Pricing lumber to sell

[Engineer]

Recently I emptied out a 20' shipping container of its' load, which is about 6,000 board feet of various bits of lumber.  I piled it all in my new garage/shop and quickly realized I was in trouble, it's spread out all over the garage.  I have about 60 pine slabs and 20 butternut slabs, ranging from 10-25 board feet each (mostly 12-16" wide, 8' to 10' long and 1-3/4" thick) and I would like to get rid of them, they are taking up too much space and I really don't have any use for them.  They've been air-dried for over 20 years (I bought them as part of a large lot of lumber) and rough-planed.

I have no idea how to value these.  I see them selling by the board foot, by the foot, and by the piece.  I want to price them reasonably enough so that they sell quickly and are gone.  Can anyone give me an idea of how I should price these to move?

[stihlsawer]

Recently I emptied out a 20' shipping container of its' load, which is about 6,000 board feet of various bits of lumber.  I piled it all in my new garage/shop and quickly realized I was in trouble, it's spread out all over the garage.  I have about 60 pine slabs and 20 butternut slabs, ranging from 10-25 board feet each (mostly 12-16" wide, 8' to 10' long and 1-3/4" thick) and I would like to get rid of them, they are taking up too much space and I really don't have any use for them.  They've been air-dried for over 20 years (I bought them as part of a large lot of lumber) and rough-planed.

I have no idea how to value these.  I see them selling by the board foot, by the foot, and by the piece.  I want to price them reasonably enough so that they sell quickly and are gone.  Can anyone give me an idea of how I should price these to move?

Check with your State's forestry department. I know TN publishes a quarterly with delivered sawmill prices Doyle Rule.

Trever

[dgdrls]

Look to a local or regional hardwood shop/yard and see what their price is then tune yours
to where you're comfortable.  Just be fair to yourself

D

[VTwoodworker]

I have sold both pine and butternut on Craigslist somewhat recently.  I sold decent pine slabs for $1/bdft and average 4/4 butternut for $2/bdft.  This lumber was fresh off the mill and sold quickly.  Not sure who got the best deal but I felt it was a fair trade.  Not the same as lumber air dried for 20 years - but it is a data point for consideration.

Good luck.

Wayne

[drobertson]

How much room does your wallet have?, just saying don't get in to big a hurry, try and keep out of weather and sun, these have value, to someone, advertise them after a little more research,

[alanh]

I`m sure it depends on the area.. I`ve sold a few dozen pine live edge "off the mill" slabs for 3.00 bd ft, in fairness I do round the bd ft # down a little..

[Brucer]

From personal experience:
- Wide is valuable.
- Dry is especially valuable.

You have to assess the quality and the species and adjust prices up or down.

I've sold green 2x16 and 3x16 Douglas-Fir for $2.25 per BF.

The best way I found to move modest amounts of lumber in a hurry was to offer discounts for buying more than one piece. When you have something unusual, it doesn't hurt to say you don't expect to get any more of that kind of material.