Sell your timber: get competing bids

Selling standing timber is not a price you take from the first buyer who knocks. It is a small competition. Describe your tract once, and let the buyers who work your area bid against each other while you keep control of the decision.

What is my timber worth? There is no single national number. Value comes from species, volume, quality, access, and your local market — so put a working range on it with the timber value calculator first, then ask buyers to beat it.

Request competing bids

Fill this in and it opens your email app with the details ready to send to [email protected]. No account, no fee, no obligation.

How it works

Describe your tract. Tell us your state, acreage and the species you can identify. A few photos of the standing trees help.
Get a ballpark value. Use the timber value calculator to put a working range on your standing timber before you talk to anyone.
Collect competing offers. Your request is shared with buyers who work your area so they can bid against each other instead of you taking the first number.
Choose a written contract. Compare the offers, check who pays for what, and sign a written timber sale contract before any cutting starts.

A bid is only useful if two buyers are looking at the same trees. That is the whole point of collecting several before you choose. Read how a timber sale works for the contract and timeline, or check how timber prices per acre are set if you want to understand the numbers buyers are using.

Selling the wood, or paying to clear it?

These are two different jobs and two different budgets. Selling standing timber means a buyer pays you for the trees and harvests them. Clearing is when you want the trees gone for a building site, a fence line or a view, and the wood may or may not cover the cost of removal.

If your trees are ordinary or low-value, or you simply want them taken down, that is a different service. Need a crew for the work rather than a sale? Our sister site loggingcompanies.com is where to find one. (For the landowner framing of that choice, see what your tree is worth and when removal is the real job.)

Small lot, or just a few big trees?

You do not need a hundred acres for a sale to make sense. Owners with 1 to 40 acres often have a handful of high-value stems — walnut, oak, and other hardwoods especially — that a local buyer will travel for. The per-tree guide is written for exactly that situation and explains how to tell a sale from a removal.

Before you sign

Get more than one number. A single offer is not a market test, and timber is hard to re-price once it is cut.
Know what you are selling. A per-ton, per-board-foot and lump-sum sale are different deals. Ask which one you are being offered.
Put it in writing. Price, payment schedule, boundaries, which trees stay, road use, cleanup, and liability belong in the timber sale contract.

Selling timber: common questions

How do I sell my timber?

Start by finding out roughly what your standing timber is worth, then invite several buyers to bid instead of accepting the first offer. Put the agreed price, payment terms, boundaries, and what happens to the land into a written contract before any cutting begins.

How much is my timber worth?

It depends on the species, the volume and quality of the trees, how easy they are to reach, and what buyers in your area are paying right now. A timber cruise or a forester can measure the volume; several bids tell you the price.

Is it free to request bids?

Yes. Sending a request through this site costs nothing and puts you under no obligation. You decide whether any offer is good enough to accept.

Do I need a consulting forester to sell timber?

Not always, but a consulting forester can mark the trees, measure the volume, and run a sealed-bid sale for you. That is often worth it for a larger or higher-value tract. Smaller lots can work with several direct bids.

What is the difference between selling timber and having trees cleared?

Selling timber means a buyer pays you for the standing trees and harvests them. Having trees cleared means you may pay to have them removed. Some cleared trees still have enough value that a buyer will pay something for them, especially larger walnut, oak or other hardwood stems.

General information only — not legal, tax, forestry or financial advice. Confirm details with a consulting forester, a licensed timber buyer, or your state forestry agency before you sign.