Looking for advice on selling live edge excess to cull lumber I have.

[AZWoodworker]

I’m looking for advice on the best way to present live edge slabs I've cut and dried, especially to gather ideas on what woodworkers most want to see. Since most of my full-length boards are not the same width, what is considered the best approach for showing these pieces? Is it better to photograph or list them by their longest dimension, average width, or highlight the widest/narrowest points? Most are 16 inches to 20 inches wide, so not wide slabs. Also, are there preferred length and width ranges that woodworkers typically look for in live edge slabs? Should I trim to the best width. I put ads on Facebook and Craigslist but the reason for the culling of wood is the same reason displaying is a problem. Not enough room. I’d appreciate any suggestions on presentation style, measurements Etc. Digging through for each individual has not been productive. Should I cut and mill to best size?

 

[woodtickgreg]

I think wood workers want to see what they are buying. Also keep your prices reasonable or lower than what others are selling their materials for. Another thing to keep in mind is the market right now for anything is soft. People are just hanging on to their money for the most part and are unsure of the times. Smaller priced items seem to be selling right now but big ticket items are not moving much. It is a buyers market right now, the complete opposite of what it was during the covid shutdown. Sales on everything have slowed, prices are high. Even those folks that have .only are being cautious.
So my point is if you really want to move some product to get some room you may have to make really great deals to entice a buyer to purchase wood. You may have to put some work in and dress some lumber up, skip plane to show the grain etc. A person may buy a small piece of wood or a few boards for a project but be hesitant on a large board foot lot of wood.
Of course all of this is just my opinion from watching the market.

 

[sprucegum]

I would probably just pick out a few repusentitave samples for pictures and take some pictures of the stacks. Put it on FB and Cl with a price range. Slabs, boards, off pieces. Sizes from xxx to xxx prices from xxx to xxx . All prices negotiable depending on quality and quantity xxxx buys the whole stack. I've sold lots of wood with similar adds, I try to come up with an amount that pays me well for my time and the value of the logs.

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

If you want to dump/cull the whole lot, you need to find a retail store that deals in live edge. Be prepared to be offered 25 percent of retail or less. If you are trying to stay close to retail and sell smaller lots, that advise was just posted. Also, the narrower : 12 and under, and thinner : 6/4 and less, won't move well no matter what. Based on my experience, another aspiring woodworker is often your best chance of selling a large lot, and most aspiring woodworkers are short on cash. So at the same time , not usually a source of retail pricing.


To maximize price, pull a slab out, clean a section up real clean to show off the color and grain and sell that slab. Then list your next slab. Owning 50 pieces and offering them all to a buyer that only wants 1 slab will cause you to dig through the whole pile and often not make the sale because they will want to "think about which one they want". The large selection will convince them that they can come get one any time they want and you will be the lumber yard

 

[sprucegum]

If you want to dump/cull the whole lot, you need to find a retail store that deals in live edge. Be prepared to be offered 25 percent of retail or less. If you are trying to stay close to retail and sell smaller lots, that advise was just posted. Also, the narrower : 12 and under, and thinner : 6/4 and less, won't move well no matter what. Based on my experience, another aspiring woodworker is often your best chance of selling a large lot, and most aspiring woodworkers are short on cash. So at the same time , not usually a source of retail pricing.


To maximize price, pull a slab out, clean a section up real clean to show off the color and grain and sell that slab. Then list your next slab. Owning 50 pieces and offering them all to a buyer that only wants 1 slab will cause you to dig through the whole pile and often not make the sale because they will want to "think about which one they want". The large selection will convince them that they can come get one any time they want and you will be the lumber yard

I've offered choice of a group of slabs for $xxx and had people pick what I considered the poorest piece. I've also spent time digging and ended up with no sale. It's a crap shoot and requires patience, I've had lumber listed for weeks without a bite and suddenly 3 people are interested. Be prepared to think on your feet. Last spring I had 6 slabs advertised for $75 each take your pick, a buyer picked the 4 best ones. As he was reaching for his wallet I said you can have the last 2 for an additional $50. Happy buyer and I was well paid. Buyers are all different I've sold to wealthy people and people struggling to make a few bucks at craft shows.

 

[AZWoodworker]

I would probably just pick out a few repusentitave samples for pictures and take some pictures of the stacks. Put it on FB and Cl with a price range. Slabs, boards, off pieces. Sizes from xxx to xxx prices from xxx to xxx . All prices negotiable depending on quality and quantity xxxx buys the whole stack. I've sold lots of wood with similar adds, I try to come up with an amount that pays me well for my time and the value of the logs.

