Exotics are going up in price now and in the fall as I have predicted for about the last year. The Tropical Timber legislation has finally passed and will become effective in September 2008. Despite our existing practice of sourcing from legitimately managed forests the prices are likely to increase as the supply of the illegal stuff (the stuff that they are stealing from rainforests) goes down. That is a totally good thing for obvious reasons, but as the supply is lowered prices will go up.

Just giving everyone the heads up!

This floor is made in America – that means although it is grown and harvested in Brazil or areas in South America, it is milled and finished here in the US. That is a great thing!

iFLOOR.com – Brazilian Cherry – Exotic Solid Hardwood – Westhollow® Wood – Hardwood Floors: “Brazilian Cherry Westhollow® Wood Exotic Solid Hardwood”

This floor is finally back in stock.

Trying to keep 5″ width SOLID Brazilian Cherry from managed forests in stock is nearly impossible.

We have a couple truckloads that just came in and the lucky customers who get the chance to have this are truly experiencing NIRVANA!

Get it while you can. Remember if you pick up at a local store using our regular transfer to the store – the shipping is FREE!

Especially Brazilian cherry, tigerwood (aka Koa), walnut, angelim, amendiom, brazilian hickory, brazilian maple, south American pecans, oaks, maples, rosewood, teak and well let’s just say the list goes on and on.

Exotic hardwood of all kinds will be going up in price immediately.

We have been warning of this for some time, but it is happening today and tomorrow and for the next several months.

The solid hardwoods in the wider widths will be especially hard hit.

There are a number of factors involved, but let’s just say for the guys who try to us sustainable forests and producers the prices are going to keep going through the roof. For the guys who are dealing in smuggled timber and other practices I would expect them to keep raising prices just to take more $$ yet still under price the legitimate materials.

I did a quick analysis over the weekend at some competitors on tigerwood and jatoba (aka Brazilian Cherry) and saw amazing differences.

We had a number of competitors selling products for $12-$15 per foot for the same products we are selling for $5-$7.

The good news is although I expect our price to go from $5-$7 to $7-$9 I would expect main street retailers to raise their prices to $15-$18.

The affordability of these floors is about to really be impacted.

If you ever wanted Brazilian Cherry, Tigerwood, Brazilian Walnut, Angelim or other exotics I suggest act now or be prepared to pay more in the future.

Although with any commodity prices ebb and flow from time to time I see long term pressures coming for exotic imported species.

As those prices raise, by the way, so will the domestic oak and maples since they don’t have to compete as aggressively with the imported “exotic” species (sometimes referred to as tropical timber) as much. So this impacts everyone over the long haul.

Don’t believe me? Well Norway has already banned tropical timber from entering their country. New Zealand has a more rigid import policy than they did even 1 year ago. The United States is drafting legislation which I expect will curb a HUGE number of imports. The EU in general is enacting tougher standards that started in 2006 with progressively higher hurdles in the future.

What does this mean? Well the legitimate materials have a higher bar they must jump over to prove they are the good guys. So they raise their price to offset the higher operational costs of compliance.

I am 100% for the right kind of harvesting and I could not support that more! However, I think there will be a bit of chaos for the next 18-36 months which will lead to unnecessary price increases which could impact consumers in a big way.

Anyway – I have ranted long enough. Enough said.

A brazilian cherry floor which has alot of natural color variation will show ALL of that variation using a clear coat of finish. This is regardless whether the floor is pre-finished or finished on site. A “natural” finish or clear coat will not change that variation no matter how it is applied.

Of course variation is very much in right now! So cheers to those really cool and natural looks.

There is alot of variation in species alot of exotic species in particular Brazilian cherry, Brazilian walnut, tiger wood. Domestics can have alot of variation too. Hickory, American cherry, Kempas, merbau, rustic oak, rustic maple and really any starting point in the grading system can deliver a very varied look. (say that 5 times fast.)

This clear grade Brazilian Cherry is comparable to MANY items sold in the $12-$14 range. The good news is that we are down to the very last bits of this product which means we have a short term price that is basically a blowout price. Samples are available for immediate delivery. All orders ship out within 24 hours.

This floor was finished in the USA using a PPG brand finish coat. It is a 3/4″ solid hardwood with really excellent quality both in terms of milling as well as the selection of the wood, average lengths and of course the PPG finish is awesome! I can’t say enough about this floor.

Only 6,000 feet left. No back orders accepted. Good luck to those who are ready to spend less money and get more flooring!

This is offered by Woodstock and it is a 5″ wide brazilian cherry that is 3/4″ thick SOLID!

It looks awesome, it feels awesome – it is awesome.

The studio did a great job to make a series of photos that include wonderful zoom imagery and our brilliant graphics team also created some superlative room scenes. Like this one:

There are a couple things I really like about this floor:

1. The mill uses only managed forests that are practicing sustainable harvesting which is good for the earth.

2. The finish is MADE IN THE USA and finished in the USA as well – and this finish is one of the finest you’ll ever see. It is thick, rich and super tough as well.

3. The average lengths of this VERY thick product are very long and they contribute to a super high end look.

I have seen this same specification for thickness and width routinely offered for $12.00 – $14.00 per foot. We are offering at only $6.99 AND I totally know the finish is superior to 90% of other floors. On top of that folks have the chance to get free shipping to a pick up point or $99.00 home delivery AND you can combine the financing offer. (all of these offers are subject to change at anytime.)

Nobody matches that kind of value. The downside: we only have enough to last 3-4 weeks and then it is gone. We got a special one time buy on this so it is a limited item. Good luck!