Hey guys, I came across an ad on Craigslist stating he has 50+ cords of wood in poles stacked up. It's free if every cord I take, I cut him one. Said nothing about splitting, but I am calling him tomorrow. Is it worth it? Even if he wants it split too? Thanks for any time savers, advice or opinions.
Find out the scope of work... does he want you to just cut a cord for every cord you cut for yourself? Or does he want you to cut, split, deliver, stack, etc, etc? I’d be inclined to take someone up on this offer if he or she was out there with me moving rounds and helping to load two trucks/trailers that were parked next to each other. “One for you....one for me...”. Some are either uncomfortable running a saw or don’t have one... if the person is just looking for cheap labor in exchange for a pile of wood and has no intent to help out, I think I would pass... keep us updated...
Depending on the kind of wood, time frame, and effort, I'd think the offer deserves at least a little followup. Get more data and eyes on the pile.
A 50/50 split to me would not be a good deal at all. More normal is a 2/3 - 1/3 split where the fellow doing the work gets 2/3. But, one never knows. I did sell some one time where I got 50%. I did not ask for that but was offered it so I took it.
I would not do it. There is plenty of free wood around if you are patient and keep an eye out for it.
Given what the market is ( or isn't depending on how you look at it ) around here I'd concur with cut yes, split no.
That is a tough one for me to answer with sound advice. Is wood easy and close to home? It would be crazy in my area of course. Beetle kill is everywhere, and usually dead fall 2 to 5 feet off the ground. Now in SC, I would have cut his half only. No stacking, no nothing. Sometimes on those deals though, people will barter saws, winches, rope,tractors,whiskey, and women. I would talk prospect a bit more also
I agreed to a 50/50 split about 20 or so years ago when I was broke and desperate for farwood. I busted my hump using a 16" Mac with a dull chain to buck up some giant logs. When it was all cut and split, they told me to take it all, so I ended up making out on the deal.
The guy updated the ad..... Cut and split. Going to call and ask for a 2/3 for me and 1/3 for him split.
That would be a lot of extra work, but if you need the wood and don't have a steady supply, then this might be a good deal. Not to mention, this could lead to a woodlot to cut on.
Another way to look at it is as follows.... find out what the difference is between a grapple load of wood picked up on site (not delivered) and a cord of cut and split wood picked up on site.... the difference could be worked into a ratio to determine each person’s take... say logs on the landing (or dropped in place and not moved) would go for $60 a cord and picking up cut and split wood costs $180 per cord, the added value of the work is $120... if those numbers reasonably represent the prices in your area, then the 2/3 for you and 1/3 for the other guy would work. In other words, your $120 in added value per cord would justify his paying you two cords of logs for every cord you process for him. If those numbers were closer to $100 and $200, that would justify a 50/50 split... remember not to include transportation charges as that would skew the ratio... entirely possible that you could find numbers to justify a 3/4-1/4 split if logs on the landing or cut in place are sufficiently cheap and labor costs are expensive....
Thanks for the advice guys. I spoke to him, he is not moving on any deals. He wants 1 cord CSS for every cord I take. He says he paid over 20k to have all the trees dropped. No deal on my end. On the good hand I got 4 cords of Ash for 100 bucks last week. Already cut to 18 inch, just got to split it. It was close to home, and Easy load up too. Pic is just 1 of 4 full trailer loads.