I don't mind selling to the current market and taking reason offers or prices. Love money but need room to build things. What I have is I milled flat sawn with a chainsaw mill. I was making coffee tables and thin behind couch tables for my own builds and did not look to selling. I missed the 2020 boom for selling as I planned on building things. The logs were gotten from clearing Properties and many less than 8 feet long. ( I did not get to fall the trees myself till well after 80 percent were cleared. This makes for sizes just below 8 ft some falling around 6 foot. The 20 percent I cut to larger lengths.

For example I have some 9 feet long Mesquite slabs that are 17 inches for 6 feet but last big goes to 11 inches. Should I cross cut to 5 feet at 17 inches or rip to 11 inches when I present it. Had one interested in the wood but wanted to make a 8 foot table, so 11 inches did not work for him and only had three 9 foot of the same thickness and not good for making the width of the dinning table. Should I just mill to board sizes, skip plane them, cross cut to largest size I can get out of the board. Basically look to present them as lumber boards and maybe leave one side live edge.

Two stacks are 9 feet high stacks of various wood species but cut to different thickness's so I am separating them to thickness and species.

 

[sprucegum]

I don't mind selling to the current market and taking reason offers or prices. Love money but need room to build things. What I have is I milled flat sawn with a chainsaw mill. I was making coffee tables and thin behind couch tables for my own builds and did not look to selling. I missed the 2020 boom for selling as I planned on building things. The logs were gotten from clearing Properties and many less than 8 feet long. ( I did not get to fall the trees myself till well after 80 percent were cleared. This makes for sizes just below 8 ft some falling around 6 foot. The 20 percent I cut to larger lengths.

For example I have some 9 feet long Mesquite slabs that are 17 inches for 6 feet but last big goes to 11 inches. Should I cross cut to 5 feet at 17 inches or rip to 11 inches when I present it. Had one interested in the wood but wanted to make a 8 foot table, so 11 inches did not work for him and only had three 9 foot of the same thickness and not good for making the width of the dinning table. Should I just mill to board sizes, skip plane them, cross cut to largest size I can get out of the board. Basically look to present them as lumber boards and maybe leave one side live edge.

Two stacks are 9 feet high stacks of various wood species but cut to different thickness's so I am separating them to thickness and species.

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I wouldn't cut anything without a buyer , separating by size and species is a good idea. You just need to come up with some prices and get some pictures on some selling sites. You have some real pretty wood that you don't have a lot of money in. You need the room and would like some money, sounds like a winner to me.

 

[daniscool]

I don't mind selling to the current market and taking reason offers or prices. Love money but need room to build things. What I have is I milled flat sawn with a chainsaw mill. I was making coffee tables and thin behind couch tables for my own builds and did not look to selling. I missed the 2020 boom for selling as I planned on building things. The logs were gotten from clearing Properties and many less than 8 feet long. ( I did not get to fall the trees myself till well after 80 percent were cleared. This makes for sizes just below 8 ft some falling around 6 foot. The 20 percent I cut to larger lengths.

For example I have some 9 feet long Mesquite slabs that are 17 inches for 6 feet but last big goes to 11 inches. Should I cross cut to 5 feet at 17 inches or rip to 11 inches when I present it. Had one interested in the wood but wanted to make a 8 foot table, so 11 inches did not work for him and only had three 9 foot of the same thickness and not good for making the width of the dinning table. Should I just mill to board sizes, skip plane them, cross cut to largest size I can get out of the board. Basically look to present them as lumber boards and maybe leave one side live edge.

Two stacks are 9 feet high stacks of various wood species but cut to different thickness's so I am separating them to thickness and species.

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Do as advised and sell them one by one. Also make sure that potential buyers know that you are willing to mill and dimension them further. Some might not want the whole slab but only a part of it. You should be able to clear some stock that way.

 

[AZWoodworker]

I've offered choice of a group of slabs for $xxx and had people pick what I considered the poorest piece. I've also spent time digging and ended up with no sale. It's a crap shoot and requires patience, I've had lumber listed for weeks without a bite and suddenly 3 people are interested. Be prepared to think on your feet. Last spring I had 6 slabs advertised for $75 each take your pick, a buyer picked the 4 best ones. As he was reaching for his wallet I said you can have the last 2 for an additional $50. Happy buyer and I was well paid. Buyers are all different I've sold to wealthy people and people struggling to make a few bucks at craft shows.

Good advice. This was a thrill just to mill and I got a little overboard milling. I appreciate your advice. You helped me narrow down my question to promote them or Slabs or Boards. Once cut you can't go back, but have extra length of unusable for board work does not help either.

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

If you are using it, mill it to your use. Don't wait to sell it if you can and then get short on your personal stock, but if you are selling it, wait and offer to mill to their uses.