Thread: Roughly pricing my timber stockpile...

Count the boards, estimate an average length and width and thickness, then work our cubic metres.
Hardwoods, say $1500/cm. exotics say $3000/cm
For slabs, count number, large (3m+ x 7-800mm wide) say $300, small say $100 each
Greg

There are a lot of variables that dictate the worth of wood...could you post some pics and more info regarding the species you have...thanks in advance...Mr Fiddleback

Have a look at the price of dressed pine boards at Bunnings online...my calculation last time I checked was around $4700m3...just saying ...Mr Fiddleback

Depends on so many things.

If it’s valued as if it were sold quickly not much at all, that’s why I called myself ‘clear out’.
I decided to get rid of a thirty year stash, put it on here for a silly price, got a local dude offer me less for the lot, accepted it, got the stuff organised and he renigged at the last moment.
So I sold all the exotics thru the forum easily and was left with cubic metres of local furniture timber.
I got about the $ I wanted but still have a 5m x 3m rack full, except it’s now outside under a roof not taking up space in the shed.
The sheds full of acquired machinery & dead cars etc.
So maybe exotics should be valued at replacement, the rest virtually nothing.

We sold a huge stash more recently for a deceased cabby.
We had major problems getting rid of cubic metres of genuine Mahogany.
Took a mate over a year to clean up his stash, gave heaps away finally.

If it’s to be valued at replacement just look up Trend or Annagote and work it out.
H

Maybe contact timber merchants in your state and see if they'd be interested in an "all-up" price? They'll be looking for profit so the price won't be pretty, but they'd know what they're doing and may be a good bet to take the lot

Originally Posted by PJM16

I have to provide a value for my stockpile of timber.

My take on this is that you are not selling, just require a stocktake "inventory valuation" so Greg's advice is the way to go. Remember to consider that timber "in the log" has a far lower value and should not be valued to its "potential" worth as the work to realize that value is yet to be performed.

It is very easy to over value a private inventory of timber as it is impractical and quite difficult to realize the prices that are associated with typical commercial retail timber merchants.

Further to ClearOut's experience, I have assisted in tidying up "wood stashes" of aging or deceased members of clubs only to find the majority of the "resource" has no value at all due either to poor storage, termite damage, rot, or is only of interest to a very specific group i.e. casting / stabilization of spalted woods, burl sections etc and hard to move quickly or at all. I've witnessed 90% of a "stash" go to the tip, incurring charges for its disposal.

Much of what has been already posted is pertinent, but really more information is required. The most significant question is how much have you got and what is it. After that the question is how quickly do you wish to sell. Small quantities are easier move on but require more work.

Really we are just guessing unless you can provide some more information. One other issue is how close to major centres you are located? Timber is a heavy product and expensive (relatively) to post or impossible to post, but many people are unwilling to travel to pickup.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Much of what has been already posted is pertinent, but really more information is required. The most significant question is how much have you got and what is it. After that the question is how quickly do you wish to sell. Small quantities are easier move on but require more work.

Really we are just guessing unless you can provide some more information. One other issue is how close to major centres you are located? Timber is a heavy product and expensive (relatively) to post or impossible to post, but many people are unwilling to travel to pickup.

Regards
Paul

Mr Fiddleback

In July and August of last year, I was in a situation I would also not "care to dwell upon".

Sold a fantastic range of timbers. Yyyuuugggeee stash. Cleared what I wanted easily within 3 or 4 weeks.

I'd say many people paid a very good price, but over all I'm 560% happy* it went to Real Woodworkers™.

A huge selection sold here on the forum. I also advertised on Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.


I could strongly suggest, if one were to sell it:

-- Make it BASIC for people to buy it!**
-- Package them into packs/groups, even if small
-- Lots of photos
-- Decent measurements, to the cm is fine

-- SHIP IT!
-- Use E-go.com.au (Platinum membership) and/or CouriersDirect.com.au (members price)
-- E-go are cheap but deliberately slow.. they do take heavy/long things and offer outstanding prices because of it
-- Wrap the timber in cardboard from the recycling station. TV and fridge boxes are outstanding.
-- Acquire a strapping kit, they are cheap on Ebay. Use the thick packing tape from Office Works, its cheap.
-- Make BIG labels on yellow paper. The couriers will love you for it and you wont get Any .



-- IF you need to MOVE it PRONTO, rent a storage shed like Kennards/StorageKing... at $90 a month for a 12m², its a cheap way not to rip yourself off. I made this mistake... if I'd followed this one piece of advice I'd have kept some of the Good Stuff and achieved much better prices.

I'm happy to provide a few photos of what I did if this is useful.


* I miss my River Oak terribly. Selling that was a colossal mistake.
** remove delivery from the decision cycle. Provide your postcode and size and let people do the calculations themselves.

I understand that you don't want to go into the reason for the valuation, but if it is for a divorce settlement, I would price it as a professional fire sale price. This is because the whole premise is that both people are just going to walk away and get what they can for the asset. Which might be further reduced by the costs of an auction. And some will actually cost money to take away and get dumped.
That's all the money you get if it were to be liquidated on a specific date. So that is the reality of it's worth in a settlement.

Plus during these lock downs it is even harder to sell such stuff quickly.

Depending on the quantity you could get a wholesaler/retailer or similar to give you a quote to come and take it away. Then you have an independent written value from a professional merchant. Try your best to get two quotes. Hard to argue with that.
If you do that, then it's up to the other side to prove the value is incorrect.

If you were going to take 3 years to do all the work to sell it at the best price, then you might get more in return for your work, marketing, patience and negotiation. But that is simply a return on your future value add and your marketing costs. And that is not the premise of a divorce settlement. More importantly, it's all speculation what you might get for it if you went to all the trouble of selling it at the best price over time.

Thanks all for the advice. I'm not selling, just need to provide a stocktake valuation.

I took a rough cubic measurement as it sits at the moment and assigned a rough $/m3 price. That should hopefully keep them happy.

Originally Posted by DaveVman

I understand that you don't want to go into the reason for the valuation, but if it is for a divorce settlement, I would price it as a professional fire sale price. This is because the whole premise is that both people are just going to walk away and get what they can for the asset. Which might be further reduced by the costs of an auction. And some will actually cost money to take away and get dumped.
That's all the money you get if it were to be liquidated on a specific date. So that is the reality of it's worth in a settlement.

In that sort of scenario this is excellent advice.

A lesson I learned in my early teens, "value is only what a potential / available purchaser is prepared to pay in your selling time frame & there are those who will take advantage of that."

Many years ago a local solid timber furniture manufacturer sold their business and much of the inventory was not included in the sale. Items were packaged into logical lots, presented in an open shed for a weekend sale/ Some lots were finished components ready for assembly, dressed timber, through to rough sawn flitches. Quite a range of well managed / stored local and imported timbers. There was very good value for prospective purchasers but it had to be moved on within a week. The "picks" went very fast, including some packs of genuine teak suitable for game boat coaming / decks, and other lots of quality timber I suspect were "given away" at fire sale rates, only because they had limited appeal to potential purchasers who walked through the door.