# Where Can I Sell Bulk Honey



## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Bob D said:


> I'm in the SE New Hampshire area (About 1 Hr From Boston) and I was wondering if anyone can tell me where I can seel raw bulk honey and what it goes for for a 5 Gallon Pale.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> ...


How much honey are you talking about?


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## Bob D (May 15, 2005)

*Selling Honey*



Michael Palmer said:


> How much honey are you talking about?


Well, right now I'm not sure. One (1), possibly Two (2) 5 Gallon Pales. I'm new and don't have a market yet and I'd rather sell it in bulk than have it just sitting around forever until I do get a market.

I used all Deeps (a big mistake) for honey supers and I have, it now appears, 4 to 6 deeps full of honey at least. Me being new, I don't know what that relates to... May not even be a 5 Gallon pale, but it sure weighs a ton!

Bob


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## Nate (Dec 16, 2007)

5gallon pail is 60 pounds of honey.

A full deep weighs 90lbs, not sure how much of that is honey.

When i first read the title, i thought you meant you would be selling 55gallon drums.


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## BULLSEYE BILL (Oct 2, 2002)

Try your local brewing supply shops. I will drop off a bucket every now and again, mine is not a big seller but every little bit helps.


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## mobees (Jul 26, 2004)

*Bulk Honey*

Your better off saving it and trying to find a farmers market. You will get a
better price by the jar. Most buyers are going to want larger quantities,
gas is so dam expensive driving to drop off a few buckets only helps Exxon
and others not you . It will keep in a sealed bucket, just make sure it's less that 18%.


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## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

I would not be afraid of just hanging on to it, unless you need the money to pay some of your investment/start-up costs.

If you harvest capped honey, it will sit in a 5-gallon bucket indefinitely. It will granulate so you'll need to find a way to warm it up if you plan to bottle later. Lots of ideas in the archives on how to re-liquefy honey.

I sell five-gallon buckets to a local health food store for $85. It's a little on the low side but I really like this guy and want to give him a break. He sells it to customers who bring in their own containers, but I'm not sure what price he gets.

You might also ask another beekeeper who bottles his own honey if he/she would like to buy it. A couple of buckets to add to their supply is often welcome.

Grant
Jackson, MO


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## Troy (Feb 9, 2006)

I've learned an important lesson about it granulating. Heating a 5 gal pail is difficult. I am starting to store some of my honey (the darker stuff that does not sell real quick) in Qt. mason jars. 

The mason jars are a bit more expensive than 5 gal pails, but so much easier to deal with. A case of them at Wal-Mart is like $8, and that holds 3 gal. a 5 gal pail costs me about $12-14 depending on the shipping, so the glass is only marginally more. The rectangular cases stack real nice with a label on the outside of the box it is easy to stack and store.

Warming it to de-granulate it is easy too. I set a pot of cold water right up to the rims of the jars, but not over. I take the tops off and put the honey in the microwave for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally. It gets hot and de-granulates very quickly. I put the tops back on and set in the cold water for a quick cool down. This way the honey doesn't get too hot and is not hot for very long. The entire warm up and cool down process takes less than 15 mins and it is good as new.

I originally thought the jars might crack, but they are canning jars and seem to take it just fine. They are not as hot as boiling water when they come out of the microwave and and then set into cool water, so I guess the difference is not that much and the glass can take it just fine.


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## moonlightbeekeeper (Jul 4, 2007)

*microwave honey???*

I would never microwave honey to re-liquify it. It heats (actually boils) the honey on a molecular level. That kills all of the good enzymes that we all tout as the most beneficial properties of honey. If you heat honey over about 165 degrees is when the enzymes die. What you can do, is to find a used refrigerator and place a small electric heater in it. Using a inside/outside thermometer to tell what the inside temp is you can set it so that it doesn't get above 129 degrees then put your honey into it for 2-6 days. the honey will bee just as it was when you extracted it for about a year if you have any questions then e-mail me or post a reply!!!! In my heater i can liquify about 10-15 Quarts plus 2 5-gal pails in about 4 days maybee longer if it is sunflower honey


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## The Honey House (May 10, 2000)

Bob D said:


> I'm in the SE New Hampshire area (About 1 Hr From Boston) and I was wondering if anyone can tell me where I can seel raw bulk honey and what it goes for for a 5 Gallon Pale.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> ...


