Firewood on the side

[woodroe]

Finally making some $ on the side selling cut, split seasoned firewood
and dry campfire wood to a local customer found on craigslist.
Close to a $1K in the last year.
The product didn't cost anything other than gas ,oil, blood and sweat so
good profit margin plus improving the woodlot as most all of it was culls and
blowdowns.
Selling the campfire wood for $150 cord delivered and the stove wood varies in price depending on what it is.
Soft maple mix $300 cord delivered and recently some
dry red Oak for $160 a Tacoma truckload.
Hard to find any dry firewood this time of year so can sell it at a premium price.
If they want it stacked there is a decent hourly rate tacked on .
The campfire wood is all seasoned pine spruce fir mix . Burns bright.
Not a get rich quick scheme by any means but pretty happy to move some of the product along for $ , help pay property taxes. Craigslist has been good to me.

[Southside]

Those seem like pretty cheap prices.  Are you sure you are making a profit at that rate or just depreciating your equipment and giving away the wood? 

[woodroe]

Made a little mistake in that post. More like $300 cord for the soft maple mix.
$100 a truckload, Tacoma holds a 1/3 cord. 
Prices seem average for this area. Just glad to be moving some. 

[NewYankeeSawmill]

Not a get rich quick scheme by any means but pretty happy to move some of the product along for $ , help pay property taxes. Craigslist has been good to me.

Awesome! Love hearing about successes!
One road I looked at around my AO when I first acquired the property was selling campfire wood to local campgrounds and RV parks, etc.
When I lived up in WNY we did a lot of camping at State Parks and such in the ADK's and Finger Lakes area (Gorgeous in the summer if you've never been!). Several of the parks had a "guy" who would drive through in a pickup truck with bundles of wood for-sale, or a rack near the Rental Office, or what-have-you. Price was reasonable and the delivery appreciated.
None of the campgrounds near me were interested, because they already had a guy! I don't know if there are camping spots near you, but it might be worth checking?

[Magicman]

Congrats on the "side" job.  It's a good feeling being able to make a few $$ while you are improving your property.   

I predict that your venture will grow.  

[B.C.C. Lapp]

Great start Woodroe. If you like making firewood, like I do, then it doesn't even seem like work. 

[woodroe]

Appreciate the input guys. Any day I can make a $100. is a good day.
Can't remember where I heard that ! 

[Southside]

Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but those numbers were what firewood was going for in The County when I left in the late '90s, and that area is never known for being expensive.  What part of the State are you in? 

[SwampDonkey]

You can easily get dried hardwood before fire season for $300-350 a cord CDN where I live. You go to the city and it's probably $450/cord. Mid season stuff is hard to find. All seasoned dry wood, next to impossible. Look at the price of pulpwood, it's worth less now than in 1998. If you buy pulp logs for firewood, you ain't going to pay more than pulp price. A lot of folks here buy firewood in tree length, even old timers around here. I see 4 piles of treelength firewood here within 2 miles.

[woodroe]

Prices vary depending on species and moisture content but in so called central Maine $250-$350 cord is average. 
Last time I bought firewood in the 90s it was $60 a cord
for 8' bolts delivered 4 cord load. 
Can browse statewide pricing here:

https://maine.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=firewood#search=1~gallery~0~0

[SwampDonkey]

Late 90's during the 'boom years' I paid $120 a cord for treelength up here. 12 cord loads. HWD Pulp is $120-160 a cord here right now. Factor in 2% inflation and the price never kept up. Never seen $60's since the late 70's. $50-60/cord is what guys got paid a cord on piece rate cutting in the 90's here, not mill delivered price.

[cutterboy]

Looking at our local weekly newspaper firewood for sale: for a cord, $200 green, $300 dry. It did not say "delivered" so you might have to go get it.

[B.C.C. Lapp]

Cutterboy $300 a cord delivered is about average price around here.  Full cord of course.  Nobody really advertises green would for sale here.  But some guys sell green wood claiming its dry.   But they don't get much return business.

[thecfarm]

Have to price it to what the market will bare. 
Not a lot of rich folks in this area.

[Mooseherder]

My hats off to anyone who produces more than 2 cords per year.  You have my admiration because that's my average. 

[SwampDonkey]

I produce 8-10 cords with the buggy and chainsaw. Funny I enjoy it and does not take all that long. Nice fall weather to work in, no flies and heat. Wish I had need of more so I could get more thinning done. 

[Mooseherder]

I have about 6 cords split and another 6 or more stacked in logs waiting to be cut and split. That pile will grow soon.

[woodroe]

Started the winter with about 18 cord all cut, split, seasoned  and covered or under cover.
That was the result of getting retired and having some extra time on hand over a couple years.
Keeping busy is good and liking the supplemental income however little it may seem.
Moving softwood is tricky though, advertised on craigslist for a spell and only got one response
that didn't go anywhere. Campfire burners are a slim minority so
did get lucky finding this customer I've been selling softwood to.
Probably a short lived venture, getting old and slow

[Mooseherder]

I've got a good location for a roadside stand but don't have the time or interest at the moment.  That could change one day, ya never know.
Woodroe, could you sell the soft wood for kindling?

[woodroe]

Kindling is a possibility, might be worth looking into. 
Gotta have kindling to start a fire.
A local pallet maker sells it for $125 cord delivered 4 cord min, green but
cut to the length you want.

[barbender]

 I think I sell as much softwood firewood as hardwood. I mix my bundled firewood roughly 50/50. My thought is the softwood is easy to light, and the hardwood will last a while.

 I also sell a fair amount of softwood in the winter too, guys will buy it for their garage woodstove. It heats the shop up fast.

[SwampDonkey]

I never need more than 2 or 3 leaves of newsprint to start a wood fire. I've said it before, I first moved into the new house over 5 years ago and had 6 cedar blocks. I thought I would make kindling wood for fire starting. I've still got 5 blocks because I found that dry wood starts fine without it during that first winter.  Newsprint is just free weekly flyers and a box of matches is about $3.

[woodroe]

Newsprint is hard to find anymore. Since they did away with plastic bags at the grocery store paper bags are back for a nickel a piece so that's what we use now. Price is right. One bag is plenty to get a blaze going.
I'm a fan of kindling for fire starting but each to their own.  
Heading back into the woods today once the wind dies down. Last Decembers blowdowns 
need tending to. Another couple cord easy.

[SwampDonkey]

They still stuff the flyers in the mail every week here, even though most can be viewed online. They stopped delivery of flyers roadside here a few months ago, some places they still deliver. But still lots of people without Iphones and computers to look at the flyers with. I have a laptop, but never look at online flyers. I can see when I get there because I only shop at 4 stores, mostly just 2. If I don't see something on sale this week, maybe next time. :D 

[thecfarm]

Very few flyers here in the mail. I pick up the one for the local grocery store each week. I might get one every few weeks.
I do pick up a small paper that has area going ons that is free.
I have a bunch of blowdowns and snapped off trees. The ones that are uprooted are the worse. Hard enough to get around on my land without a root that sticks up in the air 4-5-6 feet.
I have not been across the bog to see what kind of mess I have there.