So answered an ad for free firewood about 20 minutes away from me. Get there and someone is already there loading their truck. The homeowner said yeah I got alot of replies. I told him he should have told me that someone would be there ahead of me and possibly at the still there when I got there. So what was gonna be a decent score of ash turned into a small score I wouldn't have bothered with had I seen how little was left. At least the other scrounger was polite and cool about it
I would think the first to be told they can have it should be able to expect sole rights unless told otherwise. Nothing worse than showing up and finding all the easy stuff gone. Similarly, if I tell someone I’ll take it all, I do. I don’t just quit when only the big stuff is left.
Depends on who is getting rid of the wood, the quality, location and demand. Many times there is a mutual benefit to both parties. Not like we are standing on a corner with a cardboard sign asking for a handout.. there is actual work involved and in my humble opinion, proper etiquette should be expected on both sides. From the “scrounger’s” perspective, s/he should show up on time and meet expectations. Failing to do so could cause someone to NOT offer wood for free but just run it through the chipper…
Aww man...if you had shown me your FHC card I'd have split it with ya! JK...wasn't me...I have more laying in the woods at work than I know what to do with! JK...I actually do know what to do with it...
To make things worse I didn't bring any fuel for the saw. Stopped at hardware store and bought some premix. Couldn't get the saw to start. Went home dumped it out and put my own mix in and it fired right up
So you are saying the saw would not run on the canned gas? If so that's weird...that stuff lasts for a long time normally...do you think the saw may have just been flooded?
The "art" of the scrounge is a finicky thing. I always make an appointment to see the property and then ask if they expect all the wood to be removed and by what date. This gives me a good sense of the person and I can see exactly what I'm working on. If they want brush cleaned up etc. I'll immediately quote a price for chipping and removal or chipped into a pile. By this point I usually have a pretty good sense of what type of person I'm working with. If they say we just want it gone, I set a date and explain to them it will be gone on X date period. If they're ex BIL's second cousin wants a load before I take it, I leave my phone number and tell them thanks for your time. Often in a few weeks or months I'll get a call asking if I still want the wood, usually after the guys with the Wild Thing saws figured out they can't handle the big stuff. I go back with tractors, trailers and manpower and charge 2-300.00/hr till the job's done. This has happened to me dozens of times over the years, and it's very gratifying to get paid to "scrounge" wood. Weeds out the dipchits pretty quickly too. YMMV as I'm not hurting for firewood, nor am I concerned about offending someone that wants hard work done for nothing.
Ive been there when there is another hoarder. Few years back i show up just as tree service finished up. Within 15 minutes two other guys show up. One wanted the huge wood, the other was grabbing what he could without cutting. The first guy i let be as he was cutting and helped the other load his truck. There was a boatload of wood there. I think i cut 3-4 PU fulls. On the flip side ive gotten the okay to take wood only to be yelled at when i show up later to take it.
Well, I know it sucks to turn up and someone is already there but on the other hand a lot of people are flakes. I've listed things, agreed to hold them while someone was "on the way" to pick it up and they never show. Now I tell them its first come first served. It goes against how I would like to handle a transaction but its the way things are today. Brad
Meanwhile, back at the scrounge, the other guy is thinking...."what an amateur!" I wonder what he posted on his firewood forum???
If from our previous interaction I think they are genuine, I'll ask them how long it takes to get to my location, then I'll hold for that long only...and if other people ask I tell them that its being held until xyz time...it's open season after that. Has worked pretty well for me. On the flip side I have asked people to hold for me, but usually only after some dialog, so I think they have a pretty good idea that I'm not just another jerk yankin their chain...they'll usually hold for me. And if I'm traveling a distance I make sure they understand the situation and that they are indeed holding it for me...I usually try to give them updates on my trip so they know I'm coming...something along the lines of "leaving now", and later on a more exact ETA.
He also ran out of fuel, was cutting with zero ppe, and using a Poulan wild thing saw that bias making a lot of dust and almost no chips
It’s tough because the owner is thinking of it like any other Craigslist transaction, for which there is no proven or reliable etiquette. The wood donors where I scrounge, in the city, are usually doing this for the first and last time. Half of the urban scrounging is through tree service people, and they’re (understandably) almost always first-come-first-served. A few weeks ago I showed up exactly at the time the owner said, and another guy pulled up 30 seconds after me. We were giving each other the stink eye, until we walked to the back yard and saw a motherlode of black locust—multiple loads for both of us. I swear I almost hugged that guy. I also texted him the address for some free maple near him, and then he told me about a cord of free oak, and then I pointed out some fruit wood near him, etc. Makes me want to create a dating app to meet other scroungers in your area, which of course should be called “Timber”!
Sure would be cost effective if I went for that scrounge, no? That would be like a nation with more than enough oil reserves buying foreign oil from an adversary . errr............wait! What?