Bob
There was a guy who posted last week looking for honey. I think he said he was from Fremont, which is not to far from you. Give him a call. He was also looking for help so maybe you could pay him in honey.


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## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

Troy said:


> Heating a 5 gal pail is difficult. I am starting to store some of my honey (the darker stuff that does not sell real quick) in Qt. mason jars.
> 
> The mason jars are a bit more expensive than 5 gal pails, but so much easier to deal with. A case of them at Wal-Mart is like $8, and that holds 3 gal. a 5 gal pail costs me about $12-14 depending on the shipping, so the glass is only marginally more.


Troy, you're paying WAY TOO MUCH (yeah, cap letters mean I'm shouting) for plastic buckets. Go to any bakery, the bakery at Wal-Mart, the bakery/deli at the grocery store and you can get them for free, or $1 at the worst. Some you'll have to wash in the dishwasher if you remove the upper rack.

I made a wood box to fit two five-gallon buckets. I wired it with common light bulb sockets and used a thermostat from a hot water heater set on low. With a min/max outdoor thermometer I have it calibrated to a max temp of 102 degrees. I can easily un-granulate my buckets, even glass jars.

While I respect everyone's opinion and methodology, I think you're making too much work for yourself.

Grant
Jackson, MO


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## Bob D (May 15, 2005)

Do you knopw who that way or how I could find the posting?

Bob


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## Troy (Feb 9, 2006)

moonlightbeekeeper,

What you are saying is not consistent with what I have read in other places.

It was my understanding that the bad things that happen to honey with heat are a function of both time and temperature. That say 24 hrs at 130 is just as bad as 1 hour at 150 - for instance.

So what I was trying to do is to heat and cool the honey as quickly as possible. The honey does not boil. For sure it probably gets warmer than the 110 or 120 that is necessary to de-granulate it. I felt though that this was more than offset by the fact that the total time heated was reduced as low as possible.

I can heat it, de-granulate it, and return it to below 100 degrees in like 15 minutes. I could detect no off smells or flavors in any way the honey smells and tastes just as good as before granulation. If there is any degradation, I have no way to detect it or measure it. 

This seems a lot better to me that to heat it for as much as 6 days. Surely after 6 days even at 120 degrees many compounds cook off or break down. This has got to be just as bad if not worse than what I am doing, and I find the microwave and cool soak much more doable than to heat a 5 gal pail. I have no warming cabinet, nor the space to build or keep one.

I know there is some trace compound that rises as honey is destroyed by heat. Does anyone know how to test for it? I would be interested to experiment with this if I could test for it.


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## Troy (Feb 9, 2006)

Grant,

I have gone to several places like you mentioned and the only one who still uses actual 5 gal pails anymore is my local supermarket bakery (Publix).

Dunkin' Donuts and several others I have spoken too use boxed goods with heavy duty bagged liners instead of pails, so they are disposable.

I have also had problems with the pails from Publix. Some are badly scratched from the paddles and spatula's that they use, some the tops don't seal properly, some are just plain difficult to get clean. They are often from different products too, so they are slighty different and don't stack well. Soem are 3 gal, some 3.5, some are 5. I use them to store comb from cut outs and things like that, but my finished honey product goes into pristine buckets with tight fitting lids and more and more I'm liking the idea of the mason jars. I can store them in the jars; the boxed jars stack very efficiently on a shelf, and for people who want larger quantities of honey I can sell them directly in those jars.

I will always need 5 gal buckets from time to time. If you have any sources of almost new, clean buckets, with tight fitting lids - I'm all ears.


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## beyondthesidewalks (Dec 1, 2007)

I store all kinds of food stuff in 5 gallon buckets. Getting the used buckets can be a hit or miss thing. You must have high standards to use them for food. 

I once had some buckets that contained soft drink syrup in their previous life. The cola and root beer smells and flavor were imparted on everything stored in those buckets.

Plastic is porous and holds smells very readily. New buckets might be the safest but more costly route. Another option is using a pail liner. I've had good luck with them.


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## Bodo (Mar 11, 2008)

moonlightbeekeeper said:


> I would never microwave honey to re-liquify it. It heats (actually boils) the honey on a molecular level. That kills all of the good enzymes that we all tout as the most beneficial properties of honey. If you heat honey over about 165 degrees is when the enzymes die.


Not to be nit picky, but that's not correct. When you microwave an item, you are making the water molecules spin. That spinning motion creates heat that then heats the rest of the item. 
Low power microwaving should be fine.


