# My experience with Chuck Norton



## belt152

Hi All,

It is with humbling despair that I write this email to forewarn anyone all to avoid Chuck Norton (Norton Honey Farm) at all cost. Long story short, I am a second year beekeeper who saved up enough money to buy some queens to start my own nucs. I read my American Bee Journal and Bee Culture and noticed an add (Norton) for Russian Queens. So I searched the Internet and found his website which seemed quite nice. I read all his information and decided to spend my savings and purchase 10 of his TIER-2 queens at $35 each plus $11 S&H. This was in MAY. 

He told me to call in June set delivery. So I called and was told to call early July for delivery. So I called and was told to call in late July for delivery. So I called and was told to call in early August. So I called and he said to make up my nucs he was shipping on that Wednesday. Well, Thursday came and no queens. As did Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and the following Monday. So I called and asked if he had and shipping the queens and he said "Well, No, I don't really have any queens to ship." This after telling to go ahead and make up my 10 nucs. 

So, I lost 10 nucs plus time and material to make them up. 
I have also lost my savings of $361 dollars to further my beekeeping career.
Chuck will not return any call or email of mine.
I contacted the president of the Russian Queen association (Charles Harper) and was told there is nothing they can do as they more of a CLUB than a regulated organization. 

Hopefully this email will keep anyone else from being ripped off by Chuck Norton. As for me, I'm out my $361 savings and have a bad taste from the Beekeeping hobby. Hopefully I can save more money and expand my new found hobby next year. 

Caveat emptor

Chris Childress


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## alpha6

Here are a few things you can do even if you can't get back your money. Go to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and file a complaint against the company. Next if you sent him a check through the mail service you can file a mail fraud complaint at your nearest post office (check online as you may be able to do that also.) You will need a copy of the canceled check from the bank and knowing the date you mailed it will help. They will launch an fraud investigation. Lastly I would write the editor of the rag you found the advertisement. Explain that the person or company advertising in their mag is engaged in fraud and theft.

I know it won't get you back your money, but it may keep others from losing theirs and keep him from ripping off others.


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## Tom G. Laury

*A Mans word*

Chris I'm really sorry. You could spend the rest of your life with bees , buying queens, and not have the same experience. Koehnen & sons in Calif is as good as it gets. Ask on this site for others. Most queen producers know very well how much their customers depend on them. 

An old timer told me once: "you have to live without it, but he has to live with it."


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## NeilV

FWIW, I don't think others in the Russian Bee Breeders Assoc. should be lumped in. I dealt with Hubert Tubbs this year, and he provided excellent product and service.

However, that Association needs to monitor its members and should not hesitate to eliminate any bad apples they find to exist.


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## naturebee

I wonder who wrote this article praising "Chucks queen business“? 
Red flags should go up, if it were Chuck.

I would see this as a hard lesson learned for the consumer not to be suckered in by fancy bee articles and bee ads. 

Your experience is why I always recommend to buy queens local, or from breeders that the local bee group recommends OR what the majority of experienced beekeepers on bee source or other lists agree is a good place to get queens. 

When buying from new sources for queens; I find it best to try out a few queens first, before diving in with too much cash. This way, you are “testing the queens“, as well as “testing the breeder.”

I don’t mean to be harsh, but if it were my son that made this mistake, I would really lay into him. But the reality of it is, that it is as much a foul-up on the consumers side, as it is a foul-up on the businessman’s side. When we go off on our own, without the guiding support and references from local beekeepers and internet friends, that is the risk we take.
These mistakes, you NEVER forget.

Best Wishes
Joe
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles/


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## Hobie

alpha6 said:


> Go to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and file a complaint against the company...


Sadly, the BBB is a worthless entity. You file a complaint, and they "investigate" it for months, including trying to contact the accused business for their side of the story. Meanwhile, if the business does nto respond, their rating remains "good" on the BBB site. Only after about 3 months does the complaint come up, and then it's some useless comment like "1 complaint filed." No explanation, nothing. And if the business replies saying they resolved the problem with the customer (whether they have or not), the BBB believes them, your complaint vanishes from the records, and no one ever contacts you to tell you this.

