About Friendly Fuel Club

A free heating fuel price list and a buyers club for the Upper Valley, run by a neighbor in Vershire, Vermont.

Who's behind it

Hi! My name is Nate Thames. My family has lived in Vershire, VT for 10 years. We heat with a woodstove and an oil boiler, and cook with propane.

Nate Thames with his wife, their two daughters and their black dog, sitting in fallen leaves in the woods. — My family, including our winter-loving weirdo of a dog who would rather burrow in the snow than snuggle next to the woodstove.

The first few years that we lived here, my wife would call around in the fall to several fuel companies to see who had the most competitive price. Every time I was surprised at how different the prices were between dealers.

Eventually we discovered a concept called "fuel clubs" and became a member of a club local to the Vershire area. It made a ton of sense. We pay a yearly fee to join the club, they shop our collective business around to local dealers for the best price, and we all win.

Over the years I wanted a few things our club didn't offer: one fee for every type of fuel, signing up and renewing online, and prices I could see for myself anytime online.

So this year I started calling local dealers every week and posting their prices online, free for everyone. Alongside the free price list I'm starting a modern fuel club: online, low overhead, one fee for every fuel, with the savings going to members.

So here we are! Sign up below before memberships open and you'll get the founding rate: $19 your first year, then the regular $49, if you join in the first month. Only people on the list get it. And feel free to email me at nate@friendlyfuelclub.comor text/call (802) 526-6220 with any ideas or suggestions. I'd love to hear how I could make a fuel club more valuable for you.

How we're different

Free price list for everyone, no signup needed. If you don't want to join the club, I hope you still get value from the list.
One membership fee covers both oil and propane. It's not any harder for me, so why should it be more expensive for you?
No paper forms. Reserving a spot takes a minute online. When the club launches, you'll pay by card and manage your membership online. If you'd rather call or text, that's always fine too.
Funded by members, not dealers. The club takes nothing per gallon from dealers. So I pick dealers for the price and service they give members, nothing else.

We serve Windsor and Orange counties in Vermont and Grafton and Sullivan counties in New Hampshire. The club doesn't sell or deliver fuel and never holds money for fuel. Dealers do the delivering and billing.

Who runs the price list

Friendly Fuel Club LLC runs both the price list and the buyers club. When the club's own price is listed, it's sorted with every other price, lowest first, so it comes out on top only when it really is the lowest. How we collect prices explains the rest.

Get in touch

Call or text (802) 526-6220, email admin@friendlyfuelclub.com, or write to Friendly Fuel Club LLC, P.O. Box 10, Vershire, VT 05079.

Get the founding rate: $19 your first year

Sign up before memberships open and you'll get the founding rate: $19 for your first year, then the regular $49. Only people on the list get it. There's no limit on founding members, nothing to pay now, and no obligation to join.

Your signup helps a neighbor stay warm. We'll give $1 to LISTEN's Heating Helpers fund for each of the first 500 neighbors who sign up and tell us how they heat. How it works