Author Topic: price of bee hives (Read 4610 times)

Keith13 · « **on:** February 28, 2008, 10:09:19 am »

I drive through the country side and i see bee yards with 30 or 40 hives and i think back when i bought my 2 and remember paying 150 bucks or so per hive. i'm no cheap skate but it seems like a sizable investment these people are paying to enjoy this "hobby" am i just shopping at the wrong sites? it seems everytime a colony splits it will cost me at least 100 bones is this right am i missing something?

DaneDodger · « **Reply #1 on:** February 28, 2008, 10:26:17 am »

Maybe they're building their own? I'd think that would cut the cost a fairly good bit. Or maybe they're just making enough profit with the bees somehow to expand to that level?
Jenn B.
central Texas

watercarving · « **Reply #2 on:** February 28, 2008, 10:43:25 am »

That's one reason I'm going with top bar hives. Not the only reason but cost was a factor.

NWIN Beekeeper · « **Reply #3 on:** February 28, 2008, 10:50:59 am »

Like any business, vendors tend to provide you a discount when you buy in significant quantity.

When you are in a business for a length of time, opportunities arise to buy other businesses.
This is often cheaper than retail too.

Sometimes its a matter of where you shop, or when consider shipping, where you buy.

Time can be a commodity for some folks, but for others its not a big deal to take the effort to make your equipment. Price will vary significantly with the quality of the board used and the equipment to get the board to a finished product.

Often it can be a blend of all the above to make the most financial sense.
Sometimes it can be more cost/time effective to buy feeders or complex items and cheaper to build hive/super bodies. It is also a matter of how much guts you have to have your fingers near the saw blades to make things too. An injury quickly makes the cost of any equipment appear not only reasonable, but cheap.

-Jeff

indypartridge · « **Reply #4 on:** February 28, 2008, 11:45:07 am »

First, if someone has 30 to 40 hives, they are sideliners, i.e., they are doing some selling. Maybe not "making money", but at least defraying the cost.

Second, many hobbies can quickly add up to serious dollars.

My dad started playing with trains when he retired (N-gauge). Over the years he spent over $10k on his toys.
My girls have horses. The horses didn't cost much, but when you throw in a trailer, a truck to pull the trailer, fences, stalls, tack, feed, vet & farrier bills, etc, it adds up.
My son's hobby is scuba diving. That's pricey.

I have a co-worker with a boat. When we talk about it, it makes me glad I have horses!

Other people spend money on new cars, hot tubs, vacations, big houses, big screen TVs, etc.
It's all a matter of perspective and priorities.

Scadsobees · « **Reply #5 on:** February 28, 2008, 12:22:53 pm »

Keep in mind to that this is a hobby that actually gives back.

If somebody has 30-40 hives they can easily be used pollination, locally that is about $40-60 / hive per year. That isn't a hobby it is a lot of work.

And they produce honey, if you have an average of 80lbs/hive and sell that for a simple $2/lbs (could be more retail if a niche, less wholesale) that is an additional $160/hive.

More than likely most of the hives that you see are up to 20 years old. That is a long time to amortize equipment when they can pay out in their own value every year.

I paid $100 for my first populated hive on older equipment. I bought some equipment new, some used. And I also made much equipment. I've bought some queens and packages(2) but most of my increase hives are from swarms or splits.

If you can get used equipment then you can save a lot of money and put splits/swarms in them.

Once you have the equipment it will last a long time.

Rick

Kathyp · « **Reply #6 on:** February 28, 2008, 01:06:07 pm »

also, like most hobbies, it tends to grow over time. i have a stall in my barn dedicated to bee stuff that i have been able to collect, but am not yet ready to use.

metzelplex · « **Reply #7 on:** February 28, 2008, 02:51:13 pm »

hello kathyp, I just thought I would add my 2 cents worth and let you know that Garreson publishing company from Bath,NY sells some books on bee hive construction and shows you how to set up your saws and make the jigs to make nucs and 9 and 10 frame boxes ,tops , bottoms and frames and how to make the different joints the author Peter Sieling is also a beekeeper himself . I ordered his stuff about 3 years ago and found it very helpful petersieling spelled as one word has a dot com web site you can check out when I ordered the books the author (peter sieling) answered the phone and I talked to him for about 20 minutes about beekeeping and about making boxes from scrap lumber piles from building sites that are no longer needed and then told me if I had any trouble understanding something he wrote to call him back and ask him questions I never did because everything is explained pretty well but it's kind of nice to know I could of called if I needed to . hope this helps . metzelplex

Jerrymac · « **Reply #8 on:** February 28, 2008, 02:57:52 pm »

metzelplex,

What happens when you say your name backwards?

