Lonewolf, I had the same question too.
Here is what I got as a response. Believe it or not certain woods only grow certain places. So, depending where you live dictates wood prices.
I live in PA, where maple and oak are predominant. But try to find alder, HAHA forget it. Needs to be shipped in, and the mills charge shipping plus.
I suggest buying wood on ebay, sometimes you will get great buys late at night on ebay, while the world sleeps. Some ebay sellers still have no idea that if they post their auctions to end at 8:20 pm PST, they would increase their auction nets by 30%. 3 to 5 am pst is the best BUYING Time.
One seller has been doing alot of body wood and his auctions have been ending for 1.00 , $3.00, some as low as $0.01. Where can you go wrong.
Try to find KOA wood in the mid west. If you do buy me a tree of it..
Hope I was of assistance.