what logs have you been chopping today!

[gdh]

3 minutes ago, andy cobb said:

The problem is we're all competing against all the farmers sons with a chainsaw and a few fallen trees that keep the price down because they already have the machinery and sheds, and don't have to make a living from it just a bit of beer money.

ive started putting my prices up to new customers this year, but thinking of doing a voucher system for next winter where if a new customer orders a load they get charged £20 more but with a voucher to redeem £20 from their next load. Thinking it might weed out the customers who only want my logs until there cheap farmer supply is restocked.

We get that here as well, sales pretty much double after Christmas as other suppliers run out then we have to try and keep our regulars happy while not turning down new customers. 

 

I don't mind the farmers, tree surgeons etc selling cheap wood though - we all started out somewhere and if I was buying I wouldn't complain so I try and see it from that point of view. In general competition is healthy even if it's irritating

[SbTVF]

The problem is we're all competing against all the farmers sons with a chainsaw and a few fallen trees that keep the price down because they already have the machinery and sheds, and don't have to make a living from it just a bit of beer money.
ive started putting my prices up to new customers this year, but thinking of doing a voucher system for next winter where if a new customer orders a load they get charged £20 more but with a voucher to redeem £20 from their next load. Thinking it might weed out the customers who only want my logs until there cheap farmer supply is restocked.

It’s the tree surgeons getting paid to take away wood then selling it as logs and those selling any old wet crap in the middle of burning season that are the bottom price around here.

Everyone else including myself as a farmers son are within a £30 band per cube.

Only 3 or 4 companies in about 50 mile radius here who are able to keep selling dry at this time of year.

The race for timber is definitely in full swing at the moment. I think we all buy it from the same few timber dealers/contractors though I’ve been lucky enough to get in with a one man operation who is selling to just us this year.

Softwood/chipwood is in very short supply.

[arboriculturist]

23 minutes ago, andy cobb said:

The problem is we're all competing against all the farmers sons with a chainsaw and a few fallen trees that keep the price down because they already have the machinery and sheds, and don't have to make a living from it just a bit of beer money.

ive started putting my prices up to new customers this year, but thinking of doing a voucher system for next winter where if a new customer orders a load they get charged £20 more but with a voucher to redeem £20 from their next load. Thinking it might weed out the customers who only want my logs until there cheap farmer supply is restocked.

In order to survive you need to be retailing top of the range consistent products that others fail to achieve, with a service to match.

 

Farmers son's never seem to produce any great volumes ( gdh being an exception ! ).

 

I have never tried to price match others, that being a flawed business model -  seeing who can sell at the lowest prices.

 

Having your prices advertised weeds out the time wasters, skinflints etc. with a string of questions, as they don't attempt to make contact.

 

Raw material prices are rising and  this must be reflected in our pricing structure !

Edited March 10, 2018 by arboriculturist

[gdh]

It's certainly going to get tougher to source wood, softwood is the immediate problem but hopefully it leads to better management of smaller woodlands, especially with hardwood. 

 

On the price front it does surprise me how many people don't advertise prices, I guess it's to avoid competition and allows them to vary prices a bit but I would think it puts a lot of customers off. Maybe it's a 'if you have to ask the price, you can't afford my wood' thing.

[arboriculturist]

Just to keep this thread busy :

 

There is certainly no chance of sourcing Ash in the SW, Oak and Beech is about it and Oak is of course a non-starter unless you can force dry.

 

It think it will be more of a question of who you know in future, to source the material you require. I plan to work harder on gaining contacts starting now, as that is what will make all the difference going forward.

 

There are too many out there scrabbling for the same material. everyone has a processor.

 

Survival of the fittest it will be and who has the working capital to hold stock.

 

The time when you could ring up and order a load and expect a delivery in a week or so are becoming scarce. 

 

Where once if you force dried you could pretty much live from hand to mouth, holding very little stock due to the fast turnaround, now its a gamble not holding roundwood stock as now when you need loads it is not readily available. 

 

Of course those like gdh and Ash do hold a load of stock and have invested heavily - its a lot of capital tied up but it works.

Edited March 10, 2018 by arboriculturist

[Bustergasket]

About to get stuck into this load of ash

[arboriculturist]

9 minutes ago, Bustergasket said:

About to get stuck into this load of ash

SIC 

[andy cobb]

Out of interest how many of you buy your timber standing and how many buy in by the wagon load.

i don't think I could make it work financially if I had to buy in good quality stock, it would mean I had to increase turn over to make the same amount and be at the mercy of a mild winter.

[andy cobb]

7 hours ago, gdh said:

We get that here as well, sales pretty much double after Christmas as other suppliers run out then we have to try and keep our regulars happy while not turning down new customers. 

 

I don't mind the farmers, tree surgeons etc selling cheap wood though - we all started out somewhere and if I was buying I wouldn't complain so I try and see it from that point of view. In general competition is healthy even if it's irritating

I agree we all have to start somewhere, but round my area maybe 2 new guys will set up every year ( especially after a cold winter ) charge rock bottom prices, then realise it's not making money and move on to something else, but by then 2 more are starting up and the whole cycle restarts . All the while prices seem to be stagnant, and it's bloody annoying when customers compare an established, long term reliable operation with the local pikey selling fresh cut logs.

[gdh]

33 minutes ago, andy cobb said:

Out of interest how many of you buy your timber standing and how many buy in by the wagon load.

i don't think I could make it work financially if I had to buy in good quality stock, it would mean I had to increase turn over to make the same amount and be at the mercy of a mild winter.

We have some of our own woodland which we thin but as that's run out we buy most in, some delivered and some we arrange collection roadside.

 

We have space for about 1500tons and try to buy a year ahead to season and to cover ourselves if we struggle to find timber. We're increasingly finding we need to accept lower quality stuff (to a point) to make sure we get regular deliveries. At worst 2 years ago we were down to 300 tons which was stressful even if it was nice to have some money in the account for once...

 

We only buy standing on a small scale which we've just started as an experiment, in general we have no chance, and don't want to, of competing with full time harvesters.