Oh, not all of them want that subbie. The rest want to start at the top of the pay scale, make the same $$ as those who put in the time and effort to achieve higher pay and then if they are hired they feel its ok to show up late or not at all.
It is the perennial stuff we get when sales are slow. The real barometer to watch is the cost of oil. That is the true indicator of what pellets will cost. Nothing suggest they won't be available. Just a matter of what the price point will be. In these parts, we have pellet plants in our area, so not so much an issue.
That may be true with some dealers.. but not here.. Generally, yes, things are slower now than fall... that should be very obvious. But we sell stuff all year long... and we always stock up early... Right now... we have 12 trailer loads on order. Have NO idea when we will get them.. This should be the slowest time of year for distribution as well. And it is... but this transportation crap is real... For us. For all other dealers that can pick up the phone and get them in a couple of days, we are jealous... We tell our customers what is going on, and that is what we are faced with.. Fuel is going up, wages are going up, materials are going up.. No sales pitch. That's reality.. All the other dealers that plan on lowering your prices, please chime in... Dan
Its tough for a lot of folks to cough up, $1000 and have it sit in a stack in their yard for 6 months. Especially with vacations and what have you coming up. I happen to save a ton, $3000 a year or so. I buy early and have the year in the bunker before the season ends. Not to save the $50 buying in the Spring compared to normal, but to save the $3000 if there is a real issue. Really, pellet dealers need to make it more attractive to get folks to part with their money well before its needed. $50 or less isnt gonna cut it, especially with other options.
Hard to cough up $100,000 to sit for 6 months too... No EZ/floating payment schedules here.. C.O.D.... Dan
I wish it was $50 off spring buy. I jot down prices ocasionally. Prices are usually highest in February and march. Well, the spring buy at one of the Big dealers was $ 10-15 off their March prices. Actually, they were offering one brand in february at a great price if you bought 2 tons of them. And now the " spring " price is $10 higher than the february price. I understand why so many g8ve up after a few years. I know some friends locally who burn and now burn half or less what they used to. No savings, and all the work.
Just wait for Ct to put up the electronic tolls. They were discussing the prices on Tv tonight. I can only imagins what a out of state truck will pay
Isnt there some way to use rail ? I know they have rail up and down east coast ? Heck, i have a brand new double track right through my town, thanks to Malloy
My pellet supplier hasn't sent me any letters suggestive that I should buy now. He has been very considerate to me for several years now. While he sells other brands, he sell MWP to me. Whatever amt I want, no delivery fee because I am a veteran. He puts them right in the garage so I don't have to handle them until I am ready to burn them. All this at a very reasonable price. He and the outfit that makes the pellets are the salt of the earth. We are very fortunate to have both of those companies in our area. Nothing like the heat we get while sitting near the stove.
Pete......another dealer here. We lowered our price, as well as halved our delivery prices for orders booked in April and delivered by the end of July. A fair amount or orders. As for lowering prices over $50/ton for spring, it's not feasible. We don't gross that per ton. Selling st a loss simply won't work. We get the price per ton, add shipping, profit, there it is. As for delivering for free and stacking in the garage, that great, but not sustainable in any reasonable quantity. So, is either a very small dealer, or a dealer who doesn't deliver much, with a small sales area. That's fine, hats off to the folks who can do it. Our drivers deliver about 28 tons per day, and with hand stacking? Not doable. Will, as always, be an interesting fall
Not sure if that $50 a ton was in reference to my post. Just to clarify, if that was the case, I said $50 a year! That appears to be roughly what folks will save ordering now vs waiting till they "need" them. Not very attractive for a lot of people IMHO.
Up here, the mill that produces our pellets and the outlet we get them from are not far drives. I think not more than 30 miles. I don't know what the situation is with the other brands he sells. I don't ask because I am very pleased with my MWP brand. About a dozen places within a 10 mile range where I could get pellets. I have bought from other places. they all are good with good service from my experience. I'll stick with the outlet I have know. I think the CC people dig into his profits. He prefers checks if the client is able. I would have thought checks to be more risky, but he seems to think he is better off that way.
We did offer a special on delivery... 19 bucks... and held our prices, which are lowest in our area any way. Like you say... there just isn't enough wiggle room in pellets to offer what many would call, a 'real' bargain.. We don't do anything like your volume.. I also understand IHP... many don't want to tie up a lot of money, and/or real estate at their home for 50 bucks.. As for hand stacking (custom delivery) there are guys occasionally on Craigslist that will stack for you... for a fee, obviously. Dan
The outlet Larry is referring to is a fairly small operation. Several years ago he told me he sold 5000 tons the previous year. I don't know if he's bigger or smaller than that now. When he first started out, he would deliver free. Statewide. Think New England without Maine. Then he started charging a small fee. For me, about 20 miles from him, it is $15.00. Then he started delivering to Vets for free. so I pulled out my DD214 and took advantage of that. As for hand stacking, that has it's disadvantages as well. The 2 tons I bought from him this past winter were hand stacked in my driveway, where I asked them to be placed. The first ton had no protective covering at all. I called them and he said the shroud must have blown off. I didn't and still don't buy that explanation. The second ton had a shroud and some shrink wrap, but there were still exposed bags, which forces me to move the ton inside right away, instead of when it's convenient for me. I plan on buying 4-5 tons from him this year, but if I can't get them with factory covering, I may have to look elsewhere.
It depends on what equipment he brings. If he has the pellet jack, he can wheel it right into the garage provided the access is right. (mine is) Level paved and no transition. Just talk to him and arrange what you want. He has always been spot on with me.
To pallet jack or not pallet jack...that is the question. We don't pallet jack...we use truck mounted forklifts. Good in that we can go in the back yard, or the shed, and can go off the hardtop.....bad in that we can't drive inside the garage....our lift is too tall and after talking with our liability insurance company, too much risk....can cause a lot of damage quickly. As for carrying a jack on our open flatbed truck? The state trooper who fined us the last time told us it has to be enclosed to qualify as contained.....and yes, we had a strap on it. So, not willing to get fined again, not doing it. Hard to fight those things. I realize we lose sales because of that, but it's what we have to accept. I can't imagine hand stacking that kind of quantity.....we started out hand stacking years ago......carrying back the the shed, or in the cellar, no thank you.
Well, it's tough to tell what the savings would be per year, as I've honestly no idea what the price will be in the fall.....I think $50 savings per year would be a low figure when you consider that most folks burn 3-4 tons per year, with half price delivery as well, but yes, I get your point. From the delivery standpoint though, if everyone were to wait until fall to order, it would be, and is, a logistical nightmare.....not even doable in most cases.
