A face is exactly that, the "face" row from a full bush cord. So 4' x 8' x cut width. Many get screwed on cheaply advertised face cords to find out they are 12" lengths and not 16".
As for wood cost, I have 120 acres of mature Red Oak/Maple/Ash/Beech/Birch and almost hardwood Poplar. No way I can get lazy enough to buy wood, but I'm getting there as I age. I'm having the bush harvested this year for veneer and sawlog. Last time I had it done was about about 18 years ago that netted me almost 40 grand for the logs and the tops got turned into 18 bush cords of firewood with me cutting and Wife and kids splitting. The guy doing it this round has a processor, so I'll let him do all the tops into firewood before he leaves and save our bodies for stacking.
