Hummmm? for Today

[Ken Scharabok]

Local Wal-Mart is selling plastic wrapped bundles of firewood. .75 cubic feet of slab sides for $2.99 (plus about 10% state sales tax). Comes in from TX. If I have my math right that works out to about $510 a cord. The hummm part is timbering is a leading industry in this country and here is someone from TX who is exporting kindling/firewood into the country.

Someone is missing an opportunity.

[Beltane]

I saw those outside of the garden center the other day ~ I coudn't believe it!

[Alice In TX/MO]

Yeah, I saw a guy in Austin picking through the bundles at a local grocery store. I felt like telling him that he could come cut firewood on my place for a fraction of the per cord price!

[Ken Scharabok]

I rather suspect the TX vendor has an exclusive contract for at least a region. Knowing a bit about Wal-Mart I suspect it is all on consignment. Vendor gets paid after bundles sell and they are responsible for any unsold after a certain date.

Would be interesting to see price breakout but I suspect it is about $1/$2 vendor/Wal-Mart.

[anniew]

Ken,
You are right. Someone is missing out on an opportunity. However, usually the one who thinks up the idea AND follows through on it is the person who gets the rewards.
The price may sound high on a per cord basis, but almost always the smaller a package, the more you'll pay per unit price.
At campgrounds, the $2.99 price for a bundle may be cheap.
For local people, this example might be duplicated and marketed to local stores so they may still have a shot at this opportunity.
Ann

[Ed Norman]

I see those bundles often at convenience stores around here. I guess the tourist campers buy them since you can't cut wood at campgrounds. I did the math a few years ago and was also amazed at the price per cord. Seems like Farm Show had a machine for bundling a few issues back.

[homebirtha]

We have had that exact same conversation several times here too. Every time I see the 6-piece packages for $4.99 at the grocery store I tell DH we need to get in on that action. lol. I can't believe people actually buy those things, but they must. Because everywhere around here sells them.

[bargarguy]

I am equally amazed by the price of those bundles, them city/town folk can't cut trees down in their parks so I guess if they want a fire they make them pay for it.

[jross]

I would venture most of us burn wood to screw OPEC, while folks who buy that bundled wood use it for esthetic reasons. There is a farmer up the road who provides wagon rides to a corn maize and pumpkin patch, pumpkins which seem to grow overnight and charges very high prices for the experience and produce. He gets over $3.00 for a dozen ears of sweet corn, while two miles away another farmer is selling the same corn for $1.50. The people who are buying are transplants from the populated areas and the only thing they know about farming is that stuff grows in the dirt and are too busy developing their coronaries to go cut their own wood which is available by permit on state land.

[rafter]

You have got to figure that the person that cut the wood maybe got half of the retail price. So the money isn't that good. Then figure the price of trasporting with gas prices. It isn't what it appears.

[ponyboy123]

Well, I agree with evey1s opinion regarding this topic. 2 bukks for an armload of wood seems pretty silly to me. On the positive side it's nice to see these lumber by-products getting used up. Around here people are hard pressed to give away wood slabs from the lumber mills. There gets to be a surplus of slab wood and ends up being a liability for the mills. It's nice to c someone has found a supply and a demand and is hopefully earning at least part of a living off of it.