I am trying to think of some 'commodity' or endeavor other than selling firewood whereby the free market affords such a wide swing in price as does firewood. I mean, take firewood, I have seen in the past year $135 to $650 per cord. It's free enterprise, nobody is twisting these buyers' arms. Of course, some firewood sellers are unscrupulous with their claims, but, still, it's a huge swing even among those sellers who aren't shysters. Does anything compare? I did think of one thing but I might get the thread banned from censorship, lol.
Tree work is the same. Some will work for fentanyl $ and some want to make their crane, Harley and beach house payment.
Same thing with roofing. Got a friend in southeast Michigan selling roofs for his brothers company getting pretty insane prices all the way down to like you said, the addict lookin for a fix!
Automotive work is one. I can’t tell you the amount of times I have been told my neighbor can do that for a 6 pack. Lol. I don’t mind cuz Then I’ll get to clean up the mess for more money. Skilled labor isn’t cheap and cheap labor isn’t skilled …
Snowplow service is one big area. The guy with the bitchy wife who just wants to get out of the house $50 .... The guy with the new 1 ton with a stainless salt spreader $375.
About twenty five maybe thirty years ago I was visiting my BIL in West Chester Pennsylvania. I went into a shop selling outdoor equipment.A chainsaw that I was eyeing back home in Mass. was selling for two hundred bucks cheaper.I couldn't believe it.I snatched it up with a big smile.
Go to an auction sale or yard sale. Sometimes everyone is just scratching their heads wondering why prices are so crazy. I remember one time leaving an auction sale after maybe 3/4 hour as some things were selling higher than new prices.
I'm assuming I had the same thought ....some give it for free, some it costs you big money, or 18 years..... Especially for guns at auctions. Nothing special going for more than it would cost new. Used to make a bit of sense when you could get by at auctions with no paperwork, but that's not the case here any longer....
I'm doing a remodel, and I'm getting quotes from reputable companies that are 100%+ different, when they used to be 10-30% different. Seems to come down to how far the guys are out on work. When they're booked for the next 6 months, the price is higher than when they're booked a month out. The drywaller, an acquaintance, told me that in his business, someone can charge 2x or more what he's charging me, if the builder or homeowner wants it done by a certain date, which is a new thing in the past couple of years. And people are lining up to pay those rates. I presume that translates to a lot of the trades involved in building these days. I bet the firewood guys in Europe are seeing even more drastic swings than we are, with what is happening with natural gas there.
Can't think of any commodities and neither can the crowd so it appears as they are all talking about services. I am racking my brain on it but just can't come up with anything....well maybe used cars/trucks? I think it's fair to say they aren't all equal even though they are all vehicles much like firewood isn't all equal but is still just firewood.
Your so right! When I was in the hay business so many people wanted “cheap” hay, not beginning to understand that they were going to feed 2-3 times the amount that they would for good hay . But they were saving money
When in high school I had a classmate that was a year older than me. His family had been in the hay business for 3 generations counting him. They sold hay by weight only. Buy a truckload, he ran across the local Co-Op scales full and empty and mailed your bill based on the weight. Dad would never buy from him because of this. Dad only bought by the bale. No matter tight, loose, heavy, light, by the bale. All in our perspective I guess.
Convertibles, campers and boats in North East are higher priced in spring than fall snow plows and snow mobiles are dirt cheap in May especially after a warm winter
My dog is on a seizure med where Walgreens charges $200/mo, and the local supermarket pharmacy is $10/mo with GoodRx.
Other than services like tradespeople, you have physical commodities like gas, diesel, lumber, as was mentioned maple syrup. Its all supply and demand which varies greatly town to town, and state to state.
