Buy And Re-Sell Someone Else’s Firewood? Right Or Wrong? 

Link to firewood guy www.firewoodguyofpa.com

Its called business. I pay your price for your products it becomes my products. What i do with my products after that is none of your business!

Reselling goods is what most retail stores have done forever. I started reselling bulk landscaping mulch in 1996 out of the back of the gas station I owned (where, by the way, I resold gasoline refined by someone else). The mulch business grew to the point I split it off to its own location and it continued to grow. At the time I sold the company and retired I was reselling kiln dried firewood as well as mulch. You are correct that there isn’t as much profit reselling as making your own but it is possible to make a living…. Ethically.

The explanation of that kiln operation was fascinating. Super appreciate the video and his willingness to explain.

We have found that producing firewood and delivering firewood is two separate business. It is impossible to produce 300 cords a year than turn around and delivery that ( with just yourself). We exclusively flip firewood now, roughly 300 cords a year we have three suppliers they produce firewood for us we buy it sell it.

Buying a product and selling it for a profit is Business 101. Your rationale and motive are perfectly reasonable.There are a few people out there who never want to see anyone else make a dime. You're happy, Matt is happy. Your customer is happy. Sounds like it worked out well. Love your content. I always appreciate your CPA point of view... although you bean counters can drive me nuts... Ha!

Thou shalt not covet! Can’t get angry cause you’ve established a rapport with your customer base and demand a higher dollar that they are willing to pay and are happy with the product. On top of that you went way out of your way just to make sure your customers have the quality they have come to expect from you. Looks like you need to get in the woodyard and get cuttin for next year!

1st to comment from Western North Carolina. I'm jealous of all the nice equipment you have. I do not own a truck. I do not own a splitter. All I have is three chainsaws a bad back and asthma

Both parties profited, customer was satisfied, everybody's happy that' a good day in my world!!!!

Very cool kiln setup, thanks for sharing. Always try to keep the customers happy and they will stay with you.

So you need a small kiln to dry a cord or two. A solar, wind kiln add 2 dehumidifier’s running on the panels and wind turbine system. Fans and the box is insulated and for a small investment it will pay for itself over time.

I remember the original video of his operation years ago. Still really cool to see. I’ve been thinking about building a kiln. For people with a smaller operation like mine, it would work well. Big enough for about 2 cords. With an cheap oldschool forced hot air wood furnace with a big firebox you could probably get away with one load a day. But twice a day would likely be better for more stable temps inside the kiln. You could definitely do once a day loads with a big boiler and a water to air heat exchanger an dhave very consistent heat output thoughout the 24hr burn. A 20ft shipping container would be the perfect size kiln chamber.

Really interesting

You did the right thing. No issues with it at all. Good video 👍

Nice video! No problem flipping this order at all. One way to look at it is the profit you made was the fee to find the customer and deliver. The higher price for the customer is just the price you have to pay for seasoned wood in January. Worked out for everyone.

Wow. The houses you delivered the wood to were so palatial. Obviously a very wealthy area.

Good afternoon everyone!… Adam, if the guy you’re buying it from doesn’t care. Then I say go for it. Thanks for the tour too Have a day

Very interesting video Adam. It's great that your are willing to be flexible in order to keep loyal customers.

The best time of year for anyone to buy firewood is spring and that's what you use for next year

If he is ok with it,it should not be a problem. Especially if it is not in his service area. In todays market you need to do whatever it takes to maintain a business model. He made his money and you made yours. Have a good one Adam,take care and God Bless!!!❤😊

Whatever makes a worthwhile, ethical profit is "right" and your supplier may be delighted to have a bulk customer. When your customers buy they are happy. When your suppliers sell to you they are happy. When you turn a dollar you are happy. I learned that from my antique car restorer mentor many decades ago. His business was word of mouth so happy dealings were worth a lot of money.

I agree, this is just like the wholesale model. Businesses buy from a wholesaler to sell to their end customers. You provided the extra value by picking up from another area and delivering it to your customer (you added value).

Retaining the customer is key! Wouldn’t both me and bit. Great job Adam👍👍

great video, the guy with the kiln was very informative

Adam, Once again, a great video "ride along" . That's what makes your channel different. You take us along for your adventures to introduce us to other people who are into the same things we are here to learn more about. And of course, we cant help but subscribe to their channel if they have one ! Thanks again from Ohio ! 😊

You sir have a bright future.