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## The Honey House (May 10, 2000)

*I think you already have his number!*



Bob D said:


> Do you knopw who that way or how I could find the posting?
> 
> Bob



Hey BOB!
I think it was Dave V from Fremont who is looking for some honey.
Hope it's not the gunk at the bottom of that dirty extractor! 
I think he also goes by the handle of "The Honey House".

PM me.


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## IABeeMan (Aug 19, 2007)

Troy said:


> I've learned an important lesson about it granulating. Heating a 5 gal pail is difficult. I am starting to store some of my honey (the darker stuff that does not sell real quick) in Qt. mason jars.
> 
> 
> It is actually rather easy. I wrap the 5 gal bucket with a heating pad and leave it on for a few hours and the honey is nice and warm when I return.


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## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

My sources for used plastic buckets, in almost new condition, come from bakeries and delis. Wal-Mart and Lowes have new buckets for about $4 and you have to pay another $2 for lids. I guess if I were in your position I would keep asking around at food service places, maybe even your regular restaurants to see if they get any food items in buckets.

One word of warning. I have a deli where I can an unlimited amount of pickle buckets. I'm still playing around with a couple trying to find a good way to get rid of the pickle smell. So far, they are winning that battle! It's turning into a fun project, but if I was serious about converting used pickle buckets into honey containers, it would simply be TOO MUCH WORK (yep, I'm shouting again!).

Grant
Jackson, MO


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

"One word of warning. I have a deli where I can an unlimited amount of pickle buckets. I'm still playing around with a couple trying to find a good way to get rid of the pickle smell. So far, they are winning that battle! It's turning into a fun project, but if I was serious about converting used pickle buckets into honey containers, it would simply be TOO MUCH WORK (yep, I'm shouting again!)"

Grant I know people that use pickle buckets (NOT ME they stink) and say they have no trouble, I actualy put some that I extracted for a guy in his "stinky" buckets that had had honey in them already and they still STINK.


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## dcross (Jan 20, 2003)

Warming 5 gal. pails is a cinch! I just use a freezer with a small electric heater w/fan and thermostat inside. Cheap thermometer to watch the temp., keep them just under 100F for a day or so.

My mom works in a deli, they throw out 3 gal. pails all the time.


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## Troy (Feb 9, 2006)

I have no room in my house or garage for another fridge or freezer. I think my neighbors would frown on my leaving it outside on the side of my house - so for me the quart mason jars are a good working alternative.

I like the heating pad idea if it works that quickly. Frankly I'm surprised it works that well.

A fellow beek lent me her hot belt one time and it took 2-3 days to uniformly heat the pail, so a few hours is a huge improvement.


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## hummingberd (Aug 26, 2006)

Grant said:


> I have a deli where I can an unlimited amount of pickle buckets. I'm still playing around with a couple trying to find a good way to get rid of the pickle smell.


Try soaking them overnite with baking soda and hot water from the tap. I tried it and had success! Cheers...

Bob-

I just mashed up your honey, and let it strain through cheese cloth. It took a little time, but the honey came out great! I used mason jars as the container and just screwed the open lid part over the cheese cloth and kept feeding the cloth till the honey was all gone. You might just be able to place the honey & wax in a container and let it set in a sunny window sill for a 1/2 hour or so to liquify it a little....good luck!


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## moonlightbeekeeper (Jul 4, 2007)

*liquify how much heat?*

I've also left jars of honey in the front or back of a closed up car for a couple of hours with good success


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## moonlightbeekeeper (Jul 4, 2007)

*To microwave or not to microwave honey*

this can be the start of a whole different thread if we want but here is a good start

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01565.htm

try that
i have a cutout to do i'll check back for reply and may start the new thread later


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## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

*bucket*

Rural King 5 gal pail $2.99 lid $1 western ky area. never had a problem. used to get them from Central Tractor but the local store closed.


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## moonlightbeekeeper (Jul 4, 2007)

*5 gal buckets*

does anyone worry about the fact that you cannot store honey in anything except food grade plastic and then sell it for human consumption? The cheapest thing you can do is to get food grade pails from the bakery at the nearest store unless you want to pay about $6.50 each for them. The local food store will save the 3.5 to 4 gal buckets and even rinse them out for you if you ask nicely.


