Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: 71Corvette on January 10, 2016, 11:24:28 am
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How much do you sell established hives for?
I'm interested in the selling price for established hives with bees consisting of 10 frame equipment with two deeps, two medium supers with fully-drawn foundation and associated wooden ware. All hives would have healthy, overwintered bees.
How much would the price difference be for hives with a full colony vs. a nuc-sized colony in the spring?
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It varies from area to area. Check with a local bee club, craig's list and some of the major bee equipment suppliers. That'll give you a ball park idea. I, and others, suggest that you don't buy used equipment. Some of the foul brood diseases are microscopic and can tolerate some serious cleaning.
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I sell 4 frame nucs with local survivor bees for $200 which includes delivery. If I was going to sell a set up like you describe with newer equipment and great bees I would charge around $600. I am assuming the deeps and mediums have bees and honey. I am also assuming that the equipment is clean, disease free as far as possible and the bees were not used for conventional agriculture.
If these are pollination bees off of almonds with older equipment I would price around the $250 range.
I am sure that many here may consider these prices high but I am running a buissness and the equipment along would be around $300 and I put high value on built out frames.
I would also not consider selling this big set up to a beginner as it is too many bees to start out with.
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What Superbee said.
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Although this is my first year I have built close to twenty hives. By the time you buy materials for a bottom board, deeps, inner cover, telescoping cover, and frames you have spent a few dollars. Add time for cutting, assembly, sanding and painting. I'd sell for no less than $300 dollars without bees and wax. I'm also finding out that as a beginner comb is worth a considerable amount as well.
I concur with the previous post(s).
By the way - I started building my own equipment because I wasn't satisfied with the quality I got from the three places I tried buying my first pieces of equipment from.
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It was five or six years ago when I started, I bought three established hives, the boxes weren't in that good of shape. I built new boxes and moved the frames into them. I got the three hives with some extra supers, supers were shallow, brood was in deeps for $125 each. Now you don't usually find them for that price, the beek had died and told his daughter to sell them for that. I have found some since for 450 to 600, they were in great shape and full of bees, another beek had died and his wife was selling them.
Joe D