Yanking My Chainsaw and Searching for Wood

I've been shopping around for chainsaws, and as I stop in the various stores in the area, I get the distinct impression that people are trying to sell me more than I actually need. The story I keep hearing is that I need at least 50cc's and 18 inches or more. While this is true, I am also aware that their impression of cutting wood and mine might not be the same.

Here's my dilemma-I am once again on the search for wood this year, and think that this will be an ongoing gig until I inherit 100 acres of prime hardwood forest to cut and split my own trees. Unfortunately, landowners don't take credit cards, so that's not going to happen any time soon.

As I may have mentioned, my previous source of wood has upped his price to the point where it's may be beyond our reach. Sure, we could afford it, but do we really want to spend that much money on wood? We need heat, no doubt about that, but we have some time. Not a lot, but some, and I figure we can shop around for a few weeks and at least see what's out there. I've been told that wood should be going down because there are a lot of guys who want to sell it, but I've yet to see this. I have seen that prices have dropped slightly from last year, but my goal, in the end, is to find a reliable source that I can turn to each year.

So far, I've yet to find it, but what do you expect from a Flatlander?

In the meantime, I'll keep shopping for my chainsaw. It looks like I'm going to drop about $300-400 easy, but that's what everyone tells me. My good friend Jim said spend at least $500 and get one that will last you a lifetime, but I don't know if I'm ready for that.

I'm looking at Stihl and Husqvarna, and maybe one of the Japanese models, but the Euro models seem to be the ones to get. Everyone I know has Stihl, and I am having a hard time locating someone who sells Huskies (listen to me, so pretentious) nearby. They say to get one from somewhere that will services it, but I don't know why you couldn't buy it somewhere else and have them service it. Then again, I'd like to support local businesses, and as far as that goes, so far, Joe's has my loyalty. I love those guys, but I'll still shop around.

More on my chainsaw odyssey later. For now, I'll investigate my wood options.