Curious on y'alls opinion of selling rounds. Had a guy stop and ask if I sold just rounds as he has a splitter and likes to split his own wood but doesn't like cutting it anymore due to his age. I'm not really in the bulk firewood selling business unless its to friends and really didnt know how to price it to him. Im still working on the tract of land where I'm paying 10 bucks a tree. I'm sure I'll know some more when we speak on the phone, our conversations were through our cameras which have a slight delay. I just wanted to know what the great hoarding minds think about it. Definitely less handling for me. But trying to figure out what my time is worth is tough. Thank you.
That is tough. Handling rounds is the hard part and if you cut youself short, then you'd be better off selling to a regular. I'd say between 1/2 and 2/3 of your regular asking price.
I'd look at the local rate for split firewood of same species and reduce it for splitting labor. Then consider if that pays for collecting, cutting, sharpening, wear & tear, mileage, etc. and if I had extra wood. I guess i'd also consider the guy asking. I like helping out a fellow traveler. Not so much someone who is taking advantage.
Can you load up the rounds from your $10 bucks a tree score and deliver it straight to him and save some extra handling, or even better would be have him come to the score and get em with his own rig if he has one and you can have a “helper” on site. Seems like $60-75 a pickup load would be fair
You need to figure out how long it would take you to split a cord, what you would like to cover the labor and take that off what you would charge for a cord of splits. I generally take about $30-$40 off.
First I would consider the guy. Is he truthful in that he can no longer cut? If so, I would be willing to sell at a lower rate to help him out. But because he can still split, might he also be able to go where you are cutting to load his own wood? After these questions were answered then I would consider what the price should be.
I'm currently buying rounds from a guy who has access to a couple hundred acres. He splits by hand (and not very well) so it greatly reduces his labor. Plus he gets pretty much guaranteed volume from me and knows I always have cash in my hand when he shows up. He charges me a little less than what he sells split wood for and it's the best price I've been able to find. I'm using this to supplement my inventory until I can find some larger quantities that I can cut. I think it all depends on the situation. If the customer is good to work with and you can still make a buck it may be a good arrangement. Make sure you don't end up losing out since you're paying for the wood yourself.
Some make a good point, that I hadn’t considered. Is handling those rounds to get them delivered actually more, or just as much labor? Shoving them into a front loader scoop and dropping them in a dump be is one thing. Man handling them into a pickup is another.
If they were big rounds, I'd chunk them, to save my own back. He is wanting you not to split them to stove size to save money perhaps. If splitting a cord costs a couple hours, and you save that..... Sca
When faced with the same type of situation i will sometimes say "what were you thinking of". It let's you know if your in the same ballpark.
More money in rounds if you have access to them. I have a customer ask me a few years ago about buying rounds. I had the opportunity to cut some, contacted him and he bought 5-6 PU fulls @$90 each. Id get $140 for the same SS and seasoned. Worked out great as it was literally 3 houses from him and 1/4 mile from home. I have offered that to other customers too, but they practically want you to come over and put the wood on their fire!