You could probably build your own kiln using an old shipping container, wood boiler, and blower for under 25k. But like you said, for a small operation like yours you may be better off just increasing your inventory from the year before. Btw, I don't think there's anything wrong with selling something that you paid for, if that were the case used cars wouldn't exist and realtors would go out of business.

If you are selling it for more you must be adding value. He gest his price the customer is happy and you make some money. If he wants more for his wood he should charge more.

Love the video. I've mentioned this before on a few videos, and I see it here again - the music is SO LOUD compared to the narration and I have to constantly adjust volume and it kills my ears with headphones. Adjusting volume to be fairly equal across the video is so nice for viewers.

Very interesting video Adam. I don't know why it would bother anybody because that's exactly how wholesaling works. This type of buying and reselling has been going on since the beginning of time. Anyway, stay safe, healthy and warm. Bill H from Cranberry Township

You need those swinging front panels on your totes!

Nothing wrong with what you are doing! Oh buy the way, I’m setting up a roadside stand. $18.50 a load.😂

The kiln dryers are very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

This is really what wholesalers do!! Great video Adam!! Stay Hydrated and Have a Safe Day

Matt’s firewood could try starting with a fuel surcharge for picking up from the mills to offset his cost

Nobody has a problem up here in Maine with resellers. Benefits both parties. I do think your own wood typically looks a bit better than the load you delivered - especially the 2nd smaller jag that looked pretty scrappy and scraggly.

Excellent video. You should have taken neighbor Doug with you to check out the kilns. What an interesting business.

I learned I will just be happy to buy. 👍🙂 And I learned more about the best time to buy, haha

Very interesting, Adam. Enjoyed the new perspective.

Keeping the customer happy.

Sounds like you came up with a solution to keep your customers happy. Business is business; especially if your customers order more later this year

Great video. I bought a wood furnace last winter to build my own firewood kiln which i need to do yet. I know how i want to build it but want to have it in the right location to make loading it and unloading cages easy to do and make sure its the right size to stack cages in but still have room for fans. also need to have dry storage shed to keep the dry firewood out of the rain til its delivered and sold

Having a few high volume professional customers is much easier to manage than a bunch of retail customers who might or might not know about what they are talking about.

That's business. I worked at a Sears Automotive Center. We'd add a 40% mark-up on all parts that we acquired from OEM dealers or aftermarket parts houses.

Good morning Adam, it's no different than going to a grocery store. Say the store chain buys their eggs from a farmer/ producer for $1.00 a dozen. They turn around and sell it in their store for $ 3.00 a dozen. Everybody is happy. ( except the consumer, lol )

If you trust the product, and can purchase it at a price you can make money on it after taking all costs into consideration, there's no reason not to do it. It's no different than large companies buying product at discounted rates and selling to the consumer at retail value.

Thank you for sharing!

I’d have zero issues if you were buying from me and reselling at a higher price. As long as I get what I want for it, heck buy as much as you want.

Excellent video Adam. You need Doug on the task! Shelter Logic brown or black sheds in the late spring to early fall will shorten your seasoning time because the shed will give you the temperature. Now you need the air flow and controled with a humidity gauge at the outflow to tell what the bundle is at to test. This will speed up the process. Heat is the most expensive factor control that and the other 2 are easy. (Intake and exhaust= air flow) Enjoy

Buy for one. Sell for two. Nothing wrong with that.

Sunday morning viewer here ~ Last summer I ran out of dry wood August 1st. My first whole sale account wanted more Bundles....in the panic I decided to buy a cord from another person in another town. He and his young boy's were happy and I tipped the boy's for helping load my trailer...it was a fun experience. This spring I will make contact with him again, should I tell him up front that I am flipping his wood. IDK??? In the end it worked for all of us, however this summer I may run out of wood again (a good problem with a dilemma, LOL) so I believe it is good to have a network of woodhounds like Hometown Acres has built. Also want to do my first real youtube video with all the Kool editing and music...Hahahaha on my channel now I have a couple of shorts. Keith aka CBJ

It would be nice to have some detailed info on those baskets the skid steer used to load your trailer Adam , that might make a good video itself ... thanks for sharing .

