The property I'm leasing and moving my farm to has a campground a half mile up the road. I'm thinking about finding a local firewood processor and buying a cord off him and reselling it as 1 cu ft bundles to the campers who drive by in addition to any veggies they may want. Is anyone else selling bundles and what kind of bundling set up do you have?
I have sold firewood bundles also. Mostly basswood and some pine. The first year, I sold only oak slabs. Don't know why but the wood that sells the best is basswood...bark on splits! The bundling setup that I have is pretty basic. My truck tailgate and some used twine from hay bales! I throw about 10 splits in a pile and then wrap them up with a square knot in the twine and there you have it....2.50 waiting to be picked up! I really should charge more, but when I think about it, I can see some poor Dad stopping by and saying to his kids "Go and grab one bundle for a campfire tonight". That ain't right, the campfire should be burning for at least a couple hours every night, no? And re-kindled during the morning too!
Bundles here sell about $4-5 bucks, but I'm not in that game.... I'm like you yooperdave, I would have trouble selling at the "average" price if/when I could tell a (on hard times) dad was just trying to get his family out in the woods to enjoy what really matters. Shoot, my neighbor's son takes his family camping at Holston lake to his dad's camper, and they can afford to buy, but I always load up his Toyota Tacoma bed(what space isn't filled with the boys' bikes and cooler..... At least 2 nights and mornings worth), and I always tell him to keep his money, but that I appreciate his offer to pay... Guess that's no way to do business, but it's gooder community building in my book.... Would like to here how your set up unfolds, BCPLLC
last time I noticed in colorado it was $5-7 at gas stations/grocery stores. And that was years ago.....
As I've stated in the other thread, everybody and his brother sells campfire wood around here. Mostly pine, but there is some hardwood around. You get a better deal than the convenience store. Some folks have wooden tower bins, and you buy all the wood in that particular bin and put the money in a can. And hopefully.........everyone's a happy camper.
I go up to southern Michigan quite a bit to a weekend house a buddy has on a lake. That's how most folks up there do it too, most bins are about $10-15 and it's enough to keep the fire going for an entire evening in the summer. We've also had some pike fishing trips in November where we've dropped $50-60 on firewood.
If you are considering an "honor" system, prepare yourself to deal with less than honorable people. In my case, if I knew who they where, I would probably shame them for sneaking the $2.50 price!! I mean, c'mon!
Bundles here are 5.00 dollars. Gas stations and grocery stores. Every time I see them I ask myself are there people out there during the winter not camping that actually buy this stuff. Usually pine.
I'd give it a shot if my location supported it; nice way to pay for cutting supplies. As long as you go in prepared. To set up a self serve system and expect none to serve self (at your expense) is most illogical!
Bout 5 bucks here. The poor fellah in the Gilman ' s hardware yesterday told me he had to start keeping most of his saw chains in the back, just in case that's what I was looking for. I was daydreaming up the Stihl aisle. Wifey was incredulous, but as store guy and I observed, they'll steal anything.
Maybe it's the region here I don't know, but there are many "honor" firewood sellers. Just as the are many large gardeners/small farms that use a can on the for you to make payment and change. The farm where I cut my Christmas tree down is honor system, nobody's even there. It's up to you to put the ten bucks in the steel box mounted on the post and return the saw to the hook on same. I think I liking it here more and more.....
No honor system. I was going to load it up on a trailer then haul it out roadside while I'm there. Maybe I can get one of my nephews to sit at the stand on the weekends during the summer.
Don't get me wrong some grabbing stuff for free does occur, but it is the exception , not the rule. I think most people will empty the can a couple of times throught the day. But there is so much free pine lying around that it isn't worth your time to babysit it, or watch your 55 zuccinhi's for theft. By and large it still works around here.
Put a sign out with your #. When they call, you can offer delivery for even more $ if you have the time.
There have only been a few times each summer that I got stiffed. Oh well, even Wally world allows for loss, right?