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## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

*food grade*

if you look at the recycle emblem cast into most buckets(mostly bottoms) you will see that "food grade" is reflected as a particular recycle grade. as long as a bucket is new and has the correct grade of plastic content, i don't give it another thought.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

i have no idea what the regulations or definitions are for "food grade", but it seems to me that something at home depot (or anything else that isn't specifically sold as food grade) might well not be handled/stored the same as something designed (or simply marketed) towards food use.
if i had the choice of buying honey from someone that used only food grade containers, and someone that used homer buckets from home depot, i know which one i'd pick.

deknow


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## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

*food grade*

don't ask , don't tell....


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

imho, that attitude will bite you in the ....

i would certainly ask, and i would certainly hold it against someone if they lied about such a thing. i would bet that using non-food grade containers would be something the fda (and hopefully the honey industry) would be concerned about.

this is food we are talking about here.

deknow


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## ekrouse (Aug 26, 2004)

*Food Grade Plastic*

The 5-gal buckets you buy from Home Depot, Lowes, etc are made of high density polyethylene (HDPE). These are the exact same buckets McDonalds, Burger King and all use for food (pickles, etc). They are also sold for packaging paint, etc. Once a chemical like paint has been in the bucket it is contaminated since the plastic will absorb some of the chemicals it comes into contact with.

Here is a quote from the U.S. plastic catalog: "made of high-density polyethylene and meet NMFC, FDA and UFC requirements Container and cover can be hot filled up to 190° F, and frozen.

Listed below are some links to a couple of manufacturers.

http://www.leaktite.com/

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pr...A23225C7DB6631751079B7B8F7953918CDE6951BEBCD4

Also, here is some information off the web on types of plastics and their uses with food.

-Eric

•	Plastics #s 1, 2, 4, and 5 are safer and are not known to leach chemicals. 
o	We got drinking cups from #5, polypropylene, online, but I'm sure we can find things locally. You have to ask what it's made of since it doesn't say anything on the box. You can also get matching plastic plates. 
o	Betras' cups are made of polypropylene too and they are colorful and inexpensive. 
•	Never use Styrofoam, especially not for hot drinks/soups. 
•	Don't reuse plastic containers by washing in the dishwasher; wash by hand and dispose before too many uses. This is just my own theory that the heat and dishwasher soap will break them down quicker but this is based upon that study about leaching from reused water bottles that were cleaned with very hot water.
•	Don't put any plastic in the microwave (you know, we don't even have a microwave) including plastic bags or containers - only use glass or ceramic. And never microwave with plastic wrap despite what the cooking or instructions tell you! It may be safe for microwaves in that it won't melt, but it's not safe for you to eat from the leaching of the heating of the plastic wrap.
•	When storing things with fat (cheese or covering a fatty soup or oil), don't ever use plastic because the fat tends to cling to the plastic and it leaches more into fatty foods. Liquid, water, as well as acidic foods like citrus and tomatoes also encourage leaching so those should only be stored in glass or ceramic as well.
•	When you get the cheese home from the store, take it out of the container and store it in a safer container. If you really want to be extra cautious, slice off a thin layer of cheese from the top and bottom that touched the plastic.
•	Don't use plastic wrap from Costco (the Stretch-Tite brand) and instead get Glad or Saran Wrap. Don't get cheese prepackaged by deli bc they probably wrap in the bad (PVC or #3) plastic wrap. And don't let your food touch plastic wrap.
o	I only use plastic for cool/cold food for the kids and use ceramic or glass for hot. 
o	Most of the time our kids, even the baby, eat on our regular plates instead of kid plastic plates to avoid any potential leaching of chemicals and lessen their exposure to plastics.
o	I use Pyrex for storing food though I've read that most Tupperware is fine; other brands of plastic storage may not be fine though. See The Green Guide for a complete list and CHEC for more information.
o	Get food in paper and glass when possible. This includes when you get things for take out. At Whole Foods, for example, opt for the paper box over the plastic container.
•	Use Pyrex for storing food or Anchor Hoching. These are nice since they'll also double to reheat food in the oven (or microwave) so it's easy. Polly tells us that K-Mart has a nice inexpensive glass storage line by Martha Stewart too. (thanks for that tip, Polly!)
Safer plastics are:
#1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) - usually for soft drinks, water bottles, ketchup and salad dressing, peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars 
#2 high density polyethylene (HDPE) - used mostly for milk, water and juice bottles, yogurt and margarine tubs, cereal box liners, and grocery, trash and retail bags 
#4 low density polyethylene (LDPE) - bread and frozen food bags and squeezable bottles 
#5 polypropylene (PP) - margarine tubs 
Plastics to avoid include:
#3 polyvinyl chloride (V or PVC) - 2nd most commonly used plastic in the world. Many toys are PVC too and kids put everything in their mouths so watch out for those! Opt for more wooden toys instead - they last longer in play meaning less time in a landfill and the time they are in the landfill is a whole lot less than plastic as they will disintegrate.
My concern also is that so many things we may use regularly are made of polycarbonate including juicers, food processors, dehydrators, and sometimes even blenders and coffee machines. If that product is made of glass, we always choose that instead. Sometimes you can find alternatives in stainless as well. I am checking into Juicers, Food Processors and the like and will post additional information as I learn about it.
#6 polystyrene (PS) - foam & Styrofoam
#7 other (usually polycarbonate) - many drinking cups are made of this, baby bottles, big water jugs (and we thought we were doing a good thing having that full water jug ready for drinking anytime, right?) - these leach as they age and mostly into fatty foods. I think it's probably ok for grains but better to get rid of all of these. There is a link between bisphenol-A and phthalates and early onset of puberty. Puberty and Plastics, Dec 2003, Mothering Magazine Some Tupperware products are made of this but very few. This is the plastic that looks like glass; it's very stiff and doesn't have a "plastic" look to it.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Would you buy them if they cost $2.00 each? I know a guy who sells new buckets for $2.00 each. He also cleans and sanitizes buckets, by the truck load, to be reused by olive and pickle producers.

