Group Buys

[Jim Murphy]

The group buy on the walnut has seen a lot of traffic. Apparently this can work.

Some of you may remember that I made some doors out of survey stakes. I spoke with the guys who deliver the stakes and asked them about prices.

First, you should know that I bought some poplar from a CraigsList vendor for $1.75/bf.

OK.

I asked my stake suppliers how much they paid. They pay $390/mbf for planed stock (7/8"). That's 39 american pesos per BF, in quantities of 1000 BF.

Now, I have no room to store that much wood, but it occurs to me that if the group buy scheduled for Sunday is as successful as it seems to be, and considering how much Sally-come-lately interest there was, we should research bulk purchases.

I know y'all don't want any poplar, we don't want to put our wood suppliers out of business, but perhaps there's a place on this site for interest in quantity purchases. Shucks, Steve Wall sells log run walnut for $2.00/bf all day long. Here's a clip from his website:
LOG RUN WALNUT:(Sold in 100 bd. ft. bundles)
Log run is a mixture of lumber as it comes from the mill. It is kiln dried and excellent for small to medium projects. 4/4Rough$195.004/4S2S 13/16$220.00Average grading is: 40% 2C 40% 1C 20% Select

Moderators, Administrators and higher-ups, is there a vehicle whereby persons interested in group can throw in their hat, get together, and take advantage of bulk purchasing? If not, can we grow such a vehicle? Is this worth pursuit?

[NCPete]

I think the general forum is the best place to put things like that. A while back there was a group buy on the Shopfox 1741 8" jointer. It was posted here, and sufficient interest was generated to put the deal together. 5, maybe 6, members now have that jointer. (does Monty count, didn't he get the rare 1714?)

So, I think if you have an idea, and can float it out there, it may just attract attention and get done. Not every one will work out, but....