Buy cheap firewood online: beware of these offers
Whether gas, oil or even district heating – the prices for heating media are rising sharply. Wood is also in demand like never before. Prices are rising and availability is extremely tight. A situation in which dodgy shops want to cash in online.
The gas price brake is to come. The government announced this and has now also revealed the first details: On Gas cost waiver for citizens in December 2022 and a price cap of 12 cents per kWh for basic needs should come – but the latter only in 2023. But not only the prices for gas and oil have risen extremely. Even those who heat with wood have to dig deeper into their pockets – if you can get anything at all.
Shady online shops for firewood are springing up
Whether as firewood, in the form of pellets or for the fireplace – a Bargains can only be found with a lot of luck. But the Lower Saxony consumer advice center warns against these rare lucky strikes with cheap offers and the associated shops.
“Even during the corona crisis, we saw that dubious providers were taking advantage of the situation. back then are fake shops to garden items, beach chairs and bicycles shot out of the ground like mushrooms. Now we are experiencing the same phenomenon for fireplace and firewood as well as wood pellets”explains Kathrin Körber, legal expert at Lower Saxony Consumer Advice Centre.
According to the consumer advocates, not only can you find extreme, sometimes overpriced prices for wood online, but also fake shops that lure customers with particularly low prices. Buyers should look closely to spot fake shops. One problem with this: The dodgy operators are getting better and better.
In addition, the names of the shops would be changed frequently, so warnings about certain providers are difficult. The consumer advice center mentions two anyway: buhler-energie.com and bitterlich-brennholz.com be two current fake shops, who want to lure buyers with wood at rock-bottom prices.
With a solar power generator for the balcony you don’t heat it, but it still helps to keep the additional costs low:
Unmask fake shops: You should pay attention to this
Can they help Check shop names with search engines. With shady providers, there are often experiences of other affected people, which can be a void for you before it’s too late. A look at the imprint is also important: Different company names or a location abroad can be indications of a fake shop. Whether there is an imprint, however, is not enough, because that too is now often forged.
A little tip for online shopping, which is usually not a problem with wood either: Pay attention to the payment method offered. Ideally, the shop of your choice offers payment on delivery, I haven’t had any problems recently. Often you can then choose between card payment or cash, sometimes you can also pay contactless with your cell phone. Either way you are on the safe side. If in doubt, do not pay in advance. If the offer is actually too good to be true, and on top of that only advance payment is offered, all alarm bells should be ringing for you.