If people buy your product and resell it, maybe you aren't charging enough. When we started selling campfire wood out of our driveway, buyers would comment on what a good deal our wood was compared to other hobby sellers. Some joked that they should buy all of mine for resale. I started reducing the size of my stacks until such comments stopped.

I make my money, so I wont care. I'm one of the cheaper guys in the area at $75 a face. I'm sure it happens. there's a few at $60, but don't do near the wood I do. there's a few at $80 and $90, but most are at $100 or $120-$130 delivered 10 miles

Nearly every retailer "resells" their inventory. But it does bother certain people to know that the buyer will turn around and try to sell the item

Hey Adam, great video. I have an idea for you to think on…for your sawdust discharge, why not take an IBC bladder, cut the front out of it like a window and then mount it to a pallet, make it easier to handle by machine and contain more of the sawdust/chips?

For your scale of firewood operation and since you have a saw mill to make your own lumber, I think a solar kiln would be a great option.

burning well seasoned firewood is the the most import thing there is..15-20 % moisture content is needed..split open a already split piece and test inside with digital moisture meter..a new meter is like 20 bucks yet it seems no firewood sellers seem to have one..if its sizzling out the ends thats way more than 20%!!..probably more like 40%..just wasting money and plugging up your chimney burning wet wood..for a epa re-burn, catalytic or gassifier wood stove to operate correctly the wood needs to be dry!..some new wood stove manufacturers are including a digital moisture meter with their stoves

The only time reselling bothers me is when a farmer begs me for hay cause there short, so i sell them some at a fair price, than find out they sold it to sombody at double the money. They only buy from me once when that happens.

Two questions: Do you write the date on the baskets you move into the drying yard, or do you just keep track of that mentally? And I'd like to know how they get the ash out of the kilns and what they do with it. They surely generate quite a bit.

You can get excellent firewood in January...by ordering it last January. Value-added product upselling or reselling is as old as commerce, itself. Nothing at all wrong with it.

You must charge a lot more than the $60 to $85 a cord for firewood they charge around here. I cut my own and I would estimate I have 5-6 hours in sawing, splitting, and handling a cord of wood. $10 an hour I'd never be able to justify that fancy firewood processor, the truck, tractor, trailer....

Adam, you and neighbor Doug need to put a pencil to paper and build a sawdust compactor. One that adds some kind of ignitor (kerosene) and then makes fire starter blocks. Like those overpriced duraflame logs folks buy. You guys would be sitting on a goldmine!

I have bought firewood from competitors. Some good some bad. Consistency in cut length and split size are my first concerns. Dry solid wood is tough to find. Recutting and splitting bought firewood doesnt make you money but it keeps your customers happy.

Its called being the middle man. Nothing wrong with that.

Great question Adam. I too sell firewood but not to the scale that you do. Towards the end of the winter season, I have a colleague in which I sell him my firewood at a given price and he too flips it and sells to his customers. I look at it this way, I’m making what I want out of a load of firewood. If he can get more, that’s a win for me and a win for him. It helps two families. I see no wrong in this. It helps unload my inventory and also helps him provide his customer base. So that’s my view from Matt’s perspective. Hope that helps.

Salesman, retailer, speculator, agent, all are descriptions of someone reselling someones else's stuff. Very normal. Labeling it as your own can crowd fraud, like South American beef being labeled as Made in America because it was packaged here. Quality control, obviously. Moisture, no poison ivy etc. Otherwise, fine.

Sometimes,you gotta pay the fiddler and hear no song

Always say yes to a customer, even if you have to farm out the work.

I just did an episode on flipping wood = it is profitable IF you do it right 👍

Great video! I always say we can take care of you.. I’m working on poor man’s Kiln let you know when I get it running

You are being a smart business man in keeping a repeat customer happy know matter what. I think you made smart move.

As a businessman your primary concern is your customer,. On the point of view of your supplier, Where you get your product and for as long as you pay your supplier the money he wants he should not have any influence on how you conduct your business. on the other side (POV of customer) For as long as your customer is satisfied, and/or fulfilled his need and secondly , if the product is equal or better value, then there's nothing wrong with reselling. You are providing a service.

Could put up a simple solar kiln near wood yard, maybe 12ft depth x 24ft width and 12ft ceiling height to get 2 rows of 6 pallets of wood and maybe double stack an extra row depending on slope of roof.

