Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How much does this site cost?
   Answer: The site is free. The site is supported by ads. There may be advanced feature in the future that will be subscription based.
2. What does "To get pricing, you have to give pricing" mean?
   Answer: This is a community generated pricing guide. The only way it will work is if the people that want to see the pricing have to put in pricing first. The site gets better with every new retailer or wholesaler. We appreciate you spreading the word about our site.
3. How do I spread the word about this site?
   Answer: We appreciate your enthusiasm about the site.
   1. Retailers: Tell your suppliers that you checked their pricing against Lute Lumber's pricing guide at www.QuoteLumber.com.
   2. Wholesalers: Let your retailers know that you have competitive prices and they can verify that on Lute Lumber's Pricing guide at www.QuoteLumber.com.
   3. Send out emails to your colleagues using our "Get the word out" section.
4. Who should use this site?
   Answer: This site is meant for lumber, plywood and pressure treated wholesalers and retailers.
5. How often should I post data?
   Answer: As often as you find a need to see what is going on in the lumber, plywood and pressure treated markets.
6. Do I need to "login" to your site to use it?
   Answer: No. Lute Lumber needs only two things to place your price on the graph:
   1. Whether you are a retailer or a wholesaler and
   2. What state (or states for a wholesaler) is the pricing good for?
7. How would a retailer use this site?
   Answer: The normal progression for using this site would be:
   1. Decide what products you need to purchase.
   2. Call your suppliers to get current pricing on those products.
   3. Enter the prices you were quoted into Lute Lumber pricing guide.
      i. Add any specifics to the data that is warranted (premium SPF, A/C plywood, Kiln Dried Doug Fir, etc.)
   4. Check how those numbers stack up to what others are being quoted.
   5. Use the numbers in the system to be better informed when buying the products you decide on.
8. How would a wholesaler use this site?
   Answer: The normal progression for using this site would be:
   1. Enter your normal list prices to retailers into the Lute Lumber pricing guide.
      i. Add any specifics to the data that is warranted (premium SPF, A/C plywood, Kiln Dried Doug Fir, etc.)
   2. Explore the prices on the graph to determine how your prices stack up to what others are reporting to make sure you are going to be competitive in the market that day.
9. When I am posting data what do all the columns mean?
   Answer: We have made entering prices as easy as possible. There are only three mandatory fields (and two of them are auto populated) and two fields that will help refine the prices.
   1. Price (Mandatory):
      i. Retailers: This is a price you were quoted (or the price you bought something at) from a supplier.
      ii. Wholesalers: This is your list price (or price you quoted to a retailer).
   2. PER (Mandatory): This will be based on how you cost your material. Some people deal in per thousand board/square feet and others deal in each prices. You can also put in lineal foot prices if that is your thing. Lute Lumber defaults to MBF/MSF.
   3. Date (Mandatory): This is the date you were quoted that price on. It is okay to put in a price from the past. It all goes to help build the experience for others. Lute Lumber defaults to today's date.
   4. Pricing Comments: This is where you can add in a note about the price. We will not allow comments that have company names in them. We do have pre-formatted comments for easy entry.
   5. Options: This is where you can tag your prices with specifics (premium SPF, Kiln Dried Doug Fir, CDX plywood, etc.). You will be able to refine the graph based on these selections.
10. What geographic region does the pricing on the graph represent?
    Answer: For the retailer it represents the state that they are buying the lumber or plywood in. For the wholesaler it represents the state or states that they sell there products in. When you post your price you will be asked what state (or states for wholesalers) the pricing you are posting is for. That answer will determine what information you see on the graph. If you put in New York you will ONLY see pricing data for New York.
11. How should I use the data that is shown to me on the graphs?
    Answer: This data should be used as a reference when trying to figure out if the pricing you have represents a true market price. Retailers should use it as a guide when talking to their suppliers. Wholesales can use it to spot check their prices for inconsistencies with the market.
12. There is a lot of data on the graphs... how do I refine the data?
    Answer: On the graph there is a "Change Graph Data" tab that you can click on. It will allow you to:
    1. Reduce down the number of products that are shown (if you put in multiple prices),
    2. Show ONLY "Retailer" or "Wholesaler" reported prices,
    3. Show prices in "Per Thousand Board/Square Feet (mbf/msf)" or "Each" or "Lineal Feet" and
    4. Show any of the specifics that may have been put on the products.
13. Why may the prices on the graph be either higher or lower than what my supplier quoted me?
    Answer: This could be for a couple of reasons:
    1. The freight charge into your location may be different than what the other person in your state was quoted.
    2. The pricing on the graph may have been for a higher or lower grade product (you want a #2 but the price on the graph was for a #1).
    3. The price on the graph may have been for a different amount of material (one unit vs. a truck or car load).
14. Could I sign a contract with a supplier to send me lumber, plywood and pressure treated based on the pricing shown in the chart?
    Answer: NO. These prices are community generated and have not been verified. They are meant as a reference to make sure the price you are paying is consistent with everyone else.
15. Why don't you do products like pine and cedar boards?
    Answer: Lute Lumber may get into products like this in the future but to start Lute Lumber wanted to work with products that have a heavy sales volume.
16. What do the red and blue prices on the graph represent?
    Answer: The red prices represent what the wholesaler is reporting as wholesaler prices. The blue prices represent what the retailer is getting quoted from the wholesaler.
17. How come I don't see all the different grades of lumber in plywood that I would normally see on a pricing guide.
    Answer: This site is a simplified guide to the market. We have stripped out all the many grades and regions that make up the normal pricing guide and have tried to put the pricing into the least number of categories as possible.
    Example: Under Doug Fir we don't have different graphs for Kiln Dried and Green. It all goes into one graph with the ability to refine the graph to suit your needs.
18. Will I be able to see who posted the prices on the graph?
    Answer: No. All prices are posted anonymously. Even when we implement a login for advanced features all prices will remain anonymous (we disassociate the prices from those that enter them in our database so there is no way to ever tell).
19. What will you do w/ my email address if I give it to you?
    Answer: Lute Lumber will send you periodic updates on the site so you can stay informed and updated as we ad new features. You will be able to opt out of the system at any time.
20. Who can I contact if I want to place ads on the site?
    Answer: You can contact AdSales@LuteLumber.com