# On-time package delivery for 2014?



## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

Mine on are schedule so far for the 25th of April.


----------



## Mountain Man (Aug 26, 2013)

Mine on schedule for April 6


----------



## hjsmith00843 (Jan 17, 2014)

I will be picking mine up next Friday. 3/21/14


----------



## pannu96 (Mar 7, 2012)

Picking mine on Sunday


----------



## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

I have already picked up 1 and am picking up 3 Sun..likely from the same supplier as pannu96...unfortunately it is to rain this weekend.


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

I haven't heard of any delays yet, but I think there will be..


----------



## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

bluegrass said:


> I haven't heard of any delays yet, but I think there will be..


Really what makes you think that. Perhaps for the northeast and great lakes, but the south up to ohio valley is running about normal. 

We're still ontime for April 6th. For you northern folks it will be a question of if you want them when its still cold.


----------



## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

My first load was scheduled for March 18, but glad they back them up two weeks. Just got another 7" of snow yesterday. Hives are set and ready for bees just need SPRING now.:thumbsup:
Lloyd what was your delivery date?


www.adropofhoney.net


----------



## [email protected] (Aug 1, 2004)

"Lloyd what was your delivery date?" My delivery date is April 1. If I get moved I will not know it until late next week or early the following week. Not good news that Ron's got delayed by 2 weeks...but my supplier is more than an hour south of Ron's.

We also got 6"+ of snow this week, but today will be 50 degrees and the red maples are (finally) blooming.


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

burns375 said:


> Really what makes you think that. Perhaps for the northeast and great lakes, but the south up to ohio valley is running about normal.
> 
> We're still ontime for April 6th. For you northern folks it will be a question of if you want them when its still cold.


What the weather is doing in our area doesn't matter, what does matter is what the weather is doing where the packages are produced. Once date changes start it is a domino effect on everybody down the list. If a supplier pushes back delivery by two weeks in March it is unlikely that the will be caught back up in April or May. 

I try and work with suppliers who have reputations for being on time... Others have chronic delay problems even in the best of years.


----------



## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

It doesn't make any difference if all the queens are junk, because they didn't get the queens mated right. I would take a two week delay to get a product that will produce. Weather play a big part in what you are going to get. Sorry to say some producer don't care, and sell the bees knowing or hopeing things don't come back to bite them. $$$$$$$$:digging::bus


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

I think in any business the operator should be able to know their limits of what they are capable of and what they are not, especially after being in the business for 4-5 decades.. But some guys over book every single year and because of that have delays every single year. In many cases it has nothing to do with the quality of the queens, they just can't shake any more bees out of their hives and have to give them time to hatch out. 

And getting the bees you ordered is always better then getting a big fat refund when June rolls around  I have seen that happen before and it happened last season to some people... End of April became mid May, then early June... Then the refund checks came through. When that does happen I start getting calls from people looking to order bees because their orders got canceled... Unfortunately it is usually too late for the season. 

Last year I sold a bunch of packs the week before delivery to customers who had ordered through some place out of NJ... Honey bee headquarters or something like that; they refunded money and stopped replying to emails and calls.


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

New York City Beekeepers have posted a 2 week delay on package bee delivery. Let the ball start rolling.


----------



## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

The problem is they is getting to be a lot of new players in the game and they don't know what they are doing (beekeeper wise). All they can see is the $$$$, and the fat deposits that they run there operations on with there customers $$$ for 6 months before sending there $$ back. Some hopeing there customer call and cancel so they get to keep there deposit $$$.:digging:

Been doing business with my supplier for almost 20 years and they are a keeper. The delays are for the best interest of my business and there's.

www.adropofhoney.net


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

If the new players get their act together they might come in handy when Canada re-opens the border. It will happen eventually and we will see the opposite of 86/87. Instead there being a surplus of packs and outfits going out of business there will be an extreme shortage and all the big outfits will be shipping to Canada again. Why deal with 100s of small re-sellers when you can send 20-50 K packs to a single buyer at a higher price?


----------



## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

Don't see it. The bee business is nothing today like it was back in the 80's. If Canada opens there borders again is, because of the problem that is at hand.:ws:
The Extreme shortage started 5+ years ago. Sorry it isn't going to get better, because my orders keep getting bigger. Supplier have dealers for a reason. Everyone wants to become a dealer with the markup of $20-$50 a package. Just not enough good supplier to go around.:waiting:


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

I don't believe there is a shortage... We have a bubble for sure. 