Bennettoid · « **Reply #9 on:** February 28, 2008, 04:07:12 pm »

Quote from: Jerrymac on February 28, 2008, 02:57:52 pm

metzelplex,

What happens when you say your name backwards?

My brain just exploded.

Jerrymac · « **Reply #10 on:** February 28, 2008, 04:31:08 pm »

Quote from: Bennettoid on February 28, 2008, 04:07:12 pm

My brain just exploded.

You do know who metzelplex is don't you?

reinbeau · « **Reply #11 on:** February 28, 2008, 10:20:16 pm »

I have no idea, but googling that name is interesting.... :evil:

rdy-b · « **Reply #12 on:** February 28, 2008, 11:05:44 pm »

Quote from: Jerrymac on February 28, 2008, 02:57:52 pm

metzelplex,

What happens when you say your name backwards?

To be more specific surrounding Mxy's setup with Supes, Mxyzptlk has to wait 90 days each time Superman tricks him into saying or otherwise revealing his name backwards. The genius of the Superman: The Animated Series episode that featured Mxy was that suprisingly enough, Superman proved to be quite good at tricking the little imp, usually within seconds of his appearance.
diferant spelling dont think its the same guy :lol: RDY-B

Jerrymac · « **Reply #13 on:** February 28, 2008, 11:35:14 pm »

Quote from: rdy-b on February 28, 2008, 11:05:44 pm

diferant spelling dont think its the same guy :lol: RDY-B

Well fine then. Forget I brought it up. :(

rdy-b · « **Reply #14 on:** February 28, 2008, 11:48:36 pm »

can you say that backwards :-D

metzelplex · « **Reply #15 on:** February 29, 2008, 01:08:20 am »

yes rdy-b I did grow up reading superman comics I grew up on an old dairy out in the country about 15 miles from town we all worked ,listened to country radio and read any comic book and mad magazine that we could get a hold of that is till I turned 16 and bought an old pick up truck. funny thing is once I bought that old pick up I could'nt afford comics anymore all my money went to gas and girls. and no I can't say metzelplex backwards and it is a different spelling but it is kinda nice to know that i'm not the only one who knows where the name came from. metzelplex

Cass Cohenour · « **Reply #16 on:** February 29, 2008, 04:07:29 am »

>I drive through the country side and i see bee yards with 30 or 40 hives and i think back when i bought my 2 and remember paying 150 bucks or so per hive. i'm no cheap skate but it seems like a sizable investment these people are paying to enjoy this "hobby" am i just shopping at the wrong sites? it seems everytime a colony splits it will cost me at least 100 bones is this right am i missing something?

I'm sure that they started out like you, with a few hives. After they discovered the joy of beekeeping they slowly expanded their numbers, most likely by having extra equipment (by buying only what is needed through the years) on hand to hive some swarms over the years.
I'm sure that no one ever told you that this was a cheap and inexpensive hobby, like collecting magnets for your refrigerator. After you cough up the initial investment for some woodenware it will last years if you take care of it properly. Repairing Hive Bodies
Where do you buy your woodenware from? Do you know that there are plenty of cheap sources available? There are a a few woodworkers here who make equipment to sell, CHEAP!!! Do some networking with the local beekeepers in your area and find out what is available.

Jerrymac · « **Reply #17 on:** February 29, 2008, 05:16:24 am »

Quote from: rdy-b on February 28, 2008, 11:48:36 pm

can you say that backwards :-D

Taht :-D

Bennettoid · « **Reply #18 on:** February 29, 2008, 11:55:16 am »

Quote from: Jerrymac on February 29, 2008, 05:16:24 am

Quote from: rdy-b on February 28, 2008, 11:48:36 pm
can you say that backwards :-D

Taht :-D

Brian D. Bray · « **Reply #19 on:** February 29, 2008, 04:20:27 pm »

Quote from: keith13 on February 28, 2008, 10:09:19 am

I drive through the country side and i see bee yards with 30 or 40 hives and i think back when i bought my 2 and remember paying 150 bucks or so per hive. i'm no cheap skate but it seems like a sizable investment these people are paying to enjoy this "hobby" am i just shopping at the wrong sites? it seems everytime a colony splits it will cost me at least 100 bones is this right am i missing something?

MOst likely these are out yards for sideline commercial beekeepers. It might even be a queen rearing operation. When I go to Eastern Wahington to visit my older brother you can find dozens of these type of yards. Many are just holding yards between pollination assignments, others are more permenant for collecting source specific honey types or as mentioned queen operations.