# where do commercial beekeepers buy their bee hives and frames



## mobeekeeper

i was wondering if anyone knows where to buy the cheapest frames, hives


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## Rader Sidetrack

Welcome to Beesource!

Your question really does _not _have an answer that is correct for everyone. There is no point considering just the _purchase _price - you need to consider the _delivered _price! Since delivery charges vary by distance from the shipper, there are many different answers.

If you do not want to consider delivery costs, there are some that feel that Western Bee in Polson MT has some of the most aggressive pricing for woodenware:
http://westernbee.com/pages/beehive.html

But Montana is a long way from Missouri, in terms of shipping costs. :lookout:


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## westernbeekeeper

I make all my own equipment except for the foundation and queen excluder. I can start a double deep hive with bees (not including the 25lbs of feed) for $149.


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## mobeekeeper

i built my own but that is very time consuming and you dont really save that much money a deep hive costs $7.50 frames $0.55 in idaho but shipping makes it a bit more i was wanting to know of other companies that sell it cheap


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## Specialkayme

Western Bee is usually very cheap. But shipping takes it in the other direction for me.

Miller Bee Supply is also very cheap. But for me, you can't beat Mann Lake's prices. Their items are more expensive, but when you add in free shipping, it almost always beats anyone else in price, product for product. 

That is, of course, whatever I don't make myself.

Commercial operators usually buy in bulk. When you buy 10,000 frames at a time, you can negotiate prices. They will often get commercial quotes from Dadant, Kelley, and Mann Lake before placing orders. When you buy by the pallet, it makes sense to price shop.


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## jbraun

If you want to save on shipping(always a good thing)you have 2 resources about 100 miles from you. Honey Hive Farms is east on 70 then north on 61. Tim Moore has been in business for a few years and tries to be competetive in price. Dadant is the grandfather and is close also. 41 to 24 then cross the Mississippi at Keokuk to Hamilton Il. Also if you're new to beekeeping Boone County Beekeepers meets in Columbia. Clubs are great places to get lots of help. Good luck.


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## gtp086

The trade magazines, American Bee Journal, and Bee Culture, have advertisements of the usual commercial woodware suppliers. Expect to pay for freight shipping by the pallet. (Do you have a truck...) The milling quality varies. I was pleased with the corner fit of boxes by Browning Cut Stock (Idaho), and not pleased with K&M Bee World near Sacramento. The surface finish of Mann Lake frames is flawless. The Browning frames weren't so smooth but the bees clean them up. I have not had brand-to-brand compatibility issues yet, but one should pay attention.
Jerry -- Oakland --- beekeeping for 3 years


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## AmericasBeekeeper

Welcome!


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## EastSideBuzz

I get my frames from Western and I buy them 2500 at a time so shipping is a factor plus they come thousands of lbs so you need a forklift to get them off the truck or pay a drop fee.


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## Honey Hive Farms

Do a large buy in with a company like us, help us both out. All about networking and we do this a lot to help others out.


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## primeonly27

When you say commercial . . . 
Most really big commercial outfits do not use or buy frames anymore if it is wood. They get the 1 piece 100% plastic frames. It is the cheapest and easiest way to go on labor and weight for shipping. Though it take up lot of space until they are in use out in your apiary.


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## Honey Hive Farms

Mobeekeeper, welcome see this is your first day.


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## EastSideBuzz

primeonly27 said:


> When you say commercial . . .
> Most really big commercial outfits do not use or buy frames anymore if it is wood. They get the 1 piece 100% plastic frames. It is the cheapest and easiest way to go on labor and weight for shipping. Though it take up lot of space until they are in use out in your apiary.


Nothing like wood frames plastic inserts. Wood still lasts longer then plastic and feels better. Don't think the bee's care.


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## jim lyon

We buy strictly wood frames and assemble them ourselves (don't get me started). Mann Lake may be a bit cheaper than Western (Dadant) but their plastic foundation is usually a bit more. For quality and design I much prefer the Western frame. All plastic? Not us. Perhaps in the brood nest but they have their issues in an automated extracting system and can be hard on the hands.


