: Let's see - am I figuring this right... $425 for 55 - 18' 1"x1/4"
: would be $7.73 each for .5 board feet (assuming 3-1/4" strips per
: inch to allow 1/4" for kerf). That'd be US$15,455 per thousand for
: the material. If this Yreka outfit is getting $900/MBF for 1x6s that'd be
: another 17.2X markup, less labor costs (nothing if they're waiting out the
: winter anyway)...

: On the other hand, maybe the field of vendors is already over-crowded...
: There's probably a high profit margin in buggy whips too...

As your math seems to show, the price of the raw materials is not a big factor in the cost of the strips. What you left out of the equation is the cost of the TIME involved in making those strips. Not only do you have labor costs, but you also have to figure that a power tool or a cutting bit lasts just so long before it needs to be repaired or replaced. Even when you are waiting out the winter, labor costs aren't free. There is always another job that must be done.

Then there are packaging, and shipping costs.

The classic example of a great return on the cost of raw materials is the bottled water business. The water is nearly free, but the bottle, shipping, and merchandising all have labor and associated costs which cut into the profit margin.

You might mention this to the people in the lumberyard, too. Perhaps they could just run some water from the local faucet into bottles in their spare time. If they then ship it east anywhere over 1000 miles it would probably be a hit

PGJ