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[Sunshine]

I checked out a few sites online for prebuilt hives and hive parts and they are crazy expensive.

I did some digging and found these old logs of a thread on what I think is a bee keeping forum which doesn't exist anymore. At the end of one of them was a post by a guy who lives close to me. He is a local bee keeper who was selling honey for a living until last month when he retired. I sent him an email expressing my interest and he mentioned an Amish man who also lives close to me and sells beehive parts for cheap. He also sent me a doc with the Amish guys prices. They are ridiculously(!) cheap.

So instead of spending 250-450$ on a hive I will probably only be spending around 100$ tops.(Not including bees) The local guy who I emailed also told me that he sells queens and colonies in the spring time and that if I was interested I could call and reserve some.

In total it should only cost around 150$ to get started.

Anyways, my point is; Don't spend more than you can afford and buy a prebuilt hive online. Find a local beekeeper or CoOp. Search the forums and look for someone close by. Not only will it be cheaper, but it will also be better for the bees because you won't be ordering them from far away and they won't have to go through the stress of shipping.

1 Like TBM likes this.

[Sunshine]

Just to show you what I'm talking about with regards to prices, here are some comparisons between online prices and the Amish guy's;

5 Frame Nuc-
Amish- 11.75$(Free local pickup)
Online- 39.95$(22.74$ Shipping)

Bottom Board-
Amish- 5.75$(Free local pickup)
Online- 21.50$(10.75 Shipping)

Telescoping Cover-
Amish- 8.00$(Free local pickup)
Online- 15.00$(13.02$ Shipping)

Inner Cover-
Amish- 4.75$(Free local pickup)
Online- 16.00$(Free Shipping)

Deep Super-
Amish- 7.00$(Free local pickup)
Online- 20.00$(17.00$ Shipping)

Frames-
Amish(Any size)- .72 cents each (Free local pickup)
Online-(10 Deep supers) 3.00$ each per frame including shipping.

Honey super(Shallow super)-
Amish- 4.75$(Free local pickup)
Online- 5.00$(18.40$ shipping)

If I buy only 1 of each of the above items which is unlikely because boxes hold more than one frame and its good to have multiple supers, the totals will be as follows-

Amish- 42.72
Online- 202.37

As you can see, it is 1/4th the cost for me to buy locally and would likely be less than that if I factored in all of the other things I let out such as secondary supers, frames, gloves, a smoker, etc. If I play my cards right I might be able to get a hive up and running for less than 100$.

2 Likes TBM and prasada like this.

[PermieGing]

If your a bit handy with wood, a little research and some wood and nails could provide a very cheap top bar hive.

Of course, the more ya make the better they will turn out (generally).

1 Like Sunshine likes this.

[Sunshine]

I figure I'll buy one and then later on down the road use it as an example/template and build a few more.