firewood prices....

The-Burl-Hunter · October 22, 2009, 06:44:30 PM

hello,
(It sure has been a long time since I've been on here) but anyway, I have someone who is looking to buy around 10 cord of firewood from me a year, only hardwoods such as oak hickory maple etc etc anyway i live in the south east part of minnesota, and usually sell a face cord of hardwoods such as oak and birch for 55.00 delivered which includes being split and delivered. anyway i have never sold this much wood to a guy at a time plus he would be hauling it away to his house with my help of loading it and helping him stacking it, i want to give him a good price since he is buying so much at a time and so was wondering what a good price would be any ideas, this wood would be (prob dried for a year so its not green and would be split)

beenthere · October 22, 2009, 06:57:36 PM

Are you willing to do the work for less than $55 a face cord? If so, how much less?

Why isn't $55 a "good" price?

Just some questions to help you decide.

The-Burl-Hunter · October 22, 2009, 07:38:12 PM

I just fiqured that since he was hauling it then i woulden't have to fiqure in my gas to haul it to his house

stonebroke · October 22, 2009, 07:45:18 PM

That's a good point. Also volume discount, don't have to chase down ten one cord customers.

Stonebroke

beenthere · October 22, 2009, 07:54:53 PM

Your figurin good. Now just subtract the gas and you should be good to go with a good number.

But sounds like, from what you said, you will be spendin your gas to go to his house and stack his wood. :

:

isawlogs · October 22, 2009, 08:13:50 PM

Sure wished you where closer to me , I would get you to do my firewood , I find it a real good price at 55$/face cord . Was over 100$ last year around here.

wi woodcutter · October 22, 2009, 09:57:23 PM

I sell my wood for $275/full cord and $100/face cord. I have more business then I know what to do with. Last year I had a guy call me for 15 full cords and wanted a volume discount. I told him I would sell it for $250 a full. Just because you are selling it volume does not mean that you still don't have the same amount of time in it.

Toolman · October 23, 2009, 05:15:44 AM

That $55.00 per face cord is a good deal. Why go less than that? Especially considering it's hardwood, split and seasoned. You could'nt get that price around here. I'm seeing $160-180 per full cord at cash and u haul.

Raider Bill · October 23, 2009, 09:22:17 AM

$50 a face cord delivered and stacked around my area in Tenn. At least that's what it was last year. Not very seasoned.

Frickman · October 23, 2009, 10:03:11 AM

There are close to ten firewood processors setup less than ten miles from me. Plus a large number of mills and weekend woodcutters. I can buy it wholesale picked up from $100 to $125 / full cord year round. I don't know how people can do it so cheap. $55 / face cord is a bargain. Like wi woodcutter said, you still have the same amount of work in it. If you were close to me I'd hire you to make my personal firewood. I make a living cutting wood, have access to all the firewood logs I want for free or very cheap, own all the equipment I need for processing firewood, and it still costs me over $100 / full cord to make my own wood.

Yesterday I stopped by a friendly competitor's mill. They have a firewood processor setup on site and are making firewood out of logs from a timber harvest of their's about forty miles away. They'll sell me all I want for $100 / cord. The mill manager, who is not the owner, and I were talking about the feasability of the firewood operation. After skidding, trucking, handling at the mill and processing that firewood cost way more than the $100 they were charging.

Gary_C · October 23, 2009, 12:10:28 PM

I am in south central MN and I sell face cords of top quality, well dried red oak for $100 picked up here and every year I sell out all I have ready. Would not even do it for less than that so I can't even imagine you selling for $55 per face cord unless the quality is much less or it is not well seasoned. I do get a lot of customers that tell me the low cost suppliers have poor quality wood that is cut short, split too small, or is too wet.

I've had many guys try to get me to sell them larger quanties at much lower prices and will not do it. One guy last year told me that I was way too high and I would never sell my firewood at those prices. I told him that I sold everything I had last year at those prices, everyone was well satisfied with the wood and did that mean that I would have to take it all back. Never heard from him again.

However I do know that some loggers in Houston County are up to their ears in mixed hardwood trees on timber sales that need to be cut and that are now worth nothing in the saw log market and now cannot ship anything out of the county because of the EAB presence there. If you are near there, that might influence my thinking.

Bibbyman · October 23, 2009, 12:26:05 PM

Just what is a "face cord"?

In Missouri we're suppose to sell by the cord of some part of a cord. That is 128 cubic feet.

Even the little handful bundles outside of stores will have "1/100" of a cord or the like printed on them. But there is a lot of wood sold by the "pickup load".

So far we're getting $100/cord for hardwood. We stack the wood in 4' cube boxes for 1/2 cord. That's picked up at our mill. We don't deliver. That's what we sold for last year. We're higher than a lot of guys that sell by the PU load delivered so we only sell when the weather gets really bad and they can't get it anywhere else.

I asked the neighbors who sell a lot of firewood and they are asking the same price as last year – about $100/cord delivered. They have a small grain truck with a dump bed that holds about 3 cords – they figure (but I'd guess more like 2)

In driving to West Plains, MO and back we still see a lot of firewood stacked bedside the road or in PUs – some that had prices were as low as $35.

nas · October 23, 2009, 12:39:34 PM

A face cord is a 4' x 8' stack of 14-16" firewood. Usually 1/3 of a full cord.

Nick

Gary_C · October 23, 2009, 12:44:34 PM

Quote from: Bibbyman on October 23, 2009, 12:26:05 PM
Just what is a "face cord"?

In Missouri we're suppose to sell by the cord of some part of a cord. That is 128 cubic feet.

I always try to not use the term "face cord" but since my wood is mostly cut at 16 inches or more, I sell 1/3 of a cord or a level full pickup load thrown in and not stacked. But because of problems with some people, I now mostly use my loader bucket and stack one row of pieces up to the underside of the top bar on the bucket and that has been measured at a little more than half of a face cord or it takes 6 buckets to equal a full cord. I have found that guys with short box pickups can get the two buckets in the bed if they stack it neatly.