pdfvoss.com · Seller Grade Book
Buying-station ledger
Grades, invoices, cold-chain, and what you must never put on a table. © 2026 Voss Digitals
Station grades
| Species | Grade #1 | Grade #2 | Reject |
|---|---|---|---|
| True morel | #1 small, clean, unwashed, pits empty. Blacks/burns pay more. | Larger or slightly open, still firm, little dirt. | Washed, wormy, not hollow, or Gyromitra wrinkles. |
| Golden chanterelle | Tight buttons, apricot smell, no slime. | Open but firm, clean false gills. | Sour, waterlogged, or true-gilled jack-o'-lantern. |
| Matsutake / pine | Veil intact, spice smell, no volva. Grade is everything. | Partial veil, still firm and spicy. | Open, wormy, dirty gills, or any cup at the base. |
| Porcini / king | Unwormed buttons, white pores, no blue stain. | Larger, pores yellowing, stem mostly clean. | Green sponge, tunneled stem, red pores, instant blue. |
| Termitomyces | Same-day, unbruised, mound-connected, no green print. | Slightly open, still firm, cooked same night. | Old, slimy, lawn-grown Chlorophyllum suspects. |
Typical buyer bands (USD / lb fresh)
Planning ranges, not offers. Stations set the day-of price.
| Species | Fresh | Dried | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| True Morel | $20–50 | $160–280 | Chefs pay most for small, clean, unwashed blacks and burn morels. Dirt i… |
| Golden Chanterelle | $8–25 | $80–140 | PNW buyers (2025) often pay ~$8–12/lb clean yellows. Tight, unwormed but… |
| King Bolete / Porcini | $10–40 | $90–180 | A-grade unwormed buttons $15–40/lb. Wormy kings collapse to $3/lb or get… |
| American Matsutake | $20–120 | — | Grade #1 buttons with intact veil can hit $40–120/lb at the buying stati… |
| Hedgehog / Sweet Tooth | $6–18 | — | Clean, unbug-eaten caps ~$6–12/lb at PNW stations. Easy seller — almost … |
| Lobster Mushroom | $3–16 | — | Clean, fully parasitized, unrotten pieces $3–10/lb. Soft or white-pocked… |
| Chicken of the Woods | $4–15 | — | Young, moist, flexible edges only. Old brittle shelves are worthless.… |
| Lion's Mane | $12–28 | $40–90 | White, unyellowed icicle clusters. Browning kills the price. Cultivated … |
| Black Trumpet | $20–50 | $120–220 | Dried is the money form. Fresh is fragile. $20–50/lb fresh equivalent wh… |
| Hen of the Woods / Maitake | $8–20 | $30–70 | Whole young clusters. Cultivated maitake undercuts wild unless the clust… |
| Winter Chanterelle / Yellowfoot | $4–12 | — | Volume mushroom. $4–8/lb typical. Hollow yellow stems sell the ID.… |
| Saffron Milkcap | $6–18 | — | Ukraine, Spain, and the Balkans treat this as a cultural staple. Markets… |
| Giant Puffball | $3–10 | — | Only snow-white interior. Chefs buy young soccer-ball specimens. Low pri… |
| Reishi / Varnished Conk | $8–25 | $25–80 | Dried whole conks or slices. Wild hemlock reishi (G. oregonense) is a PN… |
| Chaga | $8–20 | $20–60 | Only from living birch, cracked black exterior, rust-gold interior. Fake… |
| Termite Mushroom | $2–12 | $15–40 | Village wet-market staple across the Western Ghats after first monsoon. … |
| Oyster Mushroom | $3–10 | $18–40 | Cultivated supply is huge, so wild oysters are a chef novelty, not a gol… |
| Turkey Tail | $4–14 | $18–45 | Dried, clean, fully zoned brackets. PSK/PSP extract market is huge; wild… |
One-page invoice
Date / station / forest unit
Picker name + permit #
Species / grade / weight (tare the crate)
Price / lb × net lb = due
Buyer signature · picker signature
Cold-chain SOP
- Mesh bags in the woods. Never plastic on a warm day.
- Shade immediately. Ice packs in a hard cooler before the truck warms up.
- Do not wash. Stations reject wet product.
- Hold 1–4 °C. Sell the same day when you can.
- Keep a reject crate. One death cap in a mixed box ends the business.
Never sell
- Amanita (death cap, destroying angel) — fatal amatoxins.
- Gyromitra (false morel) — gyromitrin.
- Galerina, jack-o'-lantern, and any LBM you cannot name twice.
- Psilocybe or any controlled fungus. This book is not a dealing license.