Even if they never respond, after a year, the BBB wipes the slate clean. I think the government has taken all the teeth out of that department. They do not have the authority to take any action except sending letters.


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## riverrat

sorry to hear you had a bad experience. Its people like that that shouldnt be allowed to operate. IMO When life deals you a lemon try to make lemonade. I would have taken a chance and added a frame of eggs to each nuc and let them make there own queen to possibly get you thru until spring. It would be late to do this but better than throwing the cards on the table and walking away with nothing.


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## MapMan

Hobie said:


> Sadly, the BBB is a worthless entity.


I agree with Hobie - the BBB isn't even worth your time to call. Chris, I hope you can recover your funds in some way. In the future, remember that you have "ears" on Beesource - if you had made an inquiry about the business, or had lodged a complaint earlier, someone might have been able to put some pressure on Norton, or the very least, been able to supply you with queens before it was too late in the season. 

We're here for 'ya! Take care.

MM


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## blaine

Perhaps the prosecuting attorney can help you. This amounts to theft. Give him a demand for immediate refund, or tell him you will turn it over to law enforcement.


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## Eaglerock

MapMan said:


> I agree with Hobie - the BBB isn't even worth your time to call.
> 
> MM


Although this is true, it is best to have this on the books for a go back to if needed. Just like if someone does something and you do nothing and never call the police, it is never on the books and can't be used later if needed. 

I doubt that anything will happen, but if he did this to one, I am sure he has done this to more. If all call then something might happen, yeah right. :doh:
But it is best to have it recorded. Someone else might call to see if he/they are ok to order from.


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## tlozo

I also ordered 2 russian queens from Norton in Feb and at the end of June asked for a refund. Norton said he would mail it out next week. Since then I cannot get a reply from him. I have since ordered russian queens from Mr. Ray Revis(revisrussians.com) who sent them out right away and they have done well. But I agree that the russian queen breeders should toss Norton off their site. I followed a link from their site to Norton's and got ripped off.


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## Charles Roberts

*Chuck Norton is a LIAR and a THEIF!*

I too have had the same bad experience with chuck norton (his name is not worth caps). Oh well, never again.:no:

Charles Roberts


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## J-Bees

Go to this link: *consumer affairs your complaint will be online for others to see.*

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/ubid.html



alpha6 said:


> Here are a few things you can do even if you can't get back your money. Go to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and file a complaint against the company. Next if you sent him a check through the mail service you can file a mail fraud complaint at your nearest post office (check online as you may be able to do that also.) You will need a copy of the canceled check from the bank and knowing the date you mailed it will help. They will launch an fraud investigation. Lastly I would write the editor of the rag you found the advertisement. Explain that the person or company advertising in their mag is engaged in fraud and theft.
> 
> I know it won't get you back your money, but it may keep others from losing theirs and keep him from ripping off others.


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## beemandan

Derek said:


> Always, Always, Always!!! Do your research on someone or company before you buy. It's so easy to.


I expect that membership in the Russian Queen Breeder's Assn would have lent him some undeserved credibility. I also believe that he was featured in an article in ABJ (or BeeCulture) some time ago.

Unless I'm mistaken he has been in business for a number of years. He's surely advertised for a while.

I'm not sure what kind of research one can do with a queen breeder but Chuck Norton sure looked OK on the surface.


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## iddee

Bjorn, I have met Chuck at several NC beekeeper meetings, he has spoken at our local club meetings. That is the extent I know him.

I get involved in these things so both parties can have their say. I don't know who is right or wrong and do not try to take sides. I just want to hear both sides of a story before I form an opinion. Would you like to have a thread going on about your business practices and not know about it, or given a chance to participate? I doubt it.

There's no ego or anything else about it. I just want to hear both sides of any disagreement before I decide whose side I want to stand on.

