Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => General Beekeeping => Topic started by: DLMKA on June 22, 2014, 10:39:11 pm
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I had to post a picture of a frame that came out of a nuc that our club president purchased from a nuc supplier about 2 hours NE of Peoria. There were two frames that looked like this and two new frames, only one of which had any comb being drawn on it. He was charged $110 for these nucs, he bought two and just took delivery last week. I would be pissed and want my money back. I saved the picture to put on my future website showing exactly what you will NEVER find in a nuc I sell. I won't post the name of the place where they came from but will tell you in a PM if you want to know.
I talked him into shaking all the bees off onto frames with new foundation rather than let the bees continue working on this crap.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs11.postimg.cc%2Frpi684ibj%2Fhanson_honey_nuc.jpg&hash=84c498c3ee47ce3ec521395813b33435ece0e0fa) (http://postimg.cc/image/rpi684ibj/)
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almost looks like he's selling a cut out nuc
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wow.. rather apparent that fellow didnt want repeat business...
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Looks like he was gambling that all his customers were new to beekeeping and wouldn't know the difference.
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I think that most people who sell Nucs cycle out their old frames that way, but that just looks like something out of a bee keepers nightmare :)
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Wow DL! I so surprised at all of the bad nuc business that has come about this year, and that is only what I've seen on this forum. Thank you for promising you wouldn't see something like this!
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Looks like an old frame with wax foundation that wax moth has eaten up and then just put in with some bees with the hopes of them fixing it up.
Don't knock cut out nucs, I will sell them, BUT they must over winter first and by that time all of the frames are filled in solid.
That looks pretty sorry for someone to sell. I too would ask for my money back. Only way I sell nucs is if they go though them to see what they are getting, that way we both know.
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Only way I sell nucs is if they go though them to see what they are getting, that way we both know.
Good policy G.. I'll remember that if I ever manage to overwinter nuc's successfully.
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I plan on making some spring nucs next spring as well as selling overwintered at a bit of a cost premium. I just wouldn't/couldn't sell something I wouldn't be happy to buy myself. I understand using old combs to make nucs, I don't see any inherent problem if they are in good shape.The bees didn't even use this comb, they were building off the edges of the top bars.
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It's the age old "buyer beware". I don't think I'd accept a Nuc from an unknown source without inspecting it first.
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I don't know how someone could sell something like that. That's horrible.
Here is a picture of a frame from a nuc I just sold this week. Brand new queen.
I have folks coming back to me asking for deep frames and a deep box because they need more room, guess that's a good thing. ;)
One person bought 3 nucs and came back for a 4th. I guess that's pretty good for my first year selling nucs.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs14.postimg.cc%2Fa2wup0kst%2F20140619_181233.jpg&hash=38eda5e0b592a4305b8ff594339d785b8dcdf1a0) (http://postimg.cc/image/a2wup0kst/)
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like others have said, pretty sorry looking frame, and pretty sorry beekeeper that sold a nuc with 2 of these frames, guess it makes a buck.
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A totally unprofessional beekeeper. There are standards set in the industry By the industry of beekeeping / beekeepers that set out what a 3, 4, 5, 0r 6 frame nuc should contain. placing 2 frames like that and another of foundation is not even close to the standard. It isn't even 1/2 way there.
Pete I do not agree saying nuc producers cycle out their old comb. A nuc producer that is in the business and has supplied nucs to customers for many years are selling so much comb in the nucs they sell that non of their comb in their hives has much of a chance of getting to old. Some unscrupulous beekeepers that due to the poor winter survival of hives and the demand for nucs see this type of year an opportunity to make some quick bucks. Or suffered high losses and are putting together crap in order to fulfill their commitment.
How does a person come up with that kind of crap to make a nuc out of?
Yankee Those are not the best filled frames I have ever seen But they are mighty fine. any customer receiving them will not be feeling like they received a sub par product. Thanks for posting on the forum of what a good frame in a nuc looks like, this will give new beekeepers a reference of what the frames in the nucs should look like. This kind of advertizing of what they will receive if they order their nucs from you should get you lots of sales for next year.
The beekeepers who produce the best nucs generally charge a little more for their nucs, But they also take the time to produce and sell a stronger nuc. Like the nucs Pete has gotten from John Gates, a full 5 frame nuc bursting out of the nuc box.
I don't want to sound insensitive here but $110.00 for a nuc is on the lower end of the nuc selling price scale so in some ways you could say that you get what you pay for. But with that being said,no one should have to pay for frames like that.
