“Owner’s Report” On Woody’s Used Grain Bins
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Randy Wood runs a business called Woody’s Used Bin Sales from his home base near Flint, Mich. (see story below). It’s a complicated business that involves taking down used grain bins and reselling them to farmers in other parts of the country. The company has been featured in the Best of FARM SHOW, and Woody’s Used Bin Sales has worked with many of our readers.
After receiving inquiries from readers about the service, we decided to contact several customers to hear about their experiences with Woody’s Used Bin Sales. Randy Wood provided us with names of 10 customers to add to the names of a few customers who contacted us on their own.
The bottom line is that the happiest customers seemed to be the ones who sold used bins to Woody’s. It makes sense that it’s easier to take down bins than it is to put them back up. Our advice to anyone buying used bins is to spell everything out in a detailed contract.
Jason Stanton, Mich.: Southern Michigan farmer Jason Stanton bought two 25,000 bu. bins, an overhead structure, and a grain leg from Woody’s Bins in 2016. “The transaction had its good parts and its bad parts. To be honest, I think Randy does his best to find good installers, but it’s tough to manage people from a distance. I got really nice used equipment from him, and the guys who did the cement work did a nice job. The bin installer was fine and seemed to know what he was doing. The guy who put up the legs and the down spouts was late and it took him several tries to get it right. I don’t know if my job was too difficult for him or if he just didn’t know what he was doing. He put the leg up in 2 days, but it took several tries over the next few weeks to put the down spouts on. The problem was, he tried to bill me for all of his time. However, I had estimated prices from Woody’s for each part of the job, and stuck with those.
“To buy this storage setup new, it would have been about $250,000. I’ve got only about $80,000 into what I bought from Woody’s. To Randy Wood’s credit, he always tried to work out all the problems. I would tell guys buying used equipment to ask detailed questions about where the equipment came from and how it was used and maintained. And get everything in writing. Just like buying a tractor or a combine, it’s always the buyer’s responsibility to check things out.”
Andy Steinberger, N. Dak.: Andy found out about Woody’s Used Bin Sales by reading an article in FARM SHOW. “I figured if FARM SHOW wrote about the business it had to be okay, so I called last summer and found out what he had available. I made a deal to buy 3 bins and sent him more than $50,000 for them. They showed up just as he said they would. My only gripe is that the air floor is bent up along with the take outs. It looks to me like the damage occurred when the bins were taken down. I also have not received 3 fans, sweeps, or floor supports. Wood said he would bring them when he puts the bins up and make everything right. I don’t have a contract with him, so I’m more than a little nervous. If he makes them right and puts them up, I won’t complain. I’m just afraid the cost of putting them up is going to be more than what I originally thought.”
John Baranic, Mich.: Baranic says he doesn’t quite know what to think of Randy Wood, owner of Woody’s Used Bins. “He’s clever and persistent. He sold me a used 24-ft. bin that holds 6,000 bu. and he said it was in good shape. When it got to my place, it wasn’t all there. I had to buy a new ring for the bottom and we had to make an angle brace. The price he gave me initially was okay, but with the extra materials it cost me $7,000 to $8,000 more than buying new.
“The two bins need sweep augers and Randy kept insisting that I buy those through him because he could get them cheaper than I could elsewhere. I was suspicious, but I finally bought them from him. His truck brought them, and they turned out to be the wrong equipment. He insisted on me paying for them, but I didn’t. I called and told him it wasn’t what I had ordered. He hasn’t called me since.
“I had a friend I know do the concrete work and that was fine. I bought two other 15,000 bu. bins from him earlier. He had a different crew put those up and that went pretty decent. This crew on the 24-footer didn’t know what they were doing.”
Jess Schwieterman, Syracuse, Kan.: “We ordered two 48-ft. 50,000 bu. bins from Woody’s Used Bin Sales. All I can say is, ‘Buyer beware’. He oversold the capacity of the bins and double-charged us for the power sweeps and shipping. The floor stands and flashing were junk, or at least not what he said they would be. His construction crew did what they could to try to keep the project on schedule, but we had to put more than 20,000 bu. on the ground because the bins did not have the capacity we were told they would have, although his construction crew knew that the capacity of these bins was 16,000 bu. less than we thought. So he charged us $18,400 more than he should have for the storage we got.”
Pete Hall, Mich.: Hall had a good experience buying a bin from Woody’s. “I first got in touch with him last April and he had the bin I was looking for. We tore out the old pads and his crew did a good job pouring new ones. We already had a grain leg in place and Woody’s crew did a nice job installing the used bin. What I really like about the bin I got from Woody’s is that it’s the same brand I already had, so it matches my setup. I didn’t have a contract with him, but we talked enough on the phone and wrote enough notes that everything was pretty clear. I think another advantage was that my farm is probably only an hour away from where Woody’s is located, so he knows this crew real well. Randy Wood was never at my place, however. I think I probably saved 25 to 30 cents a bushel with this used bin compared to a new one.”