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## HopCar

As a rule, if you're going to buy a large number of anything, ask for quotes from several sources. Don't just go to the big names. Give the smaller guys a chance. They will often be more flexible in their pricing.

While you're asking for quotes, give my friend Gloria, at South Florida Bee Supplies, a chance to quote.
http://sflbeesupplies.com/index.html


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## Honey-4-All

EastSideBuzz said:


> Nothing like wood frames plastic inserts. Wood still lasts longer then plastic and feels better.


Your dead on ESB. Assemble them yourselves and they are good to go for a full score or 2. The "pre assembled " ones are still garbage if you hope to "work bees like a man" and still manage to get more than 6 months out of them. Until someone comes up with a glue job that actually puts enough glue in the proper locations the old "by hand and eye" method suits me quite well.


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## EastSideBuzz

mobeekeeper said:


> i was wondering if anyone knows where to buy the cheapest frames, hives


Now looking back at the poster he has 2 posts and he is asking this type of question specifically to commercial guys. I am not sure if it is a shill or someone really looking for an answer. He lives in MO but references making equipment in Idaho. Maybe I am wrong and if so sorry. There are lots of threads on the search about this type of stuff.


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## mobeekeeper

i mentioned idaho and the prices because that is where i bought from i wanted to know places that are closer to me so shipping cost would be less and with similar 
prices and i am certaintly not a shill since i did not even mention what company i buy from in idaho thanks to everyone for there suggestions i did not hear of western bee supplies inc and it looks like a great place to buy in bulk


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## Keith Jarrett

mobeekeeper said:


> the cheapest frames, hives


The cheapest for me is..... at purchase time some of the more expensive wooden ware, but over time they get cheaper every year there still in use.
Some of the cheapest priced wooden ware gets to be the most expensive woodware every time the burn pile gets lit.


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## EastSideBuzz

Well then I do apologize. Just odd that a 3 time poster is asking commercial guys something so specific and not the general audience. Sorry for be skeptical.


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## primeonly27

Some have their opinions about 100% plastic. But when looking at large scale and costs of running a business to make a profit plastic is the way to go. Some brand are indeed garbage. While others you can get 10 years use out of. I call it slam and jam style beekeeping. A commercial guy once told me that if he spend more than 2 minutes a hive per month then he spent to much time on the hive. I like to use wood and wax and that is more time than anything but the bees like it (thermodynamics) the best and you can reclaim the wax every 2 to 3 years keeps the foreign pollutants out of the wax built into hive.


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## samoadc

Maybe he is young and has big ideas and dreams that hopefully and with a lot of hard work will be achieved. Best to read the book "RichDad, Poor Dad" as I think it is the finest book by far that I have read about how to make big money and learn how to keep it. Can google to get the authors ideas and the book is so popular that used book stores and thrift stores often have it for sale. I think it is so good that I buy copies and give them to young people when encouraging them to study hard. I do think if kids went to work around age six and then had a continuous life of work, studying with some pay for studying we would have a much better society as they would learn why they are in school and get a pay off almost immediately rather than going through college and then relizing they don't like the work their years of schooling trained them for.


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## Rader Sidetrack

primeonly27 said:


> I like to use wood and wax and that is more time than anything but the bees like it (thermodynamics) the best and you can [HIGHLIGHT] reclaim the wax every 2 to 3 years keeps the foreign pollutants out of the wax built into hive.[/HIGHLIGHT]


Hmmm ...

Where does "new" wax foundation come from? Perhaps from reclaimed wax contaminated with those "foreign pollutants"? 



> *High levels of miticides in comb wax
> 
> Beeswax remains the ultimate sink from the long-term use of the miticides fluvalinate, coumaphos, amitraz (Table 4) and bromopropylate [40], reaching 204, 94, 46 and 135 ppm, respectively. Colony residue levels of these miticides, after their in-hive application, have been shown to increase from honey to pollen to beeswax[16], [40]–[45]. Beeswax is the resource of the hive that is least renewable and is thus where persistent pesticides can provide a “toxic-house” syndrome for the bees. The uniform high levels of these miticides present in foundation is particularly disturbing, since replacement of comb is currently recommended to reduce pesticide contaminants.
> 
> http://www.plosone.org/article/info%...l.pone.0009754*


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