Apologies for the rant ahead of time. I hate to admit it, especially here, but I've been buying a couple cords of wood the past several years. With the population density here and the number of new wood burners after heating oil hit $4+/gallon several years ago, you need to be retired and have nothing else to do to be able to scrounge all your wood needs anymore. And most tree service guys don't give it away anymore, they're all selling nowadays. So as usual, their perception of what a cord is or isn't is like the perception of reality from someone on LSD... It just boggles my mind what shysters these guys are. From year to year I've just never used the same guy twice cause it's just absurd what they deliver, expecting you to believe it's a "cord". I've even warned them, "I have two firewood sheds, each one has a 4' x 8' deck with a roof 4' over the deck" It fits exactly one cord. I'm gonna know that you shorted me. I've gone off personal recommendations of close friends, been told "we make sure we deliver more than a cord, so there is never any problem", then I stack up what is supposed to be two cords, 1/2 cord short! Just had a clown that is a dedicated firewood & mulch company, that's all they do, deliver what was supposed to be two cords. I knew it wasn't when he dumped it. I get one cord stacked, have all kinds of garbage, shreds & scraps in it. a whole pile of pieces I had to split 3 or 4 more times after cutting 10 or 12 inches off the length. Another pile of pine... I might make another 1/3 cord, without the pine, maybe, but it's a far cry from two cords. These guys make used car salemen & lawyers look like straight shooters... So tired of this.
Take pictures, measurements and contact them. If they don't respond tell them you'll be taking to social media and review apps like yelp. Don't let scammers get away with this sort of stuff. A half cord short and shreds/scraps is not ok.
That's just how most people are These days, no one feels as though as they should be accountable for what they do, no morals no conscience. Now I used to sell firewood myself. Once delivered a full cord across town. Unloaded and stacked it in their driveway, I always gave a little extra just because I didn't want to get hassled. Anyway this yuppie engineer looked over the load, that was nearly stacked in my trailer and said looks good. After unloading he look at the stack and said looks a little short, so I got out the tape measure and said nope look 4×4×8, he paused and said hear and gave me $150 I said no it's $200 he turned around and walked inside. Learn my lesson to always take the money first, that was my stupid mistake. People feel they can get away with anything and most often they can, that's why they keep doing it. In the old days you could legally shoot a guy for doing something like that. Not that I can do in such actions I don't, but it made people think twice.
That $@#%$! I sell measured half cords that come from racks that hold a 1/2 cord. I also count logs as my splits are rather uniform in size. I also guage by the mound in my PU as i dont stack, i throw the wood in. Great idea from Jotuller , get the word out. Do you have a source to cut your own? Can you buy a load of uncut logs and make firewood to your specifications? Cheaper that way and for the most part logs are unseasoned so a good idea of what you are getting.
To elaborate on the story "in a way". Literally the next load went to a not so well off mixed race couple. They gave me a good tip for the quility and amount of wood they receive. So it usually evens out in time, and can teach more life lessons about people.
What’s a viable option? State firewood area? Get a log load delivered? Buy , but haul your own with a known volume truck or trailer?
Best answer here...but I would have loaded it all back up just to make a statement...and left his money...minus a delivery fee.
Very true, but sometimes you just want to be done with it. I was a lot younger at the time too, this was in 04 I believe, probably would have been a different story today.
Yeah, for 10 minutes worth of my time (nowadays it's take me 20), I'd put 30% back in the truck (the extra 5 for the trouble).
Actually sold bundles to grocery stores and convenience stores at the time as well, much more money in that than loose cord wood. I was getting about $300 for 100 bundles which I believe came out to about a cord. I actually hated selling to individuals mostly, it's not worth it unless you have a large production going, I was small time.