Molly Muchow, Ill.: Molly and her husband purchased a used 54-ft. dia. bin in 2016 intending to use it for living quarters and as a farm office. “Right now, the bin is still in pieces inside our large barn, so I hope it’s all there. It does require a high level of trust to buy something used, and I trust that what we’ve got is what we paid for. It came from a farm in Illinois and appears to be in good shape.”
Muchow says the bin will be in storage until they line up several details for erecting the 35-ft. structure. “We’re working with an architect on the design and then we’ll need to get permits to have it built. We’re not sure right now if Woody’s crew will set it up or if we’ll have another contractor do the work.
“From what I can tell owner Randy Wood is a good guy who wants to please his customers. We had a contract for the bin and he delivered it at the price we agreed on.”
Shawn Oesterritter, Eminence, Kty.: Shawn bought two 8,500-bu. used Brock bins from Woody’s and picked them up in Ohio. “Woody’s sent me a proposal that listed all that I was going to get, including the bins, stirrators, fans and motors. The bins were in good shape except for one of the floors, which Randy says he will replace. His crew came in to pour the pads and to erect the bins. They did a real nice job and we had no complaints. We did the electric work ourselves. The price I paid for these two bins, which hold 17,000 bu. total, was about what I would’ve paid for a new 10,000 bu. bin, so I’m real pleased with how things turned out. I’m a young farmer just getting started so it’s important for me to get good value, and that’s what this was.”
Darrel Kuhn, Lakin, Kan.: “We farm about 10,000 acres. Last summer was very wet but we had a big crop, with 6 combines running. Randy Wood told us he could get us storage for $1.05 per bu. if we ordered four 50,000 bu. bins. After a lot of unexpected expenses, we ended up paying $252,000 total for four bins that turned out to hold only 42,000 bu. each, or about $1.50 per bu. I could have bought new bins for not much more than that.
“I first talked to Wood early in the summer. The bins were supposed to be up and ready to use by September 10th. His crew actually didn’t even start the work until Sept. 11th and by Oct. 1st, they were still working so we had to put our grain at the elevator. The job still was not complete by the end of November.
“I got the very hard sell when I first started talking to Wood, who wanted me to put down a big deposit. Since I was buried in mud and in the middle of harvest, I finally put $100,000 down. We did not have a detailed contract. Just a 1-page proposal. Once I paid, things changed. A local contractor poured the pads and didn’t get paid right away. I had to bug Wood to pay them.
“There were problems with shipping charges and parts that either were damaged or missing, so we had extra expenses – such as having flanges made, purchasing sweep augers that I thought were included, and many other things.”
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“Owner’s Report” On Woody’s Used Grain Bins GRAIN HANDLING Miscellaneous Randy Wood runs a business called Woody’s Used Bin Sales from his home base near Flint Mich see story below It’s a complicated business that involves taking down used grain bins and reselling them to farmers in other parts of the country The company has been featured in the Best of FARM SHOW and Woody’s Used Bin Sales has worked with many of our readers After receiving inquiries from readers about the service we decided to contact several customers to hear about their experiences with Woody’s Used Bin Sales Randy Wood provided us with names of 10 customers to add to the names of a few customers who contacted us on their own The bottom line is that the happiest customers seemed to be the ones who sold used bins to Woody’s It makes sense that it’s easier to take down bins than it is to put them back up Our advice to anyone buying used bins is to spell everything out in a detailed contract Jason Stanton Mich : Southern Michigan farmer Jason Stanton bought two 25 000 bu bins an overhead structure and a grain leg from Woody’s Bins in 2016 “The transaction had its good parts and its bad parts To be honest I think Randy does his best to find good installers but it’s tough to manage people from a distance I got really nice used equipment from him and the guys who did the cement work did a nice job The bin installer was fine and seemed to know what he was doing The guy who put up the legs and the down spouts was late and it took him several tries to get it right I don’t know if my job was too difficult for him or if he just didn’t know what he was doing He put the leg up in 2 days but it took several tries over the next few weeks to put the down spouts on The problem was he tried to bill me for all of his time However I had estimated prices from Woody’s for each part of the job and stuck with those “To buy this storage setup new it would have been about $250 000 I’ve got only about $80 000 into what I bought from Woody’s To Randy Wood’s credit he always tried to work out all the problems I would tell guys buying used equipment to ask detailed questions about where the equipment came from and how it was used and maintained And get everything in writing Just like buying a tractor or a combine it’s always the buyer’s responsibility to check things out ” Andy Steinberger N Dak : Andy found out about Woody’s Used Bin Sales by reading an article in FARM SHOW “I figured if FARM SHOW wrote about the business it had to be okay so I called last summer and found out what he had available I made a deal to buy 3 bins and sent him more than $50 000 for them They showed up just as he said they would My only gripe is that the air floor is bent up along with the take outs It looks to me like the damage occurred when the bins were taken down I also have not received 