Don't Get Burned When Buying Firewood
Need some firewood? The Oneida County Bureau of Weights and Measures wants to remind New Yorkers that friendly axe-wielding locals are required to provide firewood buyers with a detailed receipt that includes a declaration of responsibility, identity, and quantity.
Because many firewood dealers sell wood on an informal basis, they may not be aware of their responsibilities. Likewise, homeowners may not be aware that the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Law regulates firewood sales. I urge both buyers and sellers to be aware of the regulations to avoid problems after the sale."Picente urges homeowners to be smart when buying firewood [Oneida Dispatch]
(Photo: Ordinary Guy)
Post a comment
Comments:
Out here in the northwest where fire wood is used by a large amount of people for their main heat source,these are real problems. A pick-up truck load of wood that often sold to newbie wood fuel users as a whole cord. 4X4X8 is a cord (to large to fit in a normal truck) but many get less then that at full $125-175 per cord price. When you burn 6 to 8 cords per winter, short cords loads can cost you another $100-200 and leave you needing wood before winter is finished. Finding Firewood in March is near imposible, the seller knows you really need it or you would not be out there looking for some so late in the season, so they jack the price another 50-100 dollars.
Ignorance is expensive.
A few minutes spent googling the words "cord pickup truck load" would have prevented a raft of problems.
A full-sized pickup truck with firewood heaped in it haphazardly holds about a third of a full cord.
Buy by the pickup truck load, and look at the truck itself before negotiating.
When I was young my family and I would go out and collect many cords of wood from my dads friends property. We would have extra cords to sell, but would have to deliver them in a large dump truck. My dad also made sure that we stacked the pieces of wood like interconnecting pieces of a puzzle as not to rip off the buyer. He mention that it was common practice to..um, burn they buyer.
But that's the problem. People new to using firewood may not know how much firewood makes a cord.
Also an honest supplier may retire, die or pass the business on to his dishonest offspring. People need info on how to find honest sellers. Informal buying and selling works fine until and unless there's a problem.
@nardo218:
I would say "totally," but there are plenty of people living in the 'country' who are legally barred from cutting trees, too!











If these regulations were actually enforced, what private citizen would go through the trouble of selling warrantied firewood?