PDA

View Full Version : Does anybody buy wood thru eBay?



Doug Shepard
04-21-2005, 2:12 PM
Dont know why this didn't occur to me sooner, but just for grins I started looking at some of the wood offered on eBay. For short lengths of highly figured stuff, this looks to be one other pretty good source. As long as you don't get into a bidding war with someone, the final prices look to be about 1/2 of similar pieces I've seen listed on gilmer.com.

I'm just curious how many folks here have bought wood through eBay. Any shysters or good sellers worth noting? Or other positive/negative experiences?

Zahid Naqvi
04-21-2005, 2:35 PM
Dont know why this didn't occur to me sooner, but just for grins I started looking at some of the wood offered on eBay. For short lengths of highly figured stuff, this looks to be one other pretty good source. As long as you don't get into a bidding war with someone, the final prices look to be about 1/2 of similar pieces I've seen listed on gilmer.com.

I'm just curious how many folks here have bought wood through eBay. Any shysters or good sellers worth noting? Or other positive/negative experiences?

I have purchased veneer from thinwoodsandtools, no problems. Many folks on this forum recommended the guy and worked as promised. No solid wood purchased yet.

Jeff Sudmeier
04-21-2005, 2:43 PM
I have purchased wood all of two times. Both times it was for a sweet looking pen blank that cost me $1 plus $1 for shipping.

You can find some good deals, but as you said, you can also see skyrocketing prices too.

Bob Nieman
04-22-2005, 2:27 PM
I live many miles away from anything that isn't very expensive poplar and red oak. I have made several purchases on ebay, not for a specific project, but because the wood looked really neat and wasn't expensive. In almost all cases I have spent more on shipping than on the wood itself. I got some mesquite that was beautiful and a real steal, even after shipping. I don't bid very high, so I get outbid a lot, but the bids I win give me some nice wood to play with (I am just starting out). I am not sure about giving out links to actual auctions (and I am at work, where ebay is a no-no). My favorite seller is Ben Luzier (ebay sellers name is unavailable to me at work, but it starts out sandi and has some numbers in it, he is in Maryland). He specializes in bookmatched woods that are spalted or figured (mostly maple, sycamore, maple, & cherry) and I look at what he is selling everyday, just to admire the wood. Occasionally the bids go way beyond what I am willing to pay, but I am not making guitars (or much of anything, really). Some sellers have fixed price shipping (Ben does), which is very helpful in determining how much to bid. If I was going to buy regular lumber, I'm not sure I'd use ebay, but for specialty stuff it sure is nice to see what you are bidding on.

I hope to do a formal introduction to the creek when I finally get the nerve to finish a box I started using some very cheap ebay wood (<$5, bookmatched spalted maple that was 50some inches long, 10" wide (each) and 3/8" thick, shipping $8.50)

Dave Carey
04-25-2005, 4:36 PM
I've bought wood through eBay several times; cypress for an adirondeck chair; exotic woods for boxes and most recently a beautiful piece of 12/4 maple. The advantage is the wood is delivered to your door; disadvantage is your limited on length due to shipping constraints. Some vendors charge a processing fee for wrapping etc over and above the shipping. I tend to avoid those folks. And if you get into a bidding war the cost per board foot can skyrocket if you're not watching carefully. Still not as much fun as pawing thorugh the wood pile yourself though.

Steve Jenkins
04-25-2005, 5:44 PM
If you haven't tried it yet check out Curley Woods at curleywoods.com. Mike Mastin is a poster here and has a great selection of figured hardwoods and is increasing his supply of "exotics". Super guy to do business with.

Chris Padilla
04-26-2005, 7:43 PM
Number one thing to watch for on eBay is where the seller is located (I mean, other than the obvious crooks and such) so you can save on shipping.

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, I found a woman on eBay (Sally Jacobs, sallyjacobs is her handle) that is always selling pieces of figured maple and myrtlewood. I have bought probaby 3-400 dollars worth of stuff from her over the last couple of years. The best part is that she lives in Oregon so shipping is bearable for me and doesn't jack the cost up too badly. She has some very fine selections and I've yet to be surprised in the negative direction...usually it is the positive direction that I'm floored. Further, I usually buy several pieces so she holds onto them for me and then ships several chunks at once to me.

I won't purchase any wood from anyone much further west than Colorado if I can help it--shipping kills the deal every time.