3 fans sweeps or floor supports Wood said he would bring them when he puts the bins up and make everything right I don’t have a contract with him so I’m more than a little nervous If he makes them right and puts them up I won’t complain I’m just afraid the cost of putting them up is going to be more than what I originally thought ” John Baranic Mich : Baranic says he doesn’t quite know what to think of Randy Wood owner of Woody’s Used Bins “He’s clever and persistent He sold me a used 24-ft bin that holds 6 000 bu and he said it was in good shape When it got to my place it wasn’t all there I had to buy a new ring for the bottom and we had to make an angle brace The price he gave me initially was okay but with the extra materials it cost me $7 000 to $8 000 more than buying new “The two bins need sweep augers and Randy kept insisting that I buy those through him because he could get them cheaper than I could elsewhere I was suspicious but I finally bought them from him His truck brought them and they turned out to be the wrong equipment He insisted on me paying for them but I didn’t I called and told him it wasn’t what I had ordered He hasn’t called me since “I had a friend I know do the concrete work and that was fine I bought two other 15 000 bu bins from him earlier He had a different crew put those up and that went pretty decent This crew on the 24-footer didn’t know what they were doing ” Jess Schwieterman Syracuse Kan : “We ordered two 48-ft 50 000 bu bins from Woody’s Used Bin Sales All I can say is ‘Buyer beware’ He oversold the capacity of the bins and double-charged us for the power sweeps and shipping The floor stands and flashing were junk or at least not what he said they would be His construction crew did what they could to try to keep the project on schedule but we had to put more than 20 000 bu on the ground because the bins did not have the capacity we were told they would have although his construction crew knew that the capacity of these bins was 16 000 bu less than we thought So he charged us $18 400 more than he should have for the storage we got ” Pete Hall Mich : Hall had a good experience buying a bin from Woody’s “I first got in touch with him last April and he had the bin I was looking for We tore out the old pads and his crew did a good job pouring new ones We already had a grain leg in place and Woody’s crew did a nice job installing the used bin What I really like about the bin I got from Woody’s is that it’s the same brand I already had so it matches my setup I didn’t have a contract with him but we talked enough on the phone and wrote enough notes that everything was pretty clear I think another advantage was that my farm is probably only an hour away from where Woody’s is located so he knows this crew real well Randy Wood was never at my place however I think I probably saved 25 to 30 cents a bushel with this used bin compared to a new one ” Molly Muchow Ill : Molly and her husband purchased a used 54-ft dia bin in 2016 intending to use it for living quarters and as a farm office “Right now the bin is still in pieces inside our large barn so I hope it’s all there It does require a high level of trust to buy something used and I trust that what we’ve got is what we paid for It came from a farm in Illinois and appears to be in good shape ” Muchow says the bin will be in storage until they line up several details for erecting the 35-ft structure “We’re working with an architect on the design and then we’ll need to get permits to have it built We’re not sure right now if Woody’s crew will set it up or if we’ll have another contractor do the work “From what I can tell owner Randy Wood is a good guy who wants to please his customers We had a contract for the bin and he delivered it at the price we agreed on ” Shawn Oesterritter Eminence Kty : Shawn bought two 8 500-bu used Brock bins from Woody’s and picked them up in Ohio “Woody’s sent me a proposal that listed all that I was going to get including the bins stirrators fans and motors The bins were in good shape except for one of the floors which Randy says he will replace His crew came in to pour the pads and to erect the bins They did a real nice job and we had no complaints We did the electric work ourselves The price I paid for these two bins which hold 17 000 bu total was about what I would’ve paid for a new 10 000 bu bin so I’m real pleased with how things turned out I’m a young farmer just getting started so it’s important for me to get good value and that’s what this was ” Darrel Kuhn Lakin Kan : “We farm about 10 000 acres Last summer was very wet but we had a big crop with 6 combines running Randy Wood told us he could get us storage for $1 05 per bu if we ordered four 50 000 bu bins After a lot of unexpected expenses we ended up paying $252 000 total for four bins that turned out to hold only 42 000 bu each or about $1 50 per bu I could have bought new bins for not much more than that “I first talked to Wood early in the summer The bins were supposed to be up and ready to use by September 10th His crew actually didn’t even start the work until Sept 11th and by Oct 1st they were still working so we had to put our grain at the elevator The job still was not complete by the end of November “I got the very hard sell when I first started talking to Wood who wanted me to put down a big deposit Since I was buried in mud and in the middle of harvest I finally put $100 000 down We did not have a detailed contract Just a 1-page proposal Once I paid things changed A local contractor poured the pads and didn’t get paid right away I had to bug Wood to pay them “There were problems with shipping charges and parts that either were damaged or missing so we had extra expenses – such as having flanges made purchasing sweep augers that I thought were included and many other things ”
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