The Firewood Guy

I called The Firewood Guy (Ivan Johnson, who's operation is located at 7219 153rd SE near Snohomish, WA) and was quoted a price of $180 for a cord of Alder if I picked it up rather than having it delivered. So I hitched my trailer to my car, drove out there, and told him I wanted only half a cord, as that is exactly what my 8' x 4' x 2' trailer will hold. Having loaded my trailer about 1/3 full, he came back and presented me with a bill for $172.32 ($160 plus tax). I told him he had earlier quoted me $180 per full cord, which he denied and said, "If you saw that price on the web site they must have changed it." Having committed to the drive out there, and with my trailer partly loaded, I accepted the bill and finished loading the wood. As far as the quantity, it was about 90% of a half cord. I stacked the wood tight in my 8' x 4' x 2' trailer, and the load was a few inches below the top, with the last row only about half way up. As far as quality, none of the wood was over 16" long (important to me as my wood stove won't hold pieces over 17" long), and the wood was split small and straight enough to be handled and stacked easily. My advice is that you be very, very clear what price you'll be paying BEFORE you accept your load of wood, and that you be prepared to drive home empty if the price goes up when you get all the way out there. Or you might do what I'm going to do next time: try someone else.