In SE Michigan and need wood? Call my cousin!

I don't see a problem as the ad does say 4ft. by 8ft. by 16"
They could have clarified it some by calling it a facecord which is real common here in MI.

Gary

 

Some joker around here sells "Stove Cords" then goes on at length to "educate" his potential customers that wood for home heating doesn't come in 4' lengths so no one uses or sells in cords. Paragraph after paragraph of stupidity. In the end his stove cord can be anything from 8-14" splits or some such so you shouldn't feel ripped off if he delivers a face cord of 8" splits for $120.

 

Yup, here in S. Indianer it is almost unheard of to see ads for "face cords". It is "ricks" here, which is ubiquitous with the "face cord".

 

There are usually 2-3 ads in the local paper for "cords" @$60-70. That tells me they're selling 1/3 cord.
Very common.
If I put an ad in there selling a cord for $180, I'd bet I wouldn't get many calls. Folks would think I must have some of that fancy Artisnal firewood, although mine would be a true "cord".

 

In our paper, all classified ads for firewood are accompanied by a standard state law declaimer about what constitutes a cord of wood.

 

There is no official measurement for a rick, which is why states mandate firewood sales be sold in cord measurements. A "rick" can be anything. If you buy a "rick" and get a half a truck bed load, you have no recourse against the seller.

With that said, nobody in OK knows what a cord is. OK is a state that mandates firewood be sold in cord measurements. I have explained it over and over and my customers stare at me with a blank stare and say, "OK, give me 2 rick".

 

It will happen eventually especially if the seller gives a receipt for a "full cord".

 

Same here. I never see ads for cord measurements. Even "face cord" is not a legal measurement. Firewood has to be sold in cord measurements or fractions of such, such as 1/3 cord, 1/2 cord, etc.

 

Yes, simply citing dimensions as the OP's cousin does is probably the best way for an honest dealer to go. The common understanding of the word "cord" has become so muddied that it's about as useful as selling gasoline by the "jugful" or beer by the "glass." The bigger problem, IMO, is with sellers who never stack the wood, and can only guesstimate how much they're delivering. My experience, both of the times I bought wood, was that the sellers erred heavily in their own favor.

 

I wouldn't sweat it, Chuck. Getting scolded over the legal definition of a "cord" is a bit of an initiation rite here. In one of my very first posts, I foolishly quantified my hoard in terms of "face cords", and I was promptly reprimanded. At the time, all I had ever heard anyone talk about was face cords - I was vaguely aware that it represented a fraction of a "cord", but I didn't know if it was 1/2 or 1/4 or what. But now I understand, that's the problem with face cords: it might well be a 1/4 or a 1/3 or a 1/2, depending on the length of the splits. A "cord" is really the proper measurement - 4' x 4' x 8' gives you the L x W x H to calculate the true volume.

Now that I know, I've tried explaining the difference to people I've talked to in this area. Blank stares.

 

No biggie. It's all good.

 

It's the math. Scary stuff.

 

Oh yeah, it is...

 

Yeah, don't sweat it until the one JO that's a lawyer or has lawyer buddies to represent him for free jam you up in court. It's not about being right or wrong at that point, it's trying not to lose your azz by spending days in court that you should be working and making money.

 

I get what you're saying. If you had a bad experience in that regard I apologize. In their defense, it does specify 1 4x8 row of 16" average splits. You can even buy a rack to put it in. I seriously doubt many lawyers go around parsing the language in firewood ads looking to score $60-70 128cuft "cords". Maybe its different in Jersey who knows - probably are a lot of dbag lawyers in those parts.

Thankfully I don't have to buy wood, nor do I sell it. As far as ads go, I think Chuck's here is better than 90% of the ones you'd see around here. If you advertised $150 "cords" around here, you wouldn't sell any. Everybody would buy it from the guy who's selling $75 "face cords". "Cord" = "face cord" around here, and it sounds like a lot of other places too. Just the way it is.

 

I know it's sweating over small details. But I'm a detail orientated guy so it carries over into most things in life. Nothing in life is ever a big deal, until it is.

If it was me, I'd change it because it seems like it would be easy to do. If I'm running a business no matter how small, I'm going to have things as perfect as possible so there's never a reason for someone to mistake prices or quantities. Never allowing that option just makes sense to me.

That being said I understand everywhere operates a little differently than the next place so it's possible it doesn't even really matter. Sometimes I wish I could operate somewhere a bit more simple, not sure if my brain would allow it though.

 

I would change it. The face cord price is not unreasonable. Around here, a cord sells $225 delivered, not stacked. Face cords or any small quantity will be priced slightly higher than 1/3rd of $225 or $75. I would guess they would be closer to $100, but the guy I dealt with won't sell less than 2 cords as that's what his dump truck holds and he had to drive about 15 miles to deliver to me. $75 a face cord still has a much lower margin than bundle pricing, so few should contest unless cords are $150 or so near you.

I think they'll sell all the wood they want either way.

 

Last time I bought wood was 2011 / 2012 season. Buying it does erase some of the enjoyment when natural gas is cheap like it is here.

Where did you say they got the wood from? Tree Service work? Apologize if I missed that. Been up about 20 hours.