He's near Watertown, NY and Lowville, NY.


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## Romahawk (Jul 11, 2005)

I recently heard on the national news that there was a problem of harmful gas being released by plastics used in baby bottles, soda bottles, and in the bottled water being sold everywhere. Are they not food grade? If i remember right the harmful gases were given off when the plastic was warmed up. What happens to your food grade plastic pails or honey containers when they are heated to liquefy them? I think I'll stick to glass if I can.


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## Romahawk (Jul 11, 2005)

ekrouse you must have been posting as I was typing, sorry for repeating a couple of things you said.


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## beegee (Jun 3, 2003)

Marketing honey at retail is the easy part. I can sell all I can bottle without advertising(other than the sign on my truck window) or a display or any effort beyond toting it around in the cab of my truck. People stop me in parking lots and at red lights to ask if I have honey for sale. I could get rid of 10 gals in a heartbeat.


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## George 28 (Dec 22, 2011)

Hi Bob do you still have the honey? I am looking for some.


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## lakebilly (Aug 3, 2009)

I found a turkey cooker propane unit @ a yard sale ($35) & use a galvanised tub (Agway $15) that a pale or 5 gal jug fits in. I have 5-6" of water in bottom on a low heat, liquifies 5 gal in less than 2 hrs. I have considered getting an electric pale heater ($105.) catalog says 6hrs to do 5 gal.

1lb/2lb containers (12-15 @ a time) fit in my roaster w/ 1-2" water on low takes around 5-6 hrs. I found that my coffee maker will do the job on 1lb jars. my mom put her glass 2lbers in dishwasher. 

I plan on heating my honey extracting eq. w/ hot water tank pumped through tubing. That is all in the planning stage, I haven't settled on anything yet.

Anyone have pics/links of their small/mid-size space setup for heat room/forced hotwater?

Sorry off topic some.


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## George 28 (Dec 22, 2011)

Hi I am looking for some bulk honey. It depends how far I have to dirve. I live in centeral Ma. George 28


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## tMcf (May 4, 2011)

WE TOO ARE LOOKING FOR A PLACE THAT BUYS BULK HONEY IN BUCKETS OR BARRELS-LIKE 6,000 POUNDS. ANY IDEAS WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED.


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

tMcf said:


> WE TOO ARE LOOKING FOR A PLACE THAT BUYS BULK HONEY IN BUCKETS OR BARRELS-LIKE 6,000 POUNDS. ANY IDEAS WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED.


DO you realize this thread has not been posted on in 4 years? Actually started 8 years ago..


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## tMcf (May 4, 2011)

sc-bee said:


> DO you realize this thread has not been posted on in 4 years? Actually started 8 years ago..


YES.I REALIZED AFTER I POSTED, SO I STARTED A NEW THREAD.THANKS.


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