# Wood at the grocery store



## Iembalm4aLiving (Oct 12, 2011)

I'm guessing this has been discussed before, but I have to chuckle at the firewood stacked outside my local Giant Eagle grocery store.  "Firewood - Great deal- 2 bundles for $10"

These bundles contain 5 very small pieces of wood.  I'm sure it's dry and burns nice, but holy cow  I must have half a million dollars stacked in my back yard!

I'm rich, RICH I say


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## basswidow (Oct 12, 2011)

That stuff sells.....  

Perfect for the occasional fireplace user.

You are indeed RICH, as we all are.  And don't forget it.


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## quads (Oct 12, 2011)

I stand as many splits as I can on end in an old metal milk crate, then tie a piece of baler twine around them.  At $2 per bundle I sold quite a few this summer.  And I still make more money selling it that way than the price I get for my normal bulk firewood.


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## Hass (Oct 12, 2011)

quads said:
			
		

> I stand as many splits as I can on end in an old metal milk crate, then tie a piece of baler twine around them.  At $2 per bundle I sold quite a few this summer.  And I still make more money selling it that way than the price I get for my normal bulk firewood.



People in my neck of the woods do this often, and make a killing.
I live on a main road used to go to an Indian reservation (there's 2 roads to get in/out).
With NYS tax at over $4-5/pack... People flock to the reservations to buy them. Which equals a lot of traffic for sales on fruit/veggie stands and such 
I was thinking about selling all my willow this way... But then I figured someone might end up throwing a split through one of my windows at night when they figure out what a ripoff it is, haha.


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## Badfish740 (Oct 12, 2011)

My dad actually has a guy who buys $10 stacks from him practically once a week once December rolls around-looooooooooooves his fireplace.  Go figure...


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## Thistle (Oct 12, 2011)

See it near entrance of most grocery stores year-round here. Price generally runs $9 for 2 shrinkwrapped bundles of small splits,each one approx. size of 9-10" dinner plate. At that price I could sell the wood in backyard only & take a 2 month vacation.


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## Joey (Oct 12, 2011)

I wonder how much a cord would cost....if you just bought that grocery store wood,,,,i'm not that good at math.... :smirk:


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## Loco Gringo (Oct 12, 2011)

Someone did the math once. It was about 500-600 a cord I believe.


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## lukem (Oct 12, 2011)

The Thornton's gas stations around here all have firewood racks that are about 18"x28" and sells for $24.99, and they seem to sell a lot of it throughout the year.  That's $400 a cord, which means I'm sitting on a touch over $9,000 in firewood, provided I could sell it all at that price.


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## billb3 (Oct 13, 2011)

Joey said:
			
		

> I wonder how much a cord would cost....if you just bought that grocery store wood,,,,i'm not that good at math.... :smirk:



$7.99 a cubic foot at the grocery stores here.

8x128 = $1,024.
I might be persuaded to sell some of my 5 year seasoned oak for that much.
Not any less, though.


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## blacktail (Oct 13, 2011)

My jaw about dropped this summer when a coworker said he spent $80 on wood for a weekend camping trip with another family. That was to cover HIS HALF of the cost!


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## Shari (Oct 13, 2011)

billb3 said:
			
		

> Joey said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Bummer.... I just realized at those rates my firewood is worth more than my SUV.

Hmmm....


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## Iembalm4aLiving (Oct 13, 2011)

I don't begrudge the producer of the wood or the store selling it--obviously there is a demand for convenient wood and folks are willing to pay $1 a piece for it.  I am spoiled by being able to produce my own.


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## mayhem (Oct 13, 2011)

$10 for 2 packs at the grocery store is pretty cheap.  Around here its $6.50 per pack at the cheapest place, and they sell it.  

I have used the stuff before and while I wasn't proud of the fact, it was good to be able to stop and pick up a couple bundles when I really needed it.  Stuff burns very nicely.  Hot and long burn times...just have to spend a little time getting the staples out of the wood.


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## pen (Oct 13, 2011)

At these prices, one would be foolish burning this stuff for anything but ambiance.  

6.50 a pack makes the BTU's in a gallon of fuel oil look very economical.

pen


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## ChrisNJ (Oct 13, 2011)

The price is to cover the cost of shipping it seems to me, most of the bags of wood I see are from overseas, Estonia etc....


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## Flatbedford (Oct 13, 2011)

ChrisNJ said:
			
		

> The price is to cover the cost of shipping it seems to me, most of the bags of wood I see are from overseas, Estonia etc....



That always seemed odd to me that it was from Europe. Is there no wood here in The US?


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## fstmkt (Nov 30, 2012)

What equipment do you need to split and shrink wrap bundles?


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## bogydave (Nov 30, 2012)

fstmkt said:


> What equipment do you need to split and shrink wrap bundles?


 
Might be cheaper to ship the wood to China , have it packaged there then ship it back ..LOL


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## weatherguy (Nov 30, 2012)

$10 for two bundles? Thats a bargain

http://worcester.craigslist.org/grd/3441919504.html


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## Boom Stick (Nov 30, 2012)

Was down at my brother's house in western north carolina last week for thanksgiving...standing outside a store waiting for him and I see the wood bin.  they were selling .75 cubic foot package for 4.50......said "Amazing Deal!......   over the bin.....my iphone calculated the cost of a full cord at 768.00...WOW


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## Boom Stick (Nov 30, 2012)

weatherguy said:


> $10 for two bundles? Thats a bargain
> 
> http://worcester.craigslist.org/grd/3441919504.html


Yeah....get warm for the winter or for three hours


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## WellSeasoned (Nov 30, 2012)

Same around here. Worst yet we have no shortage of idiots buying them in america.


