I sell between 20-30 cords of wood per year as a hobby, for exercise and an excuse to buy equipment. I sell by the half and full cord and 80% of what I sell is ash. I get my wood from a tree service. I occasionally get some cherry and I usually just mix it in but would like to start targeting the smoking crowd. I don't have a bundler and don't want to invest in one because I don't forsee selling many bundles. Do smokers typically like a certain length? Do they typically buy a certain amount in terms of cubic feet? What are you charging per cubic foot? Ideally I'd like to cut and split to the customers preference but don't know what to charge.
The BBQ joint I tried to barter w/ was very particular with how long ago my apple was cut (it wasn't near my 20% needs). He didn't care about the bar oil that I used, some do. He was fine with my 18" long splits and we talked in cordage. In the end, deal fell through. It was one of our favorite local joints so I hoped for store credit. I was going to give him a smoking deal (pun intended, lol) but he was worried the wood was too dry.
I'll be following along here. I bought a pickup load of cherry logs for the same purpose. I do sell bundles and plan to bundle the cherry. However, I want to package it in a way that fits smokers and comes in the right quantity. BTW, I made my own bundler (manual) from scrap lumber I had on hand. Total cost is probably under $2 in fasteners.
It all depends on the individual using the wood, some want bark on, some don’t care. I have heard it claimed that the bark makes the meat bitter. The type of smoker can have determine the split/chunk size. Some want chunks, some want regular splits. 25% - 30% is the moisture range most want it at. I sold some Cherry to a fella smoking brisket for a wedding reception. I didn’t count the pieces, it was just one row the width of his pickup box & as tall as the sides. $50, he was very happy & so was I.
Pretty much what JimBear said above. I've got only a couple guys that'll even use Cherry due to it leaving a bitter taste. Hickory & Red Oak are way bigger sellers. I just let them know what I have & make it to order. It's actually not a bad way to move some green wood. I charge exactly double my regular cord price for smoker wood due to the perception that it's special. I do measure & split exactly as requested. If you wanna retail some you might try the bags, they're about 1.25 cubic feet & will sell for $10-$15.00 per depending on your local market. Keep the bags in the deep shade out of the wind to prevent seasoning.
Thanks for the replies. I have some green red oak as well. Maybe I'll just post something and see if there is any interest. Would be willing to manually bundle for orders of 5+ cubic feet.
I would certainly test the market, it seems to vary quite a bit by region. Worst that can happen is you have more firewood.
I am a BBQ aficionado myself. The amount of smoke wood for the bullet smokers I use, (all 3 sizes of the Weber line ) amounts to a little more than an ice cream pail a year. All you need with charcoal based smokers is a chunk the size of a baseball or two. For stick burners often the length and size of the split varies tremendously. One of my golfing buddies owns a very high end restaurant and 2 weeks ago he talked to me about his needs for a new supplier of hickory. The splits had to smaller than 1.5 x 2.5" in order to fit through the opening of the smoker. After much discussion we concluded it was not worth bother, at least for me of supplying his needs although I could easily do so.
Mennonite friend has a friend that owns a wood fired pizza place local to us. And he uses cherry and will cut down trees for free for the wood. I use it for my wood boiler lol. Anywho they will take everything g and he says that all of the tree tops and small branches are what he preferred.
Used to sell apple, $35 for a large wheelbarrow load. Mostly one customer that purchased but did sell a couple cords total. Stopped after a neighbor mistaken it for my other wood and burned most of it. Always split it small and was more work than other woods. I may do it again if I ever get a nice size load of it.
I advertised cherry wood as Holiday firewood a few years ago. I had some boxes I had scrounged somewhere and filled them up. People gobbled it up at $25.. Thinking of doing it again this year with some apple wood I have.
Nice! I know jrider sells cherry at a premium around Christmas. Ive tried to sell bundles but flopped. I have one customer who buys for a friend but only a few at a time.
FYI: I’ve found that even cherry leaves (used sparingly) have the same sweet scented smoke as the cherry wood. I usually use a spilt of cherry in my Webber as a divider to keep the coals to one side.