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Need woodshop to make cutting boards from reclaimed wood for distribution

3267 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  JoeLyddon
I am looking for an east-coast wood shop to make cutting boards (and probably other items) from reclaimed hardwood. I am a small distributor of Eco-products that sells to 70 stores in the US and Canada. The boards I am currently distributing can be found at http://www.greenwisdom.biz. However, the designs and pricing is likely to change soon.

The shop must be on the east coast, reclaimed hardwood must be used for the boards, and the shop must be willing to drop ship for me. Established shops with at least some track record of dependability will be given a preference.

If you are interested, please email me your contact info and web page (if you have one) and tell me about your business. My email is [email protected]

Thanks!

Bryan E. Burke
Proprietor of Green Wisdom
http://www.greenwisdom.biz
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
Be extremely careful where your reclaimed wood comes from. A lot of people reclaim pallet wood(oak) that could have chemicals soaked into it making it unusable for food prep. Your sale prices make it tough for a woodworker to supply you with inventory, you need a factory in China to meet your needs and prices.
Bryanb, Can YOU build one of those 12×10 x 1 1/4 cutting boards and make than 25 cents per board? I assume you have a mark up from what you will pay the woodworker so lets say you get half the selling amount. The woodworker would be making the cutting board for $12.50 but he has to cut, glue, sand and finish and he also has to do the drop shipping and somewhere make a profit within the $12.50?
Papadan,

Yes, caution is warranted when using reclaimed wood for cutting boards. My recommended best pratices are only using wood when the supply chain is known. For example, regarding pallets, a friend of mine manages to salvage heartwood from pallets that come from a wood flooring factory. The factory makes its own pallets and sometimes uses scrap pieces of heartwood in the pallet construction. She gets the pallets from a single retailer, and she knows exactly where the pallets came from, and exactly how they were made. She does not supply me with cutting boards. This is just an example.

All the products I distribute are made in the USA. I do not and would not import from China. I already have one shop making boards for me on the west coast at my prices, and two others that have made formal offers to do so . . . so nor is there no need to import the boards. I still need at least one east coast shop that fits my business philosophy.

The profit margins of shops seem to vary quite a bit. Shops that can find a cheap and convenient source of reclaimed wood (often much cheaper than buying new wood) are the ones that I am looking for.
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Kindlingmaker,

The prices you use for your above comments and questions are not the ones on my web site, so I am not sure how to answer.

I already have one shop making boards for me on the west coast that can meet my prices, and two others that have made formal offers to do so. However, I still need at least one east coast shop that fits my business philosophy. The profit margins of shops seem to vary quite a bit. Shops that have a cheap and convenient source of reclaimed wood (often much cheaper than buying new wood) are the ones that I am looking for.
So, just how many cutting boards are we talking about here? If it's say 5 a month, someone with a hobby shop might be interested. Much more than that and it doesn't really pay when you add up the time to source the wood, pick it up, make your cutting boards and pay the electric bill.
Socalwood,
I don't know what to say but that I have found established shops that can meet my price and are happy to do so . . . on the west coast. I also need a shop to sell to my east coast market.
KayBee,

It is a new product line, so it is hard to say . . . but I expect august sales to be dozen or two a month and over the next year or so it will likely climb to 100 or so a month.
Bryan, I sent you an email…
Bryan,

I also sent you an email on 7/14, but did not hear from you. You already answered on this thread about the volume, but I still have a questions on the pricing.

What is your target purchase price? How is shipping from supplier to vendor to be handled?

Dustin Ward
Same response over and over.

Cutting and pasting his own answers….....

Not buying the pitch.
I finally got a response from Bryan.
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