It's not Home Depot of Lowe's but it's no mom and pop store. http://www.farmandfleet.com/lawn-garden/gardening/beekeeping/ I can't help but wonder how many people will impulse buy this stuff not understanding diddle of what's actually required. It's akin to some of the people who bought "Flow hives" without having any experience with bees. I don't see any way to buy bees from them though. I wonder what the buyers are being told at check out when they ask how/where to get bees.
I've seen that brand in a couple of local hardware stores. Some of the equipment looks and feels cheaper than from the big suppliers. The price is also high. Seems to me that small business owners are trying to get in on the action of the growth in hobby beekeeping. I doubt the sales will justify keeping much in stock. Less internet savvy folks may go the route of having the store order products for them, but most folks are going to go online for themselves and find the bigger suppliers. Of course it is nice to know there is a place I can go right down the road to get a bee brush, hive tool, or entrance feeder or veil in case of emergency. I doubt many people will l buy a complete setup from them. Man, that would bee expensive.
"" including a deep (9.125") brood box,""
I wonder if that's a misprint or if the box is a half inch short?
I bought my first hive from the Montgomery and Ward Farm catalogue. The same book sold nest boxes, grain augers, barn cleaners and fencing. I bought a "starter kit" , Vail, some books and a 3 lb package of Italians. I got the equipment and books in mid winter and was ready when the package arrived in spring. It was shipped from York in Jessup Ga. If memory serves, the package of bees was $12.00. That was 1971. I was 12. At that point in time i knew no one that had bees. I paid for it with money from fixing fence, shovelling manure and sweeping the floor in a warehouse. I?ve been keeping bees ever since.
That's a great story hthermit!
I wanted to start with bees back then, too, Hilltop, but lived in an apartment back then. That was a golden time for getting into beekeeping. So you've had the great experience of keeping bees before varroa, small hive beetles, and other near-disasters and learned to contend with them as they came along --- and kept right on. My hat and veil are off to you and others like you who have endured.