Value of Huon pine?

[heffa]

I'm looking round at some "rare" slabs and found a beautiful clear grained piece of Huon pine. 1100x400x60, with 2 live edges.
But $500??

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[John.G]

I looked at a steak yesterday, real good piece of beef it was. But $20?? Be all over in 15 minutes. And $75 for my preferred case of beer to wash it down with? Which is all pretty reasonable compared with teh price of the electricity to keep the cold ones cold and make the hot ones hot.
Inflation is a bitch!!!

I wouldnt buy it either at that, but I can see that that's probably where it should be priced at.

[rustynail]

Timber, in bulk, is priced by the cubic metre. When looking at individual pieces of rare specie and particularly attractive, other factors come into the equation.
In this case you are looking at a piece of timber .0264 m3 at almost $20,000 per m3.
The burning question is, can this price permit value adding for the purchaser? In other words, what would you make from it and what would the finished product be worth?
Particularly nice pieces of timber often sell for double their "standard" price. They are one-offs, never to be repeated rarities. But that doesn't mean they represent the same value to every body.

[Drillit]

Heffa,
Buy it.Drillit.

[cava]

To be honest, at that price, I would give it a miss.

[pkroeze]

That's about right I would say, You just have to ask the question can I add value to that if you're intending to make something and sell it. Another way to look at it is, walk into a furniture store and check what sort of coffee table $500 buys and then ask yourself do you appreciate the huon pine slab more than the said coffee table.

[John.G]

Timber, in bulk, is priced by the cubic metre. When looking at individual pieces of rare specie and particularly attractive, other factors come into the equation.
In this case you are looking at a piece of timber .0264 m3 at almost $20,000 per m3.
The burning question is, can this price permit value adding for the purchaser? In other words, what would you make from it and what would the finished product be worth?
Particularly nice pieces of timber often sell for double their "standard" price. They are one-offs, never to be repeated rarities. But that doesn't mean they represent the same value to every body.

To which Id add the ability to value add is generally set by the upper end purchaser rather than the average.
Case in point: yesterday i had a guy wants some 6x2's for a stable. No worries, we have got structural number 3 at F14 that's ugly by the pack for just that purpose, $8.50 a meter +theG. Bit of vein, waney, maybe some shake or holes: no matter. Its F14, durable, and the horses don't care.
Too ugly, how much for the clean stuff ?
F22A at $15.
"Too expensive - it's only a stable."
Not my problem mate... the fact you want to put them in a stable doesn't make them worth less as exposed rafters.

I see that all the time with purchasers in this industry. . "I cant sell it for what that dude there gets so I can't pay what he pays for timber". It's an understandable viewpoint, but try telling Woolies or Coles you should pay less for your groceries because you aren't a gourmet cook.

Good timber is expensive, and it should be.

[MAPLEMAN]

A photo of said piece would be handy :wink:
At $19,000m3 the price is 'up there'...that said...
If it is carrying superb figure,is dressed and seasoned,then I feel that price adequately fits.
And of course depends on how much you want it too :rolleyes:
Quality Huon will always attract a moderate-high price...MM:2tsup:

[heffa]

Cheers guys :)
I was mainly curious about it because I've been storing a nice slab of Huon mys lf. No way I can afford to buy that one.
I admit that Huon is beautiful to work, but I can never see the appeal in it myself.

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[rustynail]

When you see a piece made from HP that really suits the timber the appeal becomes far more obvious. The workability, fine grain structure and durability when placed in skilled hands, can produce some beautiful stuff.

[double.d]

If you're going to stick a couple of legs on it and call it a table then it is not worth it.

As a box maker that size appeals to me and if the timber was real good i could get 10 boxes from it so it would certainly be worth buying.

[heffa]

Well, I might post some of my Huon pine slabs in the market place. My work and skills really can't do it justice

[Luke Maddux]

Get used to calculating the cubic meter value of the wood. I developed a bad habit of keeping price negotiation too friendly and not basing it on a volumetric value, so I allowed myself to get burned a few times. No more.

Just take price / (length x width x height) where the l,w, and h are all in meters

So this is 500 / (1.1 x .4 x .06) = 18939.4

Yes. That price is absurd. Nineteen grand per cubic meter is ridiculous, even for Huon Pine. You may as well be buying the entire thing as pen blank or knife scales at that price. The seller has simply thought of a price it would be nice to get and written it on there, and/or they're trying to make up a loss. It can't possibly be based on any kind of volumetric value.