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I bought nucs from Indian Summer Honey Farm in 2012 for $90 and they looked a lot like what Yankee posted. You don't necessarily get what you pay for if you're dealing with a conscientious outfit that cares about repeat business and takes pride in what they sell. I'm pretty sure the nucs in the OP were a shake or two of bees and a virgin queen 2 weeks ago. I plan on selling any extra overwintered nucs I have extra next spring, The oldest frame in any of those nucs was drawn last summer. Most were new foundation this year.
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I typically follow G3 stated policy. On occasion I vary from this protocol and I am almost always sorry I did. If the price stated is correct I am selling nucs way too cheap.
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I don't know why you would buy a nuc with out going through it first.
I sold a nuc on FRI and the lady was nice and just wanted bee's I made her suit up and watch me make her nuc .
I showed her the queen and said can you see her are you happy with her? She said yes
I put two frames of brood like Yankee11 has showed and asked do you like these frames? She said yes .
I gave a frame of eggs and open brood and asked do you see eggs do you like this frame? She said yes.
Then I gave the nuc a fat frame of pollen and honey.
It was a great nuc and she was happy. And paid 150.000
I pulled this nuc from hive that was 5 x5x5x5 nuc boxes not sure if she ever seen a hive like that be for.
She had a good time . The right way to buy a nuc.
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Tec,
I sold 12 nucs for 140.00 and had 5 more on a waiting list that I referred to a friend Beek.
And I was on the low end around here. 140-170 dollars. No one even hesitated.
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I can buy 3 frame nuc's for $80.00.. A 5 frame nuc is 120.00 or so, and a 5 frame overwintered starts at 150.00 and as the 150.00 ones quickly run out I can find them for up to around 225.00..... I feel that the 150.00 to 200.00 price range for a 5 frame "overwintered" nuc is an acceptable price to pay. The 80.00 for a three frame started nuc is also acceptable to me.
Three frame started has a new imported queen, she is accepted and laying. Her pattern is obvious, she can be inspected, her size and laying ability etc.. but she has proven nothing more than she can lay at this point..
The overwintered nuc is very different.. This queen has successfully built up her colony and they have survived the winter in a smaller than optimal hive. The "proof" that she is a good producer and is also a winter survivor makes her twice as valuable as any other queen in the apiary. Young, Vibrant, fat and ready to explode.
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What Lazy said.
It is nice to go thru the nuc with the customer and show then what they are receiving but not all nucs are being sold to the guy down the road. A lot are shipped and dropped off at rendezvous points. Whether the receiving beekeeper is there to inspect the nuc prier should have no bearing on its quality. We know what the standards are and they are the minimum strength of the nuc.
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I was selling 5 frame nucs with a new laying queen for $135 this year and $125 last year. Heard of some for as much as $150.
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several years ago i paid $135 for 5 frame nucs with a proven laying queen, discount for more than 5, so it was less than that, i purchased 7. these were not overwintered, and did very well. i have purchased nucs from this same supplier a number of times in the past, and queens (when available). i would pay more in the future for the quality i have received in the past.
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Last year I sold 4 frame nucs for $150 (too low)
This year price is $160 (can't keep up)
4 frames, all covered in bees
1 frame full of stores, 2 frames covered in brood, 1 frame with comb.
Most of my nucs have brood on part of a third frame. I also shake extra bees so that my D.Coates 5 frame nuc boxes have lots of bees. A lot of folks when they bring back the nuc boxes have substituted out the fifth frame with a new one because there was comb on the fifth frame.
I can't compete with the price of honey, and I don't want to move bees anymore, so selling nucs fits in. I make them good, and will gladly do follow up.
Words spreads, good or bad.
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Perry,
How much is Honey going for around you.
I raised my price this year. 1lb squeeze bottle 7$, glass pint 8$ and Quarts were 16. Sold 38 gallons in 2 weeks. never heard a word about price.
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I'm with Perry on this one. Around here Nucs are $150, honey is $5/#
Total time to make up and sell a Nuc: approximately 2 hours. Overhead: 1 queen $25, 5 frames $10. Profit/Nuc $115.
Total time to extract, bottle, and sell 23 Lbs of honey, approximately 3 hrs.
So you end up making 30% more/hour selling bees. For me the real difference is you have to make about 10 to 15 sales to sell 50 lbs of honey, but only one sale for 2 Nucs.
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Pete now you are going to compete against John Gates? Not that he is worried as he can sell everything he produces.
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John has awesome bees. Our club buys 30 to 35 Nucs from him every year. I make way more money setting tiles than keeping bees, so I don't think John has to worry about my 3 hive operation. The way I understand it, John's had offers from Alberta commercial beeks to buy everything he can produce. I'm glad he chose to keep supplying us. BTW, he sells 4 frame Nucs for $160, not 5 frame as you mentioned.
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But his 4 framers are stocked better than what most would get in a buying a 5 frame