Now you explain to me where I am wrong in my thinking.


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## belt152

*Update from Chuck*

Hi All,

Since I'm the original poster and thread starter I feel it is time to update everyone. 

I did not start this thread to publicly degrade Chuck Norton. I simple posted my experience with him. He repeatedly told me lies so by definition he is a "Liar" and he also received my cashiers check, cashed it, and I have nothing to show for it which by definition makes him a "Thief."

I have a copy of the canceled cashiers check, I have also contact my attorney and had discussions with the Postal Service. If it comes down to it I will pursue the matter in court. I would prefer not. 

Chuck tells me it has been a terrible year for raising queens and he doesn't have the money to fulfill my refund. I find this hard to believe. I requested my refund in the middle of August after the nuc debacle. I feel in that 2 month period he could have sold some of his hives, nucs, or honey and come up with the refund. 

The reason for my writing to hopefully inform and protect anyone else from have to endure my horrible experience. I'm out $361 plus the $270 I had to spend to get queens to put in the nucs he told me to go ahead and make up. 
If you read back in the thread there are 2 others ( tlozo and Charles Roberts) that had the exact same experience I did. 

I guess what really gets me is what kind of person would tell you,* "Go ahead and make up you 10 nucs, I will be shipping your queens tomorrow."* 
All the time knowing he doesn't have the queens to ship. Wow!

Anyway, anyone who would like all the detail just PM me. 

Thanks for everyone responses!
I think Bjorn is on the right wavelength.

Chris

P.S. - Don't hold your breath for Chuck to respond here. And if he does it will be a sad story of how bad a year it was. Just remember, it was bad for me too, I spent over $630 for 10 queens!


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## Tom G. Laury

*Shades of Huck Babcock*

The thing is, nearly all queen producers want their customers to do well and would never pull a stunt like this. Late, yes, but...not this.

Then every once in a while someone comes along and takes advantage of this trust that exists. 

Send me a check


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## Eaglerock

I realize that a few have lost $$$ here but in the end, Chuck will lose as others will not go to him after reading this and no one will send him anyone. 

Something I learned many years ago. One (1) dissatisfied customer will do you more damage than 100 satisfied customers will do you good. Fact is, people like to talk and people LOVE to complain and tell others how they have been burned or done wrong.


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## naturebee

Hi Belt152,

I got your PM message,,,

I do support you 100 percent.
Just the manner of approach I am against.
It was ‘end game’ in nature.

Please post all your information for the record. 

1. An <<itemized list>> of your loss. (I.e. Price per queen, shipping etc.)
2. total amount you sent to Chuck, and what he owes in return.
3. when the money was sent.
4. Dates, or approximate dates you contacted him for your refund. 
5. his answer to you.

Also, your honest opinion of your loss at the beeyard for your making of nucs to accept the queens. This is not recoverable, but it is an essential part of your story.

Joe


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## nursebee

http://www.ncagr.gov/ncproducts/ShowSite.asp?ID=2111
http://www.sourwoodhoney.com/


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## Eaglerock

nursebee said:


> http://www.ncagr.gov/ncproducts/ShowSite.asp?ID=2111
> http://www.sourwoodhoney.com/


Looks like it hasn't been updated in awhile.


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## tlozo

iddee said:


> Could it be that the man is working behind the scenes, trying to correct it in private, rather than airing the dirty laundry in public?
> 
> Yes, I do have some updated info that isn't to be aired at this time. The man is trying to do something about the problem.


 Could you let me know what it is Norton is doing or waiting for? Please understand that his last message to me on July 15 was he would "get your refund out in the mail this week." I am also not interested in "airing the dirty laundry in public" but I paid for two queens which were never delivered. With no queen delivery I finally asked for a refund and he said he would mail it out that week. Three months have now passed with no communication from him! When I saw someone start this thread on Consumer Reports I thought it would be important to point out that this was not an isolated incident. If this is information you cannot divulge then whats the point of mentioning it?


