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Price Gouging?

Started by Deadwood, December 01, 2005, 06:11:42 PM

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Deadwood

Today I was at a well known national retail store. I was going to pick up a few boards just to make a quick home project go quicker, but the key word there is the word WAS.

Here in Maine anyway, one 1" by 12" by 8 ft 0 in white pine board was $29.89! A board foot of Popil was $6.90 a board foot!

I called a Store Manager over to see if that was the right price, I mean there is just no way...but yep, he said that was the price. Is this price gouging or what? He blamed Katrina for the supply and demand thing, but I don't buy it. Not in the Pine Tree State or the heaviliest forested state in the nation.

I did not buy the boards. I'll be darned if I will pay 30 bucks for one board. I am contemplating contacting the Attorney General. I mean it worked for the high gas prices. Did you notice how the gas prices dropped incredibly while the oil executives were answering to price gouging prices in front of Congress? I know Congress could care less about what we pay for lumber, but this is getting outrageous! (In my humble opinion...and I apologize for ranting here, but I am a bit miffed)

rebocardo

I think it is more likely a mistake was made and "the computer is always right" thing. That is pretty out there for a price.


woodbowl

Quote from: Deadwood on December 01, 2005, 06:11:42 PM
1" by 12" by 8 ft 0 in white pine board was $29.89! A board foot of Popil was $6.90 a board foot!

In my humble opinion...and I apologize for ranting here, but I am a bit miffed
Miff no more DW. It's time to get a sawmill!  8)
Full time custom sawing at the customers site since 1995.  WoodMizer LT40 Super Hyd.

SAW MILLER

The last time I looked at the big L board store,yellow poplar was $5 a bd ft.I would sell a truck load to anyone for $2.25.........or .75 off the mill ???
LT 40 woodmizer..Massey ferg.240 walker gyp and a canthook

beenthere

Deadwood
Not convinced that is what caused the gas prices to come down, but it's nice to have them down a bit.

My thoughts would be that the store doesn't 'want' to sell many boards like that. If they did, they would lower the price so you would buy it. I think there are a lot of decisions that go into that pricing, and not much is related to the fact that you might want it at that particular instant in time.

To me, its like the real estate broker that wants a 'full portfolio' of real estate to sell. Some town, some city, some country and a good cross-section of each. Its why they will try to sign up 'voids' in their portfolio with a piece of property that is priced out of site, because the owner doesn't want to sell it. The owner is just asked to 'list' it with the broker. Where I live, that is going on all the time, at the risk that someone will pay that outlandish price.

So, if a person pays that $30 for that board, it will get replaced with another at maybe an even higher price.   I don't absolutely know this is the reason, but consider it a good possibility.  I can't believe the prices on packages of screws and bolts at our HD store. Like $0.89 for two 3/16" bolts in a package. I suspect it costs money to get them packaged and labled and stocked in the store,, and this all adds up in the end. Do I buy them there?  No, I go to the local hardware store and buy them by the pound, not the piece.

For lumber, I support my local, family-owned lumber yard. I like knowing who I am buying from and who is glad to take money from someone they know.  :)

Deadwood, this is a good excuse to get a sawmill.  :)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

SwampDonkey

I see the same thing in Kent Building Supplies and guess who 'Kent' is. Old man Irving. If you buy a piece of hardwood moulding, they charge as much for the bit that cut it, plus the value of the wood.  ::)

Deadwood, do what I have done. Just go to a portable mill operator and buy it. Some have their own Kiln. Instead of paying those rediculous prices. Also you must have lots of trees you could mill up on the farm. Cut yourself a couple thousand feet of mixed hardwood and call the portable mill guy. ;) Most of my stash in the barn came from the farm and some not so far away from a circular mill. Cherry, butternut, maple, birch, basswood, ash, white pine. Maybe your next project is a barn from some of those nice spruce trees that are growing on the back 40. ;D
"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)))

Deadwood

Oh don't get me wrong, my family has a sawmill, three to be exact.

Chainsaw Mill
Bandsaw Mill
Rotary Mill (No engine currently)

I just wanted to grab a few wide boards and use them in a home project without having to saw the tree down, saw it out, plane it and then put it to use. In my mind, paying a few extra bucks to avoid some work would have been worth it on this small project, but to pay 30 bucks a board is inconceivable.

