I have just begun to check on prices for nucs this spring, but not knowing how my existing bees will overwinter here in upstate NY, plus the fact I am getting prices of 155-175 for a 5 frame nuc, im wondering how much longer this hobby will last.
Is anyone close to my area getting these kind of prices? does anyone know where to buy decent nucs within a couple hundred miles of upstate NY?
Thank you
Sellers must love keepers like you. Why not make your own nucs? The bees do it, so its just as easy as pulling frames. But if your too busy, I guess you have to pay :(
Merry Christmas. :)
yeah and the package prices are nuts too. I suspect the whole "The bees are dying!" thing has given them licence to charge nutty prices.
Are you near Brasher Falls? If so, send a PM to sqkcrk. He normally sells a few nucs each spring.
Is those prices normal for up there? I'm wondering if the grant money will drive the prices of bees up.
Yup, government involvement means higher prices.
Jim
Quote from: sawdstmakr on December 26, 2014, 08:27:52 AM
Yup, government involvement means higher prices.
Jim
Govternment is there to help :needhelp: :needhelp:
Nucs deep four frame and five frame $135 to$150.
Packages 3# $90 to $110
Thats the prices I've heard around middle Tn.
sterling, is that much higher than the last couple of years?
I also noticed prices increasing in central Ohio.
I started with beekeeping in the spring of 2013. Back then I purchased two 3-pound bee packages (comes with mated queen) for around $90 each.
In the harsh winter of 2014 and probably b/c my lack of knowledge and experience, I lost both colonies.
I bought again in Spring of 2014 -- two 4-pound packages for $125 each, this year they are asking $131 for same size package.
(My local bee provider is located at this address http://www.waldobees.com/about.html (http://www.waldobees.com/about.html))
For 4 frame nucs, he is asking $161.
I also got in touch with a local beekeeper who migrates along with his bees to FL during the winter -- he quoted me $135 for a 5 frame med nucs (same price for deep frames as well). I want to expand my apiary, so I plan on buying 2 nucs from his this season when he returns to OH from FL.
In my less than 2 year beekeeping experience, I have never purchased nucs, so I would like to try that route and see how is that different than buying package bees.
I would like to become self sufficient and self sustained in another year or two so I will not have to buy bees every season but regrettably, I am not there yet.
Quote from: 10framer on December 26, 2014, 12:23:39 PM
sterling, is that much higher than the last couple of years?
$15 to $20 from a couple years ago
is backyard beekeeping still on the rise?
Rob, at our last state meeting I was told (Jim Tew? maybe) that although backyard beekeeping may be on the rise it's the commercial guys that we are losing. That's where the decline in bee population is coming from.
gary, in the 80's there were probably hundreds of beekeepers in alabama with any where from 200 to 2000 colonies. i knew a lot of them, of those i can only confirm that one is still in business.
i'm trying to figure out what is driving the demand for bees right now. i actually suspect that there are more bees in our region now then there were around the year 2000 but that's based off of what i've seen (keep in mind that the world is much more internet driven now than it was then, so i may be completely wrong about that).
look at Craigslist Bennington Vermont under (honey bees) nucs early sales are $120
also Michael Palmer of French Hill apiaries in St Albans Vermont keeps bees in the North champagne Valley in New York.Betterbee Bee supplies sell packages from Georgia and nucs from Michael Palmer
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
What decline in bee population?
Quote from: GSF on December 27, 2014, 08:24:47 PM
Rob, at our last state meeting I was told (Jim Tew? maybe) that although backyard beekeeping may be on the rise it's the commercial guys that we are losing. That's where the decline in bee population is coming from.
I am asking 130.00 for a five frame nuc.
5 frame nucs from our club supplier will be $130 this year. He will sell all he can supply.
Steve
I was planning on selling a couple of 8 frames of bees (10 frame with a 2 frame feeder) for $90. I guess I had better get out and look around. Thinking I had better see how many live before I start selling them! I did get a bunch of cardboard nucs to see if I could get in on this frenzy before it collapses. Coastal farm and Garden last year was selling 5F nucs with a VSH Minnesota queen for $175. I just have local open bred, overwintered stock.
Minz,
If you are selling a whole hive with the bees than you will need to more than double that price.
Jim
deknow; I had ask them specifically about the population. They presented a chart in one of the classes. It showed that in the 50s-60s? the number of hives were between 5 and 6 million (I think). Now it's around 2 million. My question was since it seemed that so many were getting into backyard bee keeping had the arrow on the chart headed back up, the answer was no, it's still going down. That's when they mentioned the commercial beekeeper numbers going down.
gary, back in the 50's and 60's (even ten 15 years ago) there was a lot more forage for bees. what's not a subdivision now is planted pine in the south and the entire midwest is either one giant corn field or hay field from what i've seen. the natural forests and farms with a variety of crops are just about gone. the land simply can't support the number of bees it used to. factor in the mites and the beetles along with the price of imported honey that started coming in around the 70's and it's gotten pretty tough to make a living as a beekeeper unless you want to be a migratory pollinator (and i think the stress of that on the bees is finally catching up to them). another thing to think about is the fact that a lot of backyard beekeepers don't make it and some that do probably propagate pests and diseases that spread through robbing. i think we'll see the prices go higher and higher for several more years.