You might be interested in this U Tube video. Solar hot air collector aluminum downspouts. A solar kiln is very doable.

have done this for 2 years buying product that you dont produce saves you time and makes you coin i produce 1500m3 a year and add on around 500m3 for winter after i sell out keeps the truck moving

If I am selling something, that others can make a profit on, but I still get the profit I wanted. Then what is the problem? I'm not saying it wont make me raise my prices over time, because now I know my products might be worth more. Also, as long as you dont try getting in the way of his business, stealing business from him (which would probably be hard since he should always be able to sell it cheaper than you, when selling his stock not your own) then whats the problem, as you said, you sold to people that he wouldnt have sold to anyway, so here, its a win win

That was fun to watch. Quite the operation and volume to keep 3 kilns running.

Reselling is what every company does, some stuff goes through a lot of people from producer to consumer. Track a side of beef from farm to fork..Bet you get at least 5 stops and price adjustments.

Making a profit from someone else's labour is what capatalism is based on! If you don't like that system, don't live in a capatilist nation!

I operate a stump grinding business in Ontario, Can. I work for many tree service companies and only 1 always pays me then marks me up to his customers. I do not like this, the others just tell customers this is who we use , He is the best. hand my card to them then I do the billing. little different then the firewood deal because I sell a service not a product.

I sell predominantly Ash, I have cherry maple and oak, but my Ash seasons fast. The rest needs to dry out. You do the same thing when you have private mom pop stores resell it, so it doesn’t bother me.

As long as you are not poaching his customer base there should be no issues. IMO

Adam, I was wondering if you were thinking about making the same kind of holder that Matt uses it looks a lot easier getting the wood out then a ibc holder maybe 🤔 Doug would fabricate a few of them to test out 😮😊❤

Iam 72 been burning wood most of my like my father burned wood All his life smaller u split wood the faster it burns

I know you are following a dream and you're happy not working full time for someone else but man you really messed up the view of your yard. Can't you move all that stuff into the woods where the wife doesn't have to cry when looking out the window at the pond.

There is a chanel in the uk called oak farm firewood he built his own kilns and he puts his wood in IBC totes and he uses waste wood

Isn't that how business works? As long as the guy selling it is getting his price he shouldn't care. That being said I recently had to buy some ash logs from a guy. He assumed I was burning them for heat. When I told him I was selling the wood and how I sell it and how much I get I could tell he was a little put out that I was making so much more than him. Not enough to get mad but it bugged him. Such is life. Dave

simple thought.... now that you got that bigger tractor, get a set of forks for the back, carry two baskets at a time from your processing area to the drying area, cut your trips in half save fuel

The buyers and sellers agreed on the respective prices. You did not take a customer from anyone. Happy, happy, happy.

Great video Adam. In all honesty, every industry has in some way, shape, or form have done or will do what you did. It is a win win, if both parties are in agreement and you did not take away from each others customer, both made a profit, and both are good with the deal being it was fully disclosed on both sides. Interesting to see a large operation kiln and how they work. Great information and insight as well. As always, great content.

That would not bother me because that’s the whole idea of capitalism. Just be careful not to infringe on their customer base

Awesome video. I really enjoyed it, learned a lot! I'm from PA

This is how I do the vast majority of my sales. Where I live in Texas there is not much supply of hardwood. So I have to get it hauled-in. It’s not economical for the guys I purchase from to try acquiring residential customers in my area. I get it brought in to me on semi-trailers, stock pilot at my Woodyard, and then reload it onto my trailers when it comes time to deliver.

It would bother me if: reseller is stealing my customers; reseller is charging 5 times more; reseller used some sort of both to purchase entire stock to scalp the people.

Another great video Adam. As far as the “dilemma” goes, Adam we all purchase products from somebody that has bought them or produced them cheaper than the price we pay for them as the customer. It’s a free market economy 👍🏻👍🏻. Keep up the great work.

I'm surprised you don't have a dust collection system like Joe from Ohio wood burner has on his Japa to prevent the engine from sucking it up.

I can’t imagine trying to make a living selling fire wood I give it away for free & have a hell of a time getting rid of it

If demand is right and your running out might as well.

Business is business. All retail business is reselling something for a profit. Sometimes you are reselling a finished product and sometimes you are finishing a product out to sell. Quality control and maintaning inventor to meet demand are important. You made the right call and it will pay off. Like the LS.