This by the way, was the price. It was not a misprint.

Rocky_J

I'm always amused when some people confuse a free market economy with 'price gouging'. The term is a misnomer since 'price gouging' can technically only occur when applied to a monopoly or government controlled product or service.
Nobody is forcing you to buy a board for $30. If you don't like the price, you don't buy it and go down the road looking until you find it a a price you are willing to pay. That's called 'economics', not 'price gouging'. But since it is the latest new phrase bellowed from the megaphones of liberal news outlets, all of a sudden any price increase or even any price somebody doesn't like is all of a sudden 'price gouging'.
::)

OK, I'm done here. Going to see if I can find an interesting thread to read.

Larry

Yea the box stores are pretty high priced but to there credit did ya take a close look at the board?  Bet it was S4S, perfect with no defects, and displayed where it was easy to look at.

A little education to the consumer would save em lots of money while making us sawyers a few extra.

I agree with Rocky_J...no price gouging involved here...just smart marketing.
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.

woodmills1

perfect pine(not so really) is $3.85 per in the lumber yards here.  That would put it right in line with that price.  Havent seen poplar that high but it has been awhile since I checked.  Don't quite know why the green wholsale price has been stagnent for years. :o
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

Engineer

Kiln dried clear pine (maybe a pin knot or two) can be had at several local mills near me for $2.50/bf or less.   For that price, the 1x12 better be a perfect piece of wood, clear as a bell and rail straight.  Poplar for any more than $2 a board foot is a crime.

Deadwood

Yes, the lumber was s4s, and called a select, but it certainly would not be a select if it was one of the logs that came off my woodlot. That is for a different thread I guess, but I learned a long time ago that the big box stores are one grade under what the scalers at the sawmills grade sawlogs at. (It did have knots)

As for Gouging, I suppose technically it's not, but I bet they sell lumber to a lot of people that don't know the difference. Perhaps ignorance is these peoples own fault, but the role of Government is to help the people accomplish what they cannot do for themselves. They seem to have lost that perspective over the years.

WeeksvilleWoodWorx

Quote from: Deadwood on December 01, 2005, 08:46:56 PMbut the role of Government is to help the people accomplish what they cannot do for themselves.

WOW :o

That is some comment, hate to see things get political, but man that is some comment :o

Certainly not my idea of governments role.

Brian
Brian - 2004 LT40HDG28 owner.

Rocky_J

Quote from: Deadwood on December 01, 2005, 08:46:56 PM
Perhaps ignorance is these peoples own fault, but the role of Government is to help the people accomplish what they cannot do for themselves. They seem to have lost that perspective over the years.

I must wholeheartedly disagree with this statement. It is absolutely NOT the Government's role to play Nanny for the stupid and lazy. The government's job is simply to provide the common infrastructure for a free economy to prosper and for people to enjoy Life Liberty and a Pursuit of Happiness. Does that phrase sound familiar? Nowhere does our Constitution mention anything about 'helping people accomplish what they cannot do for themselves'. The government does not need to be in the Charity business. Good people help others in need out of love and kindness. If the government makes it mandatory, that is thievery.

You sir, are the one who has lost perspective.  :P

VA-Sawyer

" The role of Government is to help the people accomplish what they cannot do for themselves." I agree with that to a point, but I don't feel it is the Governments role to protect fools or lazy people from themselves. If they are dumb enough to pay those prices , then sell them wood from your mill for 10% less than Lowes.   ;)

VA-Sawyer

woodmills1

wow how did this become a government thread and not a big government thred? :D
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

etat

We sure did have some nice weather here today.  It rained for a little while early this morning but then the sun popped out and shined the rest of the day.  It was down pretty cold last night, twenty eight degrees but after the sun popped out it got up to fifty six degrees and near about the exact right temperature I like to get out and work in.  Not too hot and not too cold. 
Old Age and Treachery will outperform Youth and Inexperence. The thing is, getting older is starting to be painful.

chet

Ck, yur supposed ta switch ta a food topic, not da weather. ;)
I am a true TREE HUGGER, if I didnt I would fall out!  chet the RETIRED arborist

Dan_Shade

hah, is beer a food?

clear S4S boards have been stupid at the store for a long time, one reason I bought a saw.  What hooked me is how excited I get when I see a board!
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

etat

Quote from: Chet on December 01, 2005, 11:35:25 PM
Ck, yur supposed ta switch ta a food topic, not da weather. ;)


HOLY SMOKES, Chet!!!!!!!!  I just checked the weather for where YOU life!!!!!  bbbbbrrrrrrrrrrr,  I'd freeze my bohunkus plumb off as cold as it is there.   No wonder you wanted to switch the topic to food!!!!!!!   :)
Old Age and Treachery will outperform Youth and Inexperence. The thing is, getting older is starting to be painful.

