Anybody recently sold some that can shed some light on the process?

hire an independant forester.

Yes, and what pcr2 said.... independent forester... cost me 10 percent... they where all sold on the stump.. forester went through and tallied everything... sent bids out... big difference in the bids... big big difference... in the contract it was who ever won the bid had to give me half down before they started cutting and the rest after there where done.. plus clean up all the mess with dozer.. this was all ash and maple... last time i did it I cut just cherry.. there was a lot of veneer in the cherry so I sold them laying down... I know some things about the industry because i worked in it a little when I was younger.. I new the cherry had no gum... so I sold them on the ground... if you know nothing about the industry I would talk to a forester

I'll second the independent forester also known in some areas as a forestry consultant if you aren't intimatey familiar with the process. I would also advise you to take some time before starting the process to lay out exactly what your goals are. Forestry isn't like row cropping where a bad call this season only effects this season. Forestry has a decades long outlook. A bad cut today and your grandkids will suffer for it. A good cut and/or planting could set up your grandkids for life. And that's just the human side of it, if you consider wildlife and aesthetics your goal/plan becomes even more complicated.
Fortunately a good consultant should be able to help you here as well.

funny I see this today.

I went to look at a job today taking care of some coyotes. Pl;ace had just been logged. I have never seen such a mess. Two creeks plugged up, ground torn up everywhere, busted trees left standing, even the field they used as a landing is torn all to heck.

I told the guy I would make the logger who did it to either come fix it, or pay to have it restored.

This is one reason to hire a consultant. they know who does the work right. And they will most times keep you from getting ripped off.

Just got back from a walk. I thought I better see if there is even timber there before I call somebody.

There is, but they are small. The saw in the picture is only 20" long.

Don't expect much if its all pine.

without a contract that protects the landowner's interests, they're not likely to find relief from a poor job.

a consulting forester will have a legally binding contract with the logger; that spells out all of the terms of the operation. There will also be a performance bond to ensure the contract provisions are adhered to.

THAT's how you protect your interests!

Don't leave it open ended, Make sure the contract has a hard start and finish date.
Make sure the contract has a trash clause.
Do you want them to let locals come in for firewood?
Staging areas and access roads will be chewed up, but makes an excellent opportunity for planting wildlife plots.
Have them leave a few really huge trees to reseed the patches, as well as any den trees.
Do you want select cut or clear cut.

X100 on hiring a consultant. I was once a consultant and some landowners were reluctant to hire because they didn’t want to “share” their timber income with a third party. I could always get them a better price for their timber, more than enough to cover what I charged plus making sure the environmental work was done and their management objectives were met. Don’t let a logger talk you out of hiring a consultant.

I sent you a PM Hobbie for a guy on the lower shore

There are more crooks in the timber industry around here than in the used car business. They want to clear cut everything. If you can talk them out of clear cutting, they will severely damage what they don't cut.

I don't know why they would want to clear cut, there is no money in small diameter logs.