I had to purchase three cubic meters of Cedar this week, and once again I was rendered speechless at the cost. I know its a common grumble from all woodworkers, but timber prices are increasingly becoming unaffordable. There was a time when I would over order by a few cube when getting timber for a project, just to have a small surplus in stock. But now running a smaller workshop space is of a premium, and having a large wood pile is uneconomical. So I buy my timber as I need it, and in a quantity that just gets the job done. This works fine on the larger projects but when it comes to smaller jobs I'm forced to pay a premium for my wood. The larger wood yards aren't interested in the small end user, there's just isn't enough profit in it for them. So we get charged top dollar for the runt end of a timber stack, and we get clobbered with a delivery charge!
The last time I ordered Cedar I made the mistake of listing on the quote at the same cost as a average soft wood, as this is what I had been paying, only to get a call from my supplier informing me that due to a union dispute at the docks the timber was too be shipped from, the cost had now trebbled.....and there would be a four week delay.
It must be rememberd that timber is a commodity and as such it is affected by market forces, so it is important that we protect ourselves. One trick I've learned is to state on any clients quote that the price has a four week shelf life, so if they take three months to decide to have the table then they have to except the price may have to alter. Also I'm part of a group of local woodworkers who keep in touch on the orders we are making, and when possible order together. This way we can cut a better price and half the delivery charge.
Let me know how you are getting on.