ScottAR

Woulda got a lot warmer if'n the wind hada let up some....  Brrrrr..... 

I'm hungry... :D
Scott
"There is much that I need to do, even more that I want to do, and even less that I can do."
[Magicman]

crtreedude

cktate,

Since you want weather - we are a little cloudy today, looks like a nice one - up in the mountain, it will be 75 F but down at the fincas I think it will be around 82 to 85 with a nice breeze.

I can tell because my toes are a little chilled in my sandles this morning.

The weather forcast in Costa Rica: "We don't need no stinking forecast! It is the same today as yesterday!"

Oh, and we ran out of tropical fruit yesterday and so I needed something - and I had grits, grits I say. The cook is still in shock. I had to stop her from using them to glue something with...

Fred

P.S. My work here is done - we have transistioned to food now... Let the grits, grits I say wars begin!

So, how did I end up here anyway?

crtreedude

In one way it is the governments role to do things we cannot do - for example, when Standard Oil was so huge that it was a monopoly and threatening the economy of the USA - the USA government broke it up.  Microsoft had to be brought to heel a bit as well since they were trying to destroy all competition.

If we were to be invaded by another country - sure, you could defend your property - but the government's job is to be able to do that more effectively. Sort of hard for you to build a road between you and your work if you live in the country and the work is in the city.

However, it isn't the government's job to teach anyone how to shop wisely. The government will step in on things that are considered requirements to life in the USA (for example, fuel) but it has no business deciding an optional wood like poplar is too expensive.

Usually, supply and demand does it. Hard to say that the government needs to take over and control the price on poplar - there is no need for it.

just my dos colones
So, how did I end up here anyway?

Fla._Deadheader


  :o :o :o  Crikey, Folks. It's about 40 that's  4--0° degrees here  :o :o :o :o

  Gotta see if I can get a sooner flight outta here  :o :o :o :o
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Deadwood

After some thought, I still stand by my comment on goverments role.

Some may disagree but I see the education system doing a far better job at educating my children then what I could ever do alone, and it's all I can do to get my driveway plowed of snow, say nothing about getting the roads plowed all over this great state. Heck the biggest Goverment criticism of the year stemmed from the lack of response to the Katrinia Hurricain. People were just so overwhelmed down there. Someone had to step in, and while it could be argued to what degree the Goverment helped, the fact remains, the people down there could just not help themselves.

As for my little 30 dollar board, sure I can walk down the street and buy a cheaper board...at say 28 dollars instead of 30, but it's still over-priced. As for losing perspective on this, I guess next time instead of calling the manager of the store over, I will give George a ring down at the White House and see if he can slow inflation down a little.  As the AARP commercials say, "if it was that easy, we would not need AARP." Well if controlling inflation was that easy, we would not need the government.

I am not a big fan of big government by any means, and as a Federal Employee I have not seen one thing the Goverment has done that they have not screwed up, but as much as we hate to have them in our lives, (and hate to pay them too) they are a nessasary evil.

beenthere

FDH
It's 8° here, but it's on the + side of zero  ;D

Just put another log on, and wonderin how the new outdoor woodburners are doin with their rigs.

Deadwood
You should switch to the 'weather' topic   ::) :)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Deadwood

Okay, I can take a hint, I'll chat about weather because its about 50 degrees here in Maine, which kind of changes things around from the 40 degrees you Southerns are getting. It's also kind of funny too that in Girdwood Alaska where my sister lives, the jet-stream makes for a rather warm winter. As a rule it is warmer there then it is here in Maine.