I have seen penned contracts already waiting for the border to open... Contracts that offer northern retail prices for packages by the semi-load. From a business standpoint can you imagine the profit margins that could be made if the large package suppliers shipped to a single customer? The way it would work is that a Broker in Canada would handle all the paperwork and all the packages would go through the broker... The broker handles all the smaller orders and distributes to the retailer.


----------



## shinbone (Jul 5, 2011)

bluegrass said:


> I don't believe there is a shortage... We have a bubble for sure.


I can't say for the rest of the country, but there is no bubble in the Rocky Mountain west. Suppliers in Colorado and surrounding states have sold out the last few years with buyers being turned away.


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

The bottle neck is at the suppliers end here in the North East. If I could predict how many packages I can sell I can supply everybody who wants bees. The last two years I was able to add on 50 packages right before pickup. Last year I added it on with the same supplier I use now, but the year before I went to another supplier and got them added on. 

Package producers usually have cancellations right before pickup and will have extras available on a weekly basis. I still have packs available as I haven't sold nearly what I did last year, but the cold weather and this years price increase has likely had an impact. I may even be cancelling packs myself this year. I am hoping to find a local club or another dealer to sell my excess to as I would rather haul them then cancel them.


----------



## JSL (Sep 22, 2007)

Bluegrass, that is interesting. I keep hearing of rather high losses, and still a strong interest from new beekeepers. Do you think pricing is starting to find a point of resistance when it comes to packages?


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

JSL said:


> Bluegrass, that is interesting. I keep hearing of rather high losses, and still a strong interest from new beekeepers. Do you think pricing is starting to find a point of resistance when it comes to packages?


New beeks don't seem to bat an eye, but I have long time customers who have balked at the price increase this year and decided they would just split instead of buying packs. 

In past years increases have been 1.00 or 2.00, this year I had to go up 10.00 and for many of my customers that is just too much. I don't think that packages have reached the top yet, but I think there will be a lag in what people think a package is worth. If we don't see another 10.00 increase next year I think my regulars will return and pay the prices, but it takes time to get over the initial shell shock.

I think in the next few years we will hit the top though and prices will stabilize or fall... Unless Canada's border opens and then packages just will not be available at first, and people will not be willing to pay the prices for them.


----------



## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

Kelleys sold out a couple weeks ago, pretty much every year for a while. They always have people looking after sold-out, so sometimes the suppliers will ship any extras. Who knows how many packages they actually recieve, next time ill ask. 

I bought a few to install at clients house for $85 from a honey producer who drives downsouth for a 100-pack. More than fair pricing, hes not greedy, he marks them up $10, to pay for the packages he wants. $100+ is pushing it IMO, when I can buy a local nuc for $125.


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

I can sell 100 packs like nothing, but I haul 10 times that amount in a single load. Some suppliers are limited by what they can haul. Some outfits make multiple small loads.

I do supply one of Kelley's satellite dealers and he isn't sold out. Betterbee was still taking orders not long ago, looks like they still have nucs available. To a point they are restricted to what they can sell due to what fits in a semi trailer, and at some point there has to be a cutoff of what you can distribute in a day, even if you could get the bees.


----------



## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

bluegrass said:


> To a point they are restricted to what they can sell due to what fits in a semi trailer, and at some point there has to be a cutoff of what you can distribute in a day, even if you could get the bees.


Probably why kelley does the first 2-3 weekends, trailer per week, or something. Also versatility for folks to plan. Package day is nuts, last year I made the mistake to pickup equipment the same day as package day, lots of folks in clarkson, there was actually traffic in a town (Clarkson) thats literally in the middle of nowhere.

How many packages fit in a trailer?


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

burns375 said:


> How many packages fit in a trailer?


It depends on the trailer. If you mean a semi-trailer it is between 1500 and 1800 or so.


----------



## olddrone (Sep 16, 2004)

I agree with Burns375. The "best" supplier around here is charging $110 a package, up from $98 last year, because of the producer $10 increase. That same supplier is charging $170 for an excellent five-frame nuc. That five-frame nuc can't be compared to a $125 five-frame nuc made up in South Carolina with two frames of brood, a frame of honey, two more frames with no brood or honey, and a queen cell. Last year the producer didn't even hold the nuc long enough to check for eggs, and at least a couple of customers got "nucs" with an unopened queen cell...with a dead larvae inside!