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## Mr A (Nov 30, 2012)

I just had a conversation about these small boxes of wood sold in stores. I was at the gas station mini mart. I asked the clerk how well the boxes of firewood sell. all the stores around here carry the same boxes, http://www.hotwood.com/home.php
There were two boxes by the door, he said there was a whole pallet of them a few days ago. People do buy it, 9.99 a box if I remember right. This is for people that don't get it, don't want to get dirty. Nice clean boxes to stack in the stores, put in the car. I bet a lot of people think firewood only comes in boxes from the store.


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## nate379 (Nov 30, 2012)

I suppose the same could be said for people that buy eggs or meat at the store vs directly from a chicken or cow...

Many people have better things to do than cut firewood for the couple nights a winter they light up the fireplace or go camping.


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## IanDad (Dec 1, 2012)

blacktail said:


> My jaw about dropped this summer when a coworker said he spent $80 on wood for a weekend camping trip with another family. That was to cover HIS HALF of the cost!


 
My son and I do a lot of whitewater boating and camping. Due to the various bug restrictions, you can't bring wood into state parks, forests, etc campgrounds. Usually it' restricted by county. Seeing as I have so much wood at home it is a little frustrating to have to buy wood "on location", but it is what it is. We are usually on the river all day until dark so there is little time to scrounge on site.

I am thinking about buying some prest logs or the like for this season's campfires.


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## billb3 (Dec 1, 2012)

nate379 said:


> I suppose the same could be said for people that buy eggs or meat at the store vs directly from a chicken or cow...
> 
> Many people have better things to do than cut firewood for the couple nights a winter they light up the fireplace or go camping.


 

I dangled a buck in front of a chick once and only got a cluck and a squawk.


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## tymbee (Dec 1, 2012)

While that seems like a lot-- think about this: People gladly pay a buck and half or MORE for a stinkin' bottle of "sugar water" (soda). Now think about what it takes to make ship the soda vs. the wood. Makes the wood seem like a pretty good bargain to me...




gd9704 said:


> I'm guessing this has been discussed before, but I have to chuckle at the firewood stacked outside my local Giant Eagle grocery store. "Firewood - Great deal- 2 bundles for $10"
> 
> These bundles contain 5 very small pieces of wood. I'm sure it's dry and burns nice, but holy cow I must have half a million dollars stacked in my back yard!
> 
> I'm rich, RICH I say


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## firecracker_77 (Dec 1, 2012)

tymbee said:


> While that seems like a lot-- think about this: People gladly pay a buck and half or MORE for a stinkin' bottle of "sugar water" (soda). Now think about what it takes to make ship the soda vs. the wood. Makes the wood seem like a pretty good bargain to me...


 
As difficult as it is for me to believe, many people with fireplaces don't want more than a few fires due to the mess.  For them, this would be perfect.  It's hard for us to imagine, because we know our annual need in terms of multiple cords. 

My wife sometimes buys the smaller packages of food even if they carry a premium as we otherwise would end up having waste to dispose of.  Difference is, would doesn't rot if kept dry.


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## leftyscott (Dec 2, 2012)

I sell a lot of cooking wood throughout the year.  $10 for a 50# bag of cherry or hickory averages to about $500/cord.  I can sell 50 bags easy enough.


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## Boom Stick (Dec 2, 2012)

The difference between buying wood at the store vs a firewood guy is price.......The markup is insane......Buy a 1/3 of a cord for 80 or whatever dollars....have it stacked and put where you want it by the firewood guy....done.  Still way ahead in savings vs the store


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## nate379 (Dec 2, 2012)

I sold firewood thru this summer and I had several people that asked for 1/4 of a cord, etc.  $225/cord, so they wanted that 1/4 for $55.
Had a few people get actually angry to the point of swearing at me when I said it would be a bit more or would have to wait until I had a full load coming somewhere near them.







leftyscott said:


> I sell a lot of cooking wood throughout the year. $10 for a 50# bag of cherry or hickory averages to about $500/cord. I can sell 50 bags easy enough.


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## Boom Stick (Dec 2, 2012)

nate379 said:


> I sold firewood thru this summer and I had several people that asked for 1/4 of a cord, etc. $225/cord, so they wanted that 1/4 for $55.
> Had a few people get actually angry to the point of swearing at me when I said it would be a bit more or would have to wait until I had a full load coming somewhere near them.


more is less....less is more.  simple economics.


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## Jack Straw (Dec 2, 2012)

We calculated the cost of firewood at our local convenience store at $940 a cord.


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## egclassic (Dec 3, 2012)

The other day I was at Lowes and saw they sell a very small bag of Kindling for $6.00.
I laughed and thought, you could go back to the lumber department and buy an 8' pine board for about the same and get twice as much.
Point is, I guess, those who buy wood from the convienence stores and bagged kindling from Lowes just do it for the occassion.


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## ROVERT (Dec 3, 2012)

I bought some of this wood while camping in Delaware this summer. I was actually pretty happy to do so after trying to burn the incredibly wet pine the camp ground sold us.

With all the firewood transportation bans because of the EAB, a thousand dollars a cord seems to be the only way to go when camping. It's either that or burn wet wood from the camp ground or other local sellers. The camp grounds wasn't actually much cheaper.

The stuff we bought was cut, kiln dried and packaged in PA. I remember calculating the price and I believe it came out over $1000/cord. It was very good wood, but certainly hurt the wallet. If anyone lives near Lewes and wants to sell me some firewood for camping next summer at not such an obscene profit, please let me know.


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