Last week I came across an ad on Craigslist for free birch, by the road, address was in the posting. When I show up there is a man and woman couple, the man is just starting to pull away with a full truckload and the woman is sitting on one of the rounds. There is still about two full truckloads left. I turn around and pull my truck next to the wood and the lady says "we are going to take it all. My husband is going back for the trailer." I've been getting wood off craigslist for years. I've never had anyone say anything like that to me before. I was speechless for a moment before I told her what I thought about that. I filled my truck anyways despite her protests. Anyone ever had an experience like this? Can they call wood like that? Should I have just left it for them?
Good for you. Unless the landowner told them it was all theirs, I'd think it was up for grabs, regardless of who got there first.
That’s an interesting one. I guess it depends on how the craigslist ad was worded and what the intent of the landowner was. My interpretation of first come first served is that as long as there is wood in the ground, it can be loaded into any vehicle that shows up. If a vehicle is already there it would make sense that you would wait for them to take the amount that they want and then you could commence loading if they said that they wanted to get as much as they could and they were the first ones there. If the landowner was not directly involved, it might be tough to convey intent except through the original ad or via a bill of sale. Had the lady shown you a bill of sale that showed they paid for the wood, then it would clearly be all theirs. As we all know, all too often, many people take the best pieces for length or size and leave the crotches, uglies and heavies. If the intent of the landowner was to just get rid of it all without a care as to who took it, then it would not make sense that someone could stay behind to essentially “guard” the wood against someone else taking it. Bottom line, I think you did the right thing. Imagine if they brought a civil suit against you for theft. Ok. So you allegedly stole something that they got for free and had no time invested in cutting, splitting or moving. Judgement for the plaintiff in the amount of $0.00. Had the other people brought the trailer in the first place, they wouldn’t have had the issue. Perhaps they learned their lesson for the next time. Got any pics of your haul? Cause I don’t think it ever happened!!!
If she stayed behind to "hold" the wood, I would have said have a nice day and moved on. They were there first. Even if they had left a sign behind, that would have been enough for me...I wouldn't want someone weaseling in on my score, so I wouldn't do it to them. What say you master of scrounge scores buZZsaw BRAD ?
I watch free ads on FB & CL. Like stuckinthemuck said some come for the gravy and leave the big stuff and junk behind and then the owner reposts the ad with bring a big saw. Don't lose any sleep over it.
Was told about some big trees cut down and available, got the son in law and grandsons one weekend, loaded up saws and trailer and went over. A man and his wife were there, pulled up and shot the breeze with him and left. First come first served. He cleaned it up in a couple of weeks. To each his own, had it been cold and I was out of wood, might have been a different story. I spend big bucks on blood pressure meds, no use making them work harder than they already have to!
All depends on how the wood was listed. I don't think you were wrong but it could have been handled differently. Would acting different changed the out come? Probably not. Would it had changed the mood and feelings? Probably.
I thought about it but it's getting so hard to get a good score of wood due to everyone being laid off and sitting home all day. I was getting desperate.
I’ve shown up to a free listed score and some previous scrounger spray painted on it “no cut, not free”, I cut anyway. Kinda fast. I’ve also shown up to find a paper laying on top of the log with a rock holding it down saying something like “taken”. That dang rock fell off! People do things like that when they get greedy. If the ad is still posted I pick up. It’s been so long since I’ve scrounged and I now just buy logs to save time and get a better product.
Sounds like a good idea. Wish I had the room for logs, I'd do the same thing. I did pick up three truckloads of bucked black locust today and a load of holly. Feeling pretty good right now.
Holly molly! I’ve definitely been poked by the leaves but never have seen one large enough for firewood. I have enough truck to haul a cord at a time but the availability of wood is low. Certainly not scores big enough to fill a truck and make it worth the effort. Maybe when the economy picks up.
