# Cherry Lumber Price - Please let me know if this is in line or not???!!!!



## cdhilburn (Jan 19, 2011)

I saw this listing on CL today. There is very little hardwood available in my area but to be honest with you I don't know if this is a good price or not. I spoke with him and he is needing money. He said it has been standing up for the past 15 years. Please let me know what you think.

212 Bd ft of nice cherry 4/4, 7-8 ft lengths, 6"-13" wide. Kept in the dry for 15 years. Furniture grade stock. All from the same tree. $848


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

4/4 cherry here in western NY state can be had for $3.75 bd ft. Some higher quality stuff may go $4.50. So at $4 a bd ft you're in the ballpark. I wouldn't say it's a great price, but it seems at least a reasonable one.

Is he SAYING it's furniture grade or have you seen it and judged for yourself that that's a true assessment? 
If you're buying the whole lot, I'd offer him $750 (about $3.50 a bd ft) and have cash in hand. If he's in need of cash …. you never know.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

i agree with Charlie, $4.00 is ok but if hes been sitting on it i think u can beat him up a little bit.


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## cdhilburn (Jan 19, 2011)

Thanks Charlie. I don't really have a need for it right now but at first glance the boards appeared to be wide for what I have seen. Most cherry boards that I have seen locally were 8"wide max. If I go to see it I will probably offer him $500-600 for all of it. My guess is there will be a lot of sapwood and a lot of splitting. I have never bought from anyone other than a hardwood supplier.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

I just bought walnut locally from a CL ad. It had been in the attic of a barn for 20 years. Was purchased as part of an estate. 2500 bd ft of it. (No I didn't buy it all.. hehehe) but I got 6/4 walnut for $3.50 a bd ft. A local hardwood supplier wanted $9.50 … so I think I did ok. There's deals out there and sometimes you just happen upon them.

Oh…. the guy paid $900 for "any wood found in the attic of the barn". They were standing on 2 feet of junk up there (a hoarder's house….estate). When they cleaned out that attic he also found 800 bd ft of Honduran Mahogany. And some other stuff. Needless to say he's making money on his estate purchase.


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## derosa (Aug 21, 2010)

You don't specify air dried or kiln dried. In upstate ny air dried cherry is 2-2.50 a bf all day on craigslist and 4.50-5.00 kild dried at the local dealers in 4/4. Your region may vary. Doing a random pull at a local mill on better then a year dried cherry for 25.00 resulted in mix results. At 1.00 a bff but one really nice board.


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## jdmaher (May 4, 2011)

It depends on what he's got, but I'd probably try to get a better price. He did say he "needs cash".

I don't know what HE means by "furniture grade". I want virtually all heart and virtually all clear. In cherry, figure is usually a nice thing.

If it's wide, long, clear heartwood with a little figure (and I doubt it's all that), I think I'd maybe offer $600 for the lot.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I wish I could get cherry for that price, I pay $9.20/bf.


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

I think it will depend on your area. I would call a hardwood dealer in your area to see what they are selling comparable.

I am in San Antonio and I pay much less then what others have claimed. I pay 1.47 at one supplier for rustic and mostly narrow boards with just a few knots here and there. I find lumber glues up nicely so I never shy away from random widths.

Another supplier in our local area provides a "rustic" that has the look of FAS, all boards are very clear and widths are 6" and wider. They charge me 2.20 bf. I do prefer their lumber stock but find myself opting for the less expensive option at times.

So I would tend to think the price is high. But in your area, maybe it is a great deal!


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## cdhilburn (Jan 19, 2011)

Within about 50 miles of my home I know of one supplier. I bought some cherry boards a couple of months ago and they were 13/16" thick and about 8" wide and I think the price was $7.25/lf. The 6" boards were a little cheaper but I know it was by lf and not bf. And to be honest with you the boards were not that great but they were the biggest he had.


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

Seems a little steep for a cl price. Not bad for retail, I guess. If you do not have better options and you can make good use of it, offer a little less. Good luck.


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

For it to average $4/BF, I would think that it would have to all be pretty much clear, FAS grade. I sell it for $2.75 - $4.00 based on grade. However, it is hard to get here in Central Georgia.


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## robdem (Apr 7, 2011)

Bought some 4/4 cherry about a month ago paid 5 dollars board foot from my hardwood dealer . Rough sawn live in long island new york this dealer has best selection and price


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## dbray45 (Oct 19, 2010)

I pay 3 - 4 a bf for clear cherry 8' lengths, less if they are shorts (4' or less).
A little more if it is thicker than 8/4

Funny thing - that is the price range for most of my lumber (ash, wo, ro, cherry, maple, walnut, red cedar) except poplar $1.75 bf


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I think with 15 years, you would have to assume air dry. Allow 15% for checking and splitting, and now you are down to 180 bd.ft., and up to $4.75 a bd.ft. Too high for me.


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## dbray45 (Oct 19, 2010)

Paul makes a good point, do a visual to see what loss you will get. Look at both sides as well to see how much is heart wood, grain quality, see if it is buggy. You can lose half a board if the tree had bugs - and this can be hard to see.

If you don't want to do that, offer $550.00.


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## MJCD (Nov 28, 2011)

Having a large store of wood is fine for some; personally, I like to buy enough for my current project. This allows me to layout cut diagrams; to then look for specifics widths and lengths at the hardwood stores, and minimize wasted board feet purchased. You can lose 20% or more by having a board too narrow by an inch or too short by inches.

MJCD.


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