That's alright, I knew when I bought my new snowmobile we wouldn't get any snow. That's just how it works. Murphys Law.

woodmills1

Oh, by the way I got a new truck. :D :D :D
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

SwampDonkey

And I got a flooded basement this morning.  >:(
"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)))

mike_van

Hey - Can we get back "on topic" here ?  :)   Last year or the one before ? Didn't 1/2" CDX go to about 30.00 a sheet?  It was blamed on the hurricanes, rebuilding Iraq, and the Chinese economy?  Is it still 30.00 ?  Just wondering...........
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

GF

Quote from: crtreedude on December 02, 2005, 06:07:21 AM
In one way it is the governments role to do things we cannot do

Wonder if this is why we see so much corruption in govt?

woodbowl

Boy Howdy ................ another purdy day. I've got about 10 more logs on the ramp and I'll be through with the pine job. Gona' look forward to cutting another fellows poplar next week.  Oh .............. yea,  food. Hmmmmmmmmmm ..........  If a fellow won't work, he aught not to eat.  ;D
Full time custom sawing at the customers site since 1995.  WoodMizer LT40 Super Hyd.

Frank_Pender

Gee, I wonder if I need to change my prices for the burl I want to sell.  I just place an add in the For Sale section yesterday.  Ther have been about 70 lookers but no takers.  I must be gouging.  I best had lower my prices?   Then, I would be accused of undercutting the competition and be in just a much trouble?   :'(
Frank Pender

Modat22

I checked prices on 2x4 studs 3 months ago and they where like 1.65 a piece, yesterday at lowes (same place) they where 2.65 each.

I just ate a sausage egg and cheese sandwhich on homemade rye bread. 4 pieces of sausage, 3 slices of cheese  and of course the bread. THe bread is sticking to the back of my front teeth.........
remember man that thy are dust.

beenthere

Quote from: Frank_Pender on December 02, 2005, 09:24:13 AM
Gee, I wonder if I need to change my prices for the burl I want to sell.  I just place an add in the For Sale section yesterday.  Ther have been about 70 lookers but no takers.  I must be gouging.  I best had lower my prices?   Then, I would be accused of undercutting the competition and be in just a much trouble?   :'(

Just start sending by DHL to the forum members. They'll solve your dilema. Do you want addresses?   ;D
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Modat22

Quote from: beenthere on December 02, 2005, 10:46:36 AM
Just start sending by DHL to the forum members. They'll solve your dilema. Do you want addresses?   ;D

Thats actually not a bad idea, if you have stuff like that and its not moving can't you throw it on the for sale section?
remember man that thy are dust.

Jeff

I just added a photo to Franks ad. I think they are outstanding and I hope the photo helps move some of them. I think they are works of art.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=15641.new#new
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

Corley5

Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

etat

I kinda wish it'd cool off some here.  I need it to get down below forty degrees for a few days or so I can kill that ole bull that's been pigging out on corn before I butcher em and hang em up to age some so i can cut it up into steaks and grind em  up into hamburger. Getting hungry for me a big ole t-bone or rib eye just thinking about it.

Thinking if I lived where Chet lived I wouldn't even need a extra freezer on my back porch to keep em in.   Maybe just build me a wood box  and let the meat stay froze all by itself.    Thinking I wouldn't use S4S boards to build my freezer box out of though!  :)

Oh Frank, them's some REAL nice burls.  If it was me i wouldn't blame you for selling em for as much as you could get for em!   8) 8) 8)



Old Age and Treachery will outperform Youth and Inexperence. The thing is, getting older is starting to be painful.

chet

Back when all da kids were home we used to raise a big garden, and shot lots of venison. Plus buy a half of beef and at least 1 pig. We had 3 large freezers in the garage that never turned all winter.   :)  In fact 1 didn't work at all, we just made sure to empty that one first.   ;D
I am a true TREE HUGGER, if I didnt I would fall out!  chet the RETIRED arborist

crtreedude

Chet,

Are you sure you are supposed to live that far north  ???

We figure the only frozen water we want to see is in our drinks.  :D

So, how did I end up here anyway?

Quartlow

Quote from: beenthere on December 02, 2005, 06:46:30 AM
FDH
It's 8° here, but it's on the + side of zero  ;D

Just put another log on, and wonderin how the new outdoor woodburners are doin with their rigs.

Deadwood
You should switch to the 'weather' topic   ::) :)

My home brew one is about to run me out of the trailer, drafty windows and all.  :D :D Got it where I'm only fixing the fire in the morning and at night  :D :D Gotta love it when a plan comes together
Breezewood 24 inch mill
Have a wooderful day!!

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