Tigerfan

I do agree as long as you are talking ladder stands. As far as box stands go, if you have the lumber already it is cheaper to build one. I have both built and bought, the cheapest bought stand that I have was over $400 and it is a 4x4 10' tall. Allthough it may last a lot longer I have a 16' 5x5 that I build with scrap lumber that cost half that much. Wooden stands do take yearly maintenance, they need to be painted, nails/screws checked, any rotting needs to be replaced immediatly. When I build a ladder for either a box or a ladder stand I use a two rung method. If the ladder is 18" wide then I have a 2x4 18" and another one 14" and they are nailed together and then nailed to the ladder legs. This is a lot safer way to do it but, it does cost a lot more to do as well.