Black Ash Burl Alert!!!

[George Guadiane]

This MAY have been up before, but...

I received TWO emails from a guy which reads as follows:
"Hello,
I saw your website, and was wondering if you would be interested in buying some black ash burl from me? I am attaching a picture to give you an idea of what it looks like. It is one of the rarest burls in the world, and becoming more and more rare everyday due to insects and disease. If you are interested in buying some you can contact me and describe the turning you are going to do, and we will match a piece exactly to your needs. Hope to hear from you and happy turning. Tim"
After the first, I asked his location and a price for the lot. The response was a duplicate email.

Ash rang a bell, so I did a Google search and came up with the Emerald Ash Borer. It is becoming a bigger and bigger problem, so PLEASE don't buy these burls unless you know where they are from, and/or if where they are from is a part of the growing quarantine.

Notice the date of the picture, this could also be a scam

I gotta say, the burls look really tempting, but I don't need to contribute to the growing problem (and I don't want to get ripped off).

 

[George Guadiane]

Update

The guy got back to me and wrote the following
"Hello,

The burl will be coming from Minnesota. The price is $6.00 per lb for the frost crack free pieces, and $5.00 per lb. for the pieces with frost cracks. Possible price reduction in bulk orders (500 lbs. and up)pending on supply. Please e-mail us with your phone number if interested to know exactly what you are looking for. We also have more pieces in stock besides the pics sent. Hope to hear from you and please let us know the best time to contact you. Thanks again Tim"

SO FAR, Minnesota appears to be Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) free
Probably on the up and up, too expensive for me.
If you are interested, contact me and I will pass along the email address
George

 

[MichaelMouse]

One hopes he has a no-return policy. http://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants/pestmanagement/eab.htm for near-real-time information. I'd turn something else if I were in any other state, personally. It's pretty stuff, but not worth the risk.

 

[GA Darling]

Emerald Ash Borer

I live in an area where the Emerald Ash Borer has infested the ash trees. You can't even burn ash trees around here. I would be very cautious buying any ash at this point.

Ga Darling