buying in bulk

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Hayden213

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Joined
May 15, 2008
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4
Location
Huntsville, Alabama, USA.
Hi, I'm Dave I'm new to this site, but I've been turning pens and studying turning for about6 years now. I just started my own business and I want to sell wood too. My father has a friend in South America that has a bunch of Cocobolo that he would like to sell me wholesale, but the problem is I've never bought alot of wood wholesale, and he's new to this too. How do I do this? do I pay by the pound and type or what? Any help you guys could give me would be awesome!
 
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Apr 26, 2006
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Winchester, Hampshire. SO22 5LB, United Kingdom.
Welcome Dave,
Chris is right - it does only come from Central America - however there are a couple of very similar species that do come from South America. A lovely wood to turn but is very oily - clogs the abrasive! I was in Costa Rica ealier this year and saw many Cocobolo trees lying in the forests. It is used extensively by the local craftsmen for carving and their work is beautiful.
Enjoy the IAP - you will find so much useful information - just explore the site.
Ian
 

airrat

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May 17, 2005
Messages
2,585
Location
chandler, az, USA.
welcome to the site, I have never done any bulk ordering so I am not sure how you would do it. Just remember with cocobolo if you are cutting alot of wood into blanks, remember to use dust protection equipment. It is one of the woods you can build an allergic reaction to quickly and it would be bad if that happened 1/2 way through your stock.
 

NewLondon88

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May 15, 2008
Messages
5,077
Location
Claremont NH
I have no idea about the shipping, but if it looks good, I'll buy some.
I love cocobolo but around here I can't get it with good figuring at a decent price. Keep me in mind on this, ok?

It would seem to me that you'd take a small shipment first and let the seller know that this is because you want to see what the quality is like (and let him know what you're looking for) and how it compares to what you can get locally. This sort of puts him on notice that he isn't your only source, so the quality had better be good.

After that, you can let him know what did or did not meet your needs and he can adjust future shipments to suit.
 

Rifleman1776

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Joined
Dec 18, 2004
Messages
7,330
Location
Mountain Home, Arkansas, USA.
Your friend in SA can look up the regs for shipping from there. You can contact your state business/industrial development commission and ask for advice. Every state has one, might have another name. You won't have to do much research to find it but that is your best bet.
 

RonInSpringTX

Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2007
Messages
274
Location
Spring, TX.
Howdy Dave, Welcome from Spring,TX. You might go to one of the vendors sites on the front page & ask them, they may even help you by buying some of them from you!!


later, Ronnie
 

Hayden213

Member
Joined
May 15, 2008
Messages
4
Location
Huntsville, Alabama, USA.
Cocobolo Rosewood (Dalbergia Retusa) is one of the finest and most beautifully figured woods in the world. True Rosewoods in the dalbergia family have colors as widely diverse as a rainbow. An incredibly figured wood, cocobolo is very hard with brilliant colors and amazing black stripes. Oranges, reds, browns and blacks all swirled uniquely together are a trademark of this fantastic wood. The best cocobolo comes from Nicaragua as wood from this source is harder and more colorful than Mexican cocobolo.
 

BigRob777

Member
Joined
May 1, 2005
Messages
2,717
Location
Newark, Delaware, USA.
Hayden,
Just a word of caution, cocobolo usually sells for dirt cheap, though it is an expensive wood. Unless you can hand pick it, you just may lose your shirt. I've been selling wood for over 3 years now and got stuck with a ton of rosewood that I couldn't sell. Fortunately, I love the stuff and will hopefully get to turn it all, by the time I'm done.

On the other hand, if you can find cocobolo burl, you can make a mint.
Rob
 
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