Saw these at Lowes this weekend.

I guess these are a new totally different design of the Swedish toarches I saw and posted that Academy had this summer.

 

For the Low, Low Price of only $12.98.
Such a deal.
And barkless, to boot. Ooh, ooh, and it gotz a handle.

 

I hope it comes with a $12 bill.

 

Silly to us but I bet they sell a ton of them!

 

What do you think is an appropriate price for it?

We know how much labor it is to go from a tree to split wood for our stoves and fireplaces. We are always talking about how many times we touch the wood before we put it into the stove.

Let's just assume they are made in America even if they aren't. That way we can cut out the transportation cost to the USA. So pay a guy to cut it and maybe pay a guy to cut it to size. Might even be able to combine those two. Pay someone to haul the tree from the forest on an expensive machine. Pay to remove the bark. Pay to drill holes. Pay to add a handle. Pay to add a sticker and pay for the actual sticker. Pay to ship to a distributor. Pay to ship to all the different stores. Pay the recieving crew to unload the pallet of product and pay the stockers to stock it out. Once we add up the labor and transportation costs for each step it's actually amazing it's only 13 bucks. Let's not even figure that someone has to be paid for the tree in the first place.

 

Cost and value are entirely different propositions. For me to buy it at $13 and feel like my money was well spent, there had better be $12 hidden in there somewhere.

I currently work in supply chain and have a manufacturing background, so I have a pretty good handle on how much it cost to get something into a store. I can't get into too much specifics about the company I work for, but it is a couple pennies on the sales dollar (store sales) all-in from the time it leaves the manufacturer's facility to the time it is ready for you to buy.

 

I believe the topic was cost. I could be wrong.

 

Scotty. I have also seen those burgers you cook on open flame. I will gladly pay you Tuesday for one of your burgers today!

 

I didn't think of a combustible rocket stove? Heck I stopped long enough to look and snap this pic. I didn't even pick one up.

 

Adding these are most likely kiln dried also.

 

I don't know, I am on LukeM on this one. I am not trying to take sides, but it just seems to me it is this sort of thinking that has got us where we are at. I call it paralysis by analysis; that is we never do anything because we justify not doing anything by the numbers.

A competent person could say all the expenses related to heating with firewood and easily calculate that it is a losing proposition, or that putting the money that would buy an outside wood boiler and put into better windows and insulation would net a better return on investment. The point is not that any of those things are right or wrong, its just that we do a disservice when we justify ridiculously high prices.

I get a kick when people cite the "high cost of transportation." I am like what high cost? I have worked for the railroad and upon tugboats and I know first hand the cost of transportation is very low per "ton mile" which is how its rated, and that transportation cost is actually going down. As a farmer I often hear these claims from other small farmers taking their half ton of produce in a 20 foot refrigerated box truck to the local farmers that gets 6 miles to the gallon, then lugging half of it back home. No wonder they think transportation costs are high!

 

A dad picks one up for a camping trip and cooks the family a huge breakfast in a cast iron pan.

Worth $13?

Yep.

Novelty has a market.

 

I spent far more money on far less practical things. Whatever floats your boat.

My tool, ammo, beer budget probably boggles some folks minds like this does me.

 

Here I thought someone started a new "Funny Pictures " thread?

 

I get what your saying but in some cases people make so much money they would be loosing money to cut split and stack firewood, unless they want to spend a huge share of their precious free time working wood. Yes some of us enjoy it and other kind of like it but do it to save money. But this type person will figure cost to buy it plus the effort closely when comparing to gas or electric or oil heat and this only makes sense.

That said I heat with wood, don't buy any of it and I also would not pay $13 for one of those . I thought it kind of cool that social media has created a demand for it and some American is hopefully making money at least in the short term off of them.

 

Some people burn up $10 a day and inhale the smoke that it creates in the process to clog up their lungs , weaken their heart and increase their risk for cancer by some exponential rate. That is way dumber than me walking in and buying a half a pallet of these things!

 

Maybe.

Last September, coming off a very difficult year, people were clamoring for dry firewood because they ran out the year before. I happened to have cut a load of tree length firewood and had no use for it really so I put it up for sale. My trucker came over and I paid me $1000 cash for the load, a typically load being worth $600. Then I turned around and bought propane with it. Well we ended up having a mild winter and I only burned $1100 in propane. So when all was said and done, it cost me two days time to get out that load of TREE LENGTH wood and a hundred dollar bill to heat my house for the winter. No blocking up, no splinting, no hauling and my finger did not even get a cramp pushing the digital thermostat up and down because I have radiant heat and set it and forget it all winter. This year I won't burn firewood either, not when coal is $250 a ton and a ton of coal is equal to two cords of firewood, but in the years when coal is $350 a ton and propane is $3 a gallon, then I will. For me it is not about being committed to a single heat source, it is about options, and having options can really save you money.

As for these Timber Tote's, you can tell they are mass produced and not made by a American Inventor sitting in his garage with a chainsaw and drill press. Look at the rounds; they used a debarker on them. We got 3 sawmills, a shingle mill and a ton of heavy equipment and we don't even have a debarker!