WinonaRail's Wood Yard

Sounds like you're still killing the bundle market! I've stopped setting goals at this point. I'm focused on selling what I have and what I can make the best profit on. Numbers will be whatever they are. My sales dollars are probably about the same as last year. I'd love to see the dollars increase but I'm doing it with less wood so that's still a plus.

My biggest change from last year is I haven't been able to buy any processed wood at all. I've been flipping firewood, probably close to 25-30% of my total sales. I typically had to resplit a lot of it but it really filled in the gaps for my inventory.

 

How are fuel prices affecting your business? Gas just came down to about $3.75. Diesel is $6.79. My F150 is dead so I have to borrow my father-in-law's F350 dually for now for deliveries (which I don't do very often).

 

I know I'll probably never catch buZZsaw BRAD but year-to-date I've sold 311 firewood bundles and 93 mini bundles (average 12" long splits). Bundles have made up 17.7% of my sales. Last year I did 284 bundles and 104 mini bundles.

 

Looking to be a good year for you.

My normal bundles approaching 1500 for the year. Smoker bundle sales are way down. Yet to hit 100. Tempted to give it up.

 

Another 20 bundles sold at the stand last week (plus 3 minis). I suspect I could have sold more but didn't have time to restock over the weekend.

I've sold 50 smoking wood bundles since switching from loose stacks mid-August (2 months). I think what works for me is the availability. People just know I have them in the stand. And some folks come for regular firewood, see the smoking wood, and grab some. It takes a little time to build the clientele. In your case, you don't have to make up 50 at a time. I would think you could keep 3-5 bundles of each species, almost made to order, so it doesn't really cost anything to offer them. I don't think I'd throw in the towel just yet. If you're selling for more than regular bundles, just think of each sale as extra profit and don't stress about the volume.

 

Great deal with the smoker sales.

I keep loose splits here and assemble as needed. Seems if I premake a bunch it comes back to bite me as they don't sell. I have a few FBM listings including premiums for pear and plum but no interest. Im tempted to now offer only one bundle at $20 with huge price cuts for 2, 3, 5, 10 bundles etc.

I think my price increase stopped sales and after a good year least year I got greedy. I had multiple buyers tell me I should get more.

Im thinking of offering quarter and half cords of apple come Winter as I hoarder a bunch from that orchard. Exotic firewood is my marketing trick! A little BS goes a long way.

 

I have told you many times how to sell apple
Coals burn blue/green

apple is a great firewood BTU wise just impossible to get nice splits

 

Ive mentioned that selling point before and I guess romance is a big thing anymore. I know it isn't around here!

I tell Ms. buZZsaw I'm a hopeless romantic and she says I'm just hopeless!

 

You could bring me a half cord of apple. I'd get $1.25/split for that in bundles!

 

Just had a reuglar stop by and purchase ten bundles of smoker wood. We chat about smoking and wood. I was telling him my sales are down this year compared to last. He theorized the higher meat prices may have an affect.
Im still under 100 for the year.

 

If it's any consolation, I didn't sell any smoking wood last week. A bag of cherry mini-splits sold yesterday. As the weather cools off, so do smoking wood sales around these parts. Worst case scenario, if you have an abundance of a particular species, you can add it to a "premium" heating wood mix to get a bit more profit out of it.

 

Normally as "volume" smoker wood is stored in the bundlewood shed. (ill either bring a couple wheelbarrows home or assemble bundles there and do the same) If I have extra dry that's not selling and/or old inventory ill mix in with normal bundles. May have to do that with some cherry soon.

Ill market the volume apple I cut last Winter as exotic firewood and offer quarter cords. Kinda need the room for incoming inventory throughout the Winter.

 

Have you ever tried "premium" bundles with a mix of higher end woods, maybe throw some kindling in each one and charge more?

 

I have not. All my kindling buyers are no more. They either buy firestarters or no longer buy wood or burn.

One of my smoker regulars who's been MIA since January bought five bundles yesterday and asked about firepit wood so I'm considering offering those for sale here via pick up. Same quality as my wholesaled bundles. I was thinking five for $30 minimum order? Bundles are 8x8x16 .60 cubic feet. Smoker bundles are the same size.

I have a couple 25lb.+ boxes of pizza oven/solo Stove Wood on FBM. Oak and hickory split to 1.5" square 1nd 10-11 " long. One of my smoker customers inquired and gave me the idea. I have some oak heartwood chunks dried that I put aside in a panic as I had no dry oak heartwood at the time. Now its taking up space.

 

Rarely do I have anything "taking up space." I just don't have enough dry wood!

What about quantities less than 1/4 cord? Like a row across the back of your truck for example? Maybe offer a mix of apple, cherry, whatever smoking wood you have a lot of? For the people that cook fairly regularly that might be more attractive than bundles.

 

My newest options will include a 3x8' stack quarter cord (200+ pcs) of firepit wood (mostly cottonwood and mill scraps). Sold a couple of those to the same guy recently.

I tried a new option on FBM. Solo stove/pizza oven wood. 10-12" long, split to 1.5" square roughly. (I think you sell something similar). Guy bought one last night. Turns out he bought some oak bundles from me last year for his pizza oven. He was thrilled as the oak bundles were the best burning wood he's ever used. I love getting those compliments and shook his hand. I had a couple wheelbarrows full of oak and hickory shorts "fast drying" in the sun on top of my stacks as I thought I would run out of regular length splits for smoker inventory this year. (never happened). Trying to keep enough dry inventory available is always a challenge as you know.

I had a couple boxes I used and will market future sales as 25+lb box. Here's the listing.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1CSw1MHzUo/
Guess I'll start putting aside better BTU woods for such if it takes off. One of my other regulars had inquired about it too.