Print

[chadley]

I sell firewood as a side job but just came across some hickory and being the off heating season was thinking about selling it to people who use it to smoke their meat during the summer.  I am used to selling wood by the cord but most people don't need that much to smoke with.  So...how much should I charge for smaller amounts of hickory or cherry?  I've searched on the net and seen a dollar per pound but that seems high.  All of the stores (lowes, home depot) have it measured in cubic inches but they estimate 25 lbs for $13.  I guess I'm asking for suggestions based on the info I've given but really would like to know from those on here that have bought hickory in small amounts for smoking purposes.  Thanks in advance.

[jrider]

I also sell firewood on the side to make extra money and had the same scenario last summer.  I get $200 for a full cord of oak - thats cut/split/delivered within 10 miles.  By doing some research, I found that hickory, in smaller quantities (and how small or large depends on your customers needs) would yield $300-$400 a cord.  The smaller the size, the higher the total cord price would be when you add all the sums together. 

I also found a guy that wanted 1.5 cords and would take it unsplit - ended up negotiating a price we could both live with which came out to be $225 per cord or $340 for the 1.5 cords.  Keep in mind, I only cut and threw into my truck green.  This worked out great for me since I only had about 2.5 - 3 hours total time involved. 

[chadley]

Jrider-

thats my problem.  Nobody wants a full cord of hickory right now.  They won't use that much to smoke with.  Of course later on for firewood I could sell it by the cord.  I've got a guy in particular who wants it to smoke with.  he asked for it to be a foot long in the size of his hand so I had to cut it down from firewood length and split it smaller.  I was thinking about selling it by the pound in smaller quantities like that.  Just trying to get some idea of how/what to charge for smaller quantities.

[jrider]

Break it down to 1/8, 1/16, or 1/32 of a cord and charge accordingly to get your total cord price in that $300-$400 range.