00 CDN ($4.00 US). I asked the owner if she sold many and she said they sold mainly to tourists who were visiting the local park about 20 minutes away. She figured in a summer they'd sell about 30 bundles. They were put together by a local firewood guy, so he'd have to give the service station a cut, plus pay for the bags. He had a flyer stuck inside each bag with his contact number, presumably hoping people would call him for winter firewood. But since locals weren't buying the stuff, he probably didn't get much follow-up business.

The owner said the tourists didn't object to the price at all. She guessed that most of them got to the campground before thinking about getting firewood. Then they couldn't be bothered making a 40 minute round trip to pick some up. And of course there'd be lots of people who wouldn't stop to fuel up, so they wouldn't even see the wood and think of getting some. She figured if the guy would set up 5 minutes from the campground with a pickup truck load, he'd sell a whole lot more (and not have to pay her anything).

As rebocardo says, "Location Location Location"
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

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