So, awhile back ( probably this spring or early summer ) I stopped at a convenience store after delivering a load of concrete. I’m in there kinda regular in the construction season and have kinda got to know the manager. So I asked him if he would be interested in selling firewood bundles. He replied that would be a question for the corporate office in North platte. (67 miles from my house) but thought my chances were pretty good and that corporate likes to support the local people. Well a couple weeks ago the wife and I were in NP for eye doctor appointments so I stopped by the office. The receptionist listened to what I had to say and informed me that the lady who made those decisions was in an office in Kearney. She took my information and said she would pass it along and then gave me a paper with an email address and told me to send her my proposal. Email and technology are not my thing and I’d been procrastinating about going forward. But I did get the stepson to make me up some labels for bundles so I could add to an email. I just happened to be in NP again today to get my new lenses for my glasses. As we were getting out of the pickup to eat lunch, I got a call from a number that I didn’t recognize. It was the lady from the Kearney office. After about a 10 minute conversation we basically have an agreement for me to provide bundles to that location. (Which is 27 miles from my house) and in fact she is looking for someone to provide for 2 more locations, one is 99 miles from me and the other is about 115. I told her that there was no way I could do that and was only interested in the Mullen store. She said that was fine. Now I definitely have to send her an email with my information so she can set me up as a vendor. I’m also pretty sure the local grocery store wants me to supply them to. (2 blocks away) so right now I’m pretty excited and a bit nervous about being able to maintain a steady supply of quality product. Gonna have to get a bit more un-lazy
Tepidness is understanbable. Get your material sources figured out first. Then you only have to worry about processing and deliveries. I am pretty curious to know just how many of the bundles are bought.
Congrats on getting your feet wet. Is this wholesale or retail venture? Luckily ive never had to set up a vendor account with any of the five i sell to now. Strickly wholesale. They all pay cash on the spot. Yes i was nervous too when i first started on a whim asking a store owner where i got gas about selling him bundles. I have five now. You WILL go through wood fast once established. Keeping quality fast drying splits in stock and clean gets stress full. Mostly the revolving supply is the stressor. Wood im using now was CSS 11-12 months ago. No multi year drying woods or higher btu woods used unless neccessary. BL or hickory has never seen a bundle. Mine are .6 cubic foot...8x8x16" If you can assemble a bunch ahead of time do it. Store indoors even better. Pic of my best customers rack which i made a few years ago. If you have questions PM me and ill be glad to help. Blurry pic but the only i could find for now
Curious, did they have a supplier before? Also wondering if you’ve settled on a size of bundle you’ll be providing.
I forget the numbers but sounds about right. IIRC i used to figure 170 bundles per cord. I make splits smaller for mine and tetris fit them in the jig. Wish i wasnt so fussy. 6-9 pcs per bundle and 7 the norm. I had started out with larger bundles but downsized a couple times when comparing to those pretty factory made bundles which are the same size.
No previous supplier. It’s a fairly new store, maybe 5 years old. I think they have close to 30 locations in the state. I don’t recall ever seeing wood at any of them. In an effort to provide a better value product I’m planning on 1 cu ft with a homemade starter included. Most commercial bundles I see around here are .75 cu ft. And the home grown ones are pretty sad looking at various sizes it seems.
My bundles are a similar size. Comparable to what I see in most retail locations. Comes out to 9 pieces with my mostly square splits. I thought about going larger but I would have to charge more. At $5 in my roadside stand, people just buy more bundles, typically 2-4 at a time but sometimes 8 or 10. I sold 341 at my stand in 2023.
It’ll be nice to start out with your “local” store and then see how it goes from there. You’re in now, so if you decided to expand, sounds like you could
Excellent! Selling bundle wood aside, you were going to keep on cutting, splitting and stacking firewood anyway. Might as well earn a little extra green on the side for your hoarding fetish I've been tossing around the idea for a while myself, as there are a couple opportunities for that locally. Right now I'm doing well selling 1/3 cord loads just from advertising on Craigslist, so I'll see how that goes first. Don't want to spread myself (or my supply) too thin.
I could certainly be wrong, but I don't think I would do bigger, 1 cu ft bundles. I don't think the customer would know/appreciate it, so, it would just be a waste. Because you would have to charge more, and if you didn't charge more, you'd be cutting profit unnecessarily. I noticed large grocery chain stores selling bundles for $5 this winter. Surely they are not making much at $5. I would assume that women are the main market. I have been surprised that bundles have continued to flourish over the years. I see them in a lot of places now. There def is a market.
Here’s how I see it, and I certainly could be wrong also. I’m not talking about the large commercial operations. Just the small fire wood guys that sell bundles on the side. It’s seems like the average price charged by the small guys is $5 per bundle. So at .75 cubic feet x 8 bundles =6 cubic feet @$5 =$30. At 1 cubic foot x 6 bundles = 6 cubic feet @$6= $36. So I’m getting $6 more for the same amount of wood with a little bit less effort and plastic wrap. I delivered my first order yesterday, 45 bundles,=$270. If they were .75cf @$5 per, the total would have been around $170
Bundling is great if you don't have to deliver too far afield of your day job. Lots of time and expense in bundling and serious burners want 100% of the good stuff (white oak/hickory) in ricks and cords. I provide a free 1 cuft bundle of kindling with each of my orders. I hate bundling; very boring "Henry Ford" type of work. Nashville people who buy bundles eventually give me a text and become my long-time loyal customers. With tips, I bank over $900 a cord. Go big or go home. Don't know what that phrase means exactly, but we used to say it often in my last line of work.
From my experience around Nashville, people start out with buying bundles when they move into a home with a fireplace or purchase a Solo stove. They realize quickly bundles are expensive, don't last long (especially the .6cuft ones) and usually isn't quality hardwood. I just don't see the profit in selling small numbers of bundles and especially if you are selling wholesale to a retailer. All regions of the country are different, so don't mean to be a Debbie Downer.
