Present wholesale value of a package of bees
Plus
Present retail cost of new frames
Plus
Present wholesale value of 10-12 lbs of honey
Plus
Present retail value of 3 lbs of pollen or sub
Plus
Present cost of the nuc box
Plus
1 hour of labour at present rate
Plus retail cost of treatments
Plus target business margin (20-60% pending your model)
A nucleus colony product is superior to a package in every way, to the buyer/receiver. A nucleus colony product has the added equipment and labour, which have costs, and the price should always reflect that value. Folks selling nucs at price comparable to packages either; do not know what they are doing (willy-nilly), are looking for a spot to sink business losses, or are have excess/unwanted equipment to get rid of.
Do your own math on your operation. Know what your bottom line number is. That is how you should price your stuff.
Around here (Cdn$, FOB truck tailgate) 2021
- packages 220-260
- nucs 295-330
- will be 6 to 9 % higher for 2022 due to inflation causing escalating equipment costs.
Hope that helps.