I got 6 full sheets of 1/8" baltic today. (Grade B/B, no patches on either side)
Short version: It works out to $0.97 per full GF-sized sheet.
I needed long pieces, so I cut 12" strips on each side of 5 of the full sheets (keeping one factory edge), 20" off of the 6th, then rendering the rest into full sheets for the GF.
End yield:
10 - 12"x60"
2 - 20" x 60"
50 - 12"x20" full sheets
Total cost: 88$ (including taxes-- the sheets were $13-something each), plus my labor with the circular saw. It works out to $0.97 per full GF-sized sheet. That’s far better than any online/woodcraft/rockler source that I’ve seen.
If I’d decided to just cut it all down to GF size (12x20), it would have yielded 90 sheets.
So yeah, that’s why I always say try to find a local supplier. Now, if only they had a panel saw and could do the cutting for me, it’d be much faster.
Yesterday, I finally visited a place with a promising name (Woodworker’s Source) that I very occasionally drive past. I was pretty exited to find that they carry all sorts of wonderful hardwoods and plywoods. They also have Baltic birch for 1/3rd of what I paid for my last batch online.
Oh, hai! Not only do they have a Phoenix location, it’s just a few miles down the road from me (in a direction/area I never drive through to have noticed it). Cool beans.