I'm not sure you can count how many bees and hives are out there. I know a lot of beekeepers that stay to themselves and don't participate in clubs. So really how do they know? In fact I think there are more keepers out of clubs than in. Now they might have better numbers on the commercial guys, but serious doubt backyarders.
Like or not 95% of all the hives in the United States are owned only by 5% of the Beekeepers.
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
I have sold 7 since sunday when i put a ad on http://pennstate.craigslist.org/grd/4822299455.html (http://pennstate.craigslist.org/grd/4822299455.html)
Glock, that's a good looking batch of brood.
I have read a lot of forum posts and news articles about the big die-off of 2014. Also a lot of posts and articles about the huge increase of brand spanky new hobbyist beeks in the past few years.
Seems to me there's a fair measure of supply and demand going on here.
From 1945 to 2007 there has been a decline. (For lots of reasons) Since then the number of colonies have increased. People quoting numbers until 2007 are likely trying to sell you something.
Some prices are way over the top. I can understand charging more, because of die off, or whatever the case may be, but 175-200+ for a nuc is just nuts! Even 125-150 was hard for me to swallow...until I saw package prices hovering around 100. I'll definitely be selling nucs, in the future
Wilbanks has 3# packages going for $73 this year.
$125 - $150 per nuc was the going rate around my area last summer. Now there seems to be a bit of an increase, at least at this time on the craigslist adds showing up early. Last month I saw $175 (taking orders for spring nucs)
Now I'm seeing:
Nucs for sale - $180 (San Antonio)
for 180 dollars each i'll start selling nucs.
AllenF; My Wilbanks flyer said 2# packages were $73 and 3# were $83. I didn't go looking, but this morning I saw their flyer laying on the table and took a look.
Quote from: 10framer on January 05, 2015, 12:26:50 AM
for 180 dollars each i'll start selling nucs.
You might have to haul em to San Antonio to get that.
QuoteI was planning on selling a couple of 8 frames of bees (10 frame with a 2 frame feeder) for $90.
yeah, that's package price (unless you are selling to me!). Check that PM I sent you. I was thinking about going just to see what's happening in the neighborhood.
Quote from: sterling on January 05, 2015, 03:45:26 PM
Quote from: 10framer on January 05, 2015, 12:26:50 AM
for 180 dollars each i'll start selling nucs.
You might have to haul em to San Antonio to get that.
if i had a truckload it would be worth it.
Rhul bee supply prices are out and are at $115 for a nuc. I figure they would be the competition (brick and motor cornerstone bee supply in the city). I figure by the time I get done screwing around $100 is a fair price. If I do not need to provide a nuc (if you are just taking all the bees in a deep) saves me $7 plus messing around time. I am torn since I keep doubling my count every year at what point is enough, enough? But on the other hand I just took my last case of honey to work for $5 each on a 12 oz bear.
the price for a nuc or a package is the same this year, 125.00
Quote from: 10framer on December 30, 2014, 01:32:58 AM
gary, back in the 50's and 60's (even ten 15 years ago) there was a lot more forage for bees. what's not a subdivision now is planted pine in the south and the entire midwest is either one giant corn field or hay field from what i've seen. the natural forests and farms with a variety of crops are just about gone. the land simply can't support the number of bees it used to. factor in the mites and the beetles along with the price of imported honey that started coming in around the 70's and it's gotten pretty tough to make a living as a beekeeper unless you want to be a migratory pollinator (and i think the stress of that on the bees is finally catching up to them). another thing to think about is the fact that a lot of backyard beekeepers don't make it and some that do probably propagate pests and diseases that spread through robbing. i think we'll see the prices go higher and higher for several more years.
Its called ecological disaster. Whats bad for the bugs that go splat on your windscreen is bad for the bees and evenually bad for us.
Around here, the price for a 5-frame nuc has been about $130. I hope to start selling a handful each year. In NC, you can sell up to 10 hives without a special permit. I think a better way to get bees is to set out swarm traps. Of course there isn't a guarantee that you will get bees, but it sure is fun. And free (minus what you pay for equipment). Just hang a nuc box up in a tree, bait it, and see what happens this spring.
I went to half of the bee meeting last night and when I left at break a couple of new keeps without bees ran me down to see if I had a list to get on. I told that that was Mother Nature?s job. It sounds like they will not be difficult to unload @$100 if I get them through.
3lb packages are going for $95 with first delivery dates around March 29th. Nuc's are in the $140 to $175 range.
I sell Nucs for $150.00 and $20.00 refund if they bring the Nuc back.
I had to go to my website and put "Booked up for Spring of 2015"
I got hit hard from folks wanting Nucs.
I'm in Central Arkansas.
Quote from: Packrat3wires on January 12, 2015, 12:53:43 PM
3lb packages are going for $95 with first delivery dates around March 29th. Nuc's are in the $140 to $175 range.
Ditto here, 90-115 for packages. 125- 175 for nucs if you can find em. G
I'd like to represent the demand side of the equation.
Is an extra $25 for a good nuc with higher probability of survival not better than saving money and having a dead out?
News flash!! Not everyone who sells nucs and packages is responsible and ethical. Unsuspecting backyard beekeepers like me get taken advantage of all the time.
Another thing: I was trying to get a Russian nuc for the spring, and it was impossible without driving 7 hours. Most certified members can sell as many as they make locally. So why shouldn't normal economic rules apply? when demand outstrips supply, then there is pricing power.