Furniture-sized wood should be $1000-$8000 per cube, with the majority of the "classic" native species falling in the 3.5 - 6 range and a handful of outliers occasionally between 6-8 if the wood is of a high quality or is especially hard to find. $1000-3500 would be large volume rates, mates rates, or fairly "run of the mill" (literally) wood.

I bought a fair bit of it in my time in Brisbane, and I would expect to see Huon Pine in the $5000 - $7000 range. Less than $5k would be a pretty decent deal.

So in Melbourne I'd probably expect to see it cheaper (which obviously isn't happening). You could just hop on the Spirit of Tasmania with a stack of it in your truck. No major logistics feat like hauling it up to Brisbane.

Anyway, that's been my experience after obsessively buying wood for a few years.

Cheers,
Luke

[MAPLEMAN]

Luke $19,000m3 is certainly an exorbitant price however...
If the piece is madly figured with intense Birdseye then I feel it's worth every cent
High quality ,highly figured timber deserves a high price
Exhibition grade Turkish Walnut for example fetches upwards of $200,000m3
Maybe if the OP had included pics of the slab in question then we all would have been able to comment more accurately on its worth
The prices that you quoted I feel were somewhat conservative
I have seen Gidgee fetch around $60,000m3
We have a wealth of sensationally figured woods in Australia...as good, if not better than anywhere in the world
And Huon is up there with the best of them too
Aussies have been under selling themselves for way too long...MM:)

[heffa]

Ok, the acid test: I've decided to sell a piece of Huon I have had sitting around on Gumtree. Very similar to the one I found.
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/glen-waverley/miscellaneous-goods/huon-pine-timber-/1175397823

[MAPLEMAN]

Ok, the acid test: I've decided to sell a piece of Huon I have had sitting around on Gumtree. Very similar to the one I found.
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/glen-waverley/miscellaneous-goods/huon-pine-timber-/1175397823Why didn't you originally post these pics heffa... MM:?

[FenceFurniture]

If that is the listing of your piece then good bloody luck at $27,800 per cube. It looks like a nice piece (although a photograph that is worth a damn might help) but it still ain't worth the asking price. Maybe you'll find some poor sucker.

But really the point is that you were not upfront in saying you wonder what your piece of timber is worth. You posed as a buyer, not a seller, and that means you've been taking us for a ride.

We don't like that too much.

[heffa]

This isn't the piece I originally posted about. I've had this sitting in my lumber rack for years, never feeling like I could do it justice.
While looking at timber posted on Facebook Marketplace I found a similar slab going for $500. That's when I started this thread.
I knew the piece I had was rare, but didn't think it was worth much. I have no use for it, so I posted it up.

[Gabriel]

With a price like that I would suggest taking some much clearer photos of your slab. As they are quite dark and far away if I was a serious buyer (which I have been known to be) I would quickly scroll passed as I can't actually see any of the figure that could potentially fetch a higher price.

If you are serious about selling, maybe also some shots with the board misted with water to really pop the grain. Have a look through some of the eBay seller 'distinctive timbers' listings. They take a number of shots (but they also have a long history and large following built up over years of doing business).

I offer this advice as your piece of timber may well be worth your asking price, but for a premium price you could at least take a little time to attract buyers attention.

Cheers
Gab

[John.G]

actually i quite like that slab, wouldnt pay $500 for it, but $200-250 easy enough - sure if i was looking for a piece of huon. (Im not)

Plenty figure there without being too busy, good colour, nice shape... whats not to like??

Wood is a natural product and is subject to a wide range of characteristics and features. This means that:
One mans trash is another mans treasure
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Theres a sucker born every minute.
or
(d) all of the above

[rustynail]

Welcome to the world of the timber wholesaler. What is it worth? Who am I targeting? Is it sustainable? Answer these questions correctly and you have half a chance of success.
Your photos lack resolution and are indicative only. Not good enough for a high priced item.
It would appear you have a nice piece of HP there. I am glad to hear you are prepared to admit inadequacy and would prefer to pass it on to someone with the skills to do it justice.
There is no reason to set a price. This is a one-off, up for negotiation. Different matter if you have a few thousand cube, purchased at a given price, margined by a given percentage yielding a final selling price.
Over price and you limit your market.

[LGS]

The true value of this or any piece of wood is exactly the price that someone will pay for it. You should take better shots of the piece and point out the reasons that you are asking what you are. Most people say that they would pay less for the piece. maybe they are right. It also relates to the time you are prepared to wait to sell it. If you want money in a hurry, maybe you will take less. If not, be prepared to wait.

Regards,

Rob

[heffa]

Cheers guys. Took the advice and did some better pics, then reposted it :)