Most important of all, the producers have to solve the short-life problem with queens. If they don't solve that there will soon not be a package business!


----------



## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

olddrone said:


> Most important of all, the producers have to solve the short-life problem with queens. If they don't solve that there will soon not be a package business!


There's a solution for every problem, just have to look for it. Around here, packages and queens when bought in quantity, tend to be separate items. At least one local source for packages gets the New Zealand sourced packages, and Australian sourced queens at the same time. When you go pick up the packages in small retail quantities, they pick queens from a shipping box and hand you the queen in a cage. There is no correlation between the package, and the queen, they come from completely different sources, in different countries.

As far as talk of the Canadian border opening to packages, if it was going to happen, would have been this spring. The subject has been reviewed by regulators, and a verdict handed down last fall. It's highly unlikely that another review will come in the short term. Once the bureaucrats have dealt with these political hot potatoes, and a verdict is handed down, nobody going to risk burning fingers by touching it again in the short term. The issue will go back on the shelf, and stay there, until such time the risk of burned fingers politically is greater by not visiting the issue, than it is by re-visiting. For now, there has been a decision, and it'll probably be 5 years before the subject is even looked at again.


----------



## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

It all sounds like a SHORTAGE to me.
My hauler fits 900 packages and I only wish I could get more loads to haul to fill all the call orders that are coming in this last week. My phone rings as I type. Packages are like the demand for honey last fall. You need it and you will have to pay or do without. It's farming, get a good price on your crop and then the seed, machinery, and etc. goes up in price too. Last year was the biggest honey hick ever, and now this years package have taken a $10+ jump. Most years, honey goes up $.05-.15 a pound and packages goes up $2-3. Hate the price of packages, but really it is right in line for where the honey prices when last year.


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

The Honey Householder said:


> It all sounds like a SHORTAGE to me.


Look at the for sale threads; there are still a lot of packs being offered.


----------



## beehonest (Nov 3, 2011)

Mine are on schedule. I am getting two from Brushy Mtn this Wed. Things are looking good this year so far.


----------



## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

Bluegrass who is your supplier? Maybe we can put the packages you can't sell on one of my loads. Please tell me it's Wilbank's!


----------



## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

bluegrass said:


> Look at the for sale threads; there are still a lot of packs being offered.


The question is: are the packages from good suppliers. Price of packages and with the demand this year. I would be on the lookout:lookout: for SHORT SHAKEN on packages.


----------



## Greg Lowe (Feb 3, 2012)

Our Wilbanks order got bumped back 2 weeks from March 28 to April 11


----------



## Tiny Barn Farm (Dec 22, 2012)

Package bees from GA got bumped 2-3 weeks and Nucs from TX are going to be 2 weeks late this year. So far......


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

The Honey Householder said:


> The question is: are the packages from good suppliers. Price of packages and with the demand this year. I would be on the lookout:lookout: for SHORT SHAKEN on packages.


What's the matter? Somebody shows you no shortages so you make other excuses  Some really good years they over shake and then people fuss about them being light the following year when they only fill to the bottom of the syrup can.


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

Greg Lowe said:


> Our Wilbanks order got bumped back 2 weeks from March 28 to April 11


I spoke with my Producer yesterday and they are currently putting their packs out on time. No delays so far. But I used to deal with Wilbanks and delays are routine for him. I never received a Wilbanks pack without a few week delay or an eventual cancellation.


----------



## Broke-T (Jul 9, 2008)

Here in Central MS I am a week behind on queen rearing. There just wasn't enough drones to safely start grafting. Last two years I could have started grafting a week before I did and this year a week late so I feel the bees are at least two weeks behind normal years, whatever that is? Most everyone I talk to here in MS seing the same thing.

Johnny


----------



## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

Johnny, I think your right on the money. Only time will tell about these early packages that are being shipped. I know of two different dealers that are pick up packages this week that is wondering how there queens are going to do.


----------



## McBee7 (Dec 25, 2013)

So far my packages are still on schedule for April 4 pick up in Wisconsin
BUT spring is scheduled for Augest 4 ---maybe they will postpone winter
for a few months also...lol...

==McBee7==


----------



## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

Update:
My Packages are on time this year. I have been hearing of some delay through the grapevine for other distributors however.


----------