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## beemandan

*Norton ad in Bee Culture*

At the risk of getting this whole thing fired up again, I noticed that Norton has an ad in this month's (Nov 2008) Bee Culture.


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## Bizzybee

Shame on you Dan! :no: 

Hopefully he has read your signature line? I wouldn't expect the man to close his business over this. It is his livelihood after all or at least a part of it. And I would think he needs sales to rectify any damages he has allowed to happen if they haven't been resolved already?

I can't help but believe that he has "felt the sting" from this thread and may quite well for some time to come yet. Something no one in business can allow to continue and be successful. But I guess that's for him to decide.


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## Tom G. Laury

*Shame*

Not on Dan

On Norton 

Bizzy I can't for the life of me see where you're coming from


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## Bizzybee

Why is that Tom? You think I'm picking on Dan? If so that's not the case, Dan's my bud. Good ole GA boy.


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## beemandan

Tom, I didn't take it personally.
I only found it interesting that Norton is advertising. Either he's solved his problems or is planning to take advantage of some more unsuspecting beeks. Biz, if Chuck is an honest person, then I hope he can turn his business around too. So far, though, I haven't seen any reason to trust him with my money.


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## Bizzybee

Yeah, I would hope so! But I'm afraid for the moment that I would have to agree with you.


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## Tom G. Laury

Glad you guys are buds we all need friends

Do either of you remember HUCK BABCOCK QUEEN BREEDER? Sometimes people use advertising in a bee mag as a way of presenting legitimacy when there is none. Usually involves some kind of exotic breeding claims and high prices. Beginners get excited then lose their money. 

Have the refunds been made prior to paying for the ad? Or is someone looking for fresh meat.


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## belt152

*Update on Chuck*

Hi Guys,

Since I am the thread stater, I just wanted to write in and give you an update on my deal with Chuck.
About three weeks ago he contacted me via email and offered me (3) single story hives with a shallow super of honey for each to settle his debt. I agreed to the offer and last Saturday he made the 2 hour trek from his place to mine. The condition and quality of the boxes and bees were not quite what I had hoped for. In talking he said they were actually splits he had made not long ago.
But enough about that....

As for others who he owes queens he said he will make it up to them next Spring when he has the queens. He said this year was a terrible year for queen production. He also said he had no sour-wood honey crop this year and this is what helps fund his queen business. This is the reason he said he could not refund my money. 

Chuck and I probably talked for 2 hours as we set up these 3 hives. He is a very knowledgeable man and I think he knows his stuff when it comes to Queens. On the other hand, I don't think he is a good business man. He is a one man operation and is probably overwhelmed easily. 

These are the basic facts from my experience and I will leave it at that.

I hope Chuck the best and hopefully he will get straighted out. I also hope that everyone else who was taken gets their refund. 

Remember..... CAVEAT EMPTOR!

Chris Childress


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## nursebee

Belt, I am glad you got something out of this. His reason for not refunding your money is poor. Some could call it "I did not make any money from my job so I stole from you". I know of a beek that Chuck has talked to a bit on the phone, sounded like he was a good rep for the bee industry.


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## Jess

*Chuck Norton's queens*

I too am awaiting Russian queens from Chuck Norton. I ordered 5 last summer which were never delivered with the same reasons given to others in this thread. I was then told that I would get the queens this spring. It is now May 19 and still no queens. The heavy spring flows are coming to a close so any queens I receive now will simply create new hives with no honey potential this year. Very disappointing service. He has not responded to my last few emails and his phones won't take messages. 

I am down to one hive to make splits off of and am desperate for queens to build up my apiary. Guess I should have looked on this list before I tried a new queen breeder.


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## belt152

*Hey Jess...*

Hi Jess,
When I spoke with Chuck last fall face to face he told me he still owed some people some queens and he was going to make good on his word. I had an overwhelming feeling he wouldn't and you have proved this to be true. Jess, I had two very nice Russian breeders reach out to me after my ordeal was brought to light here on the forums. They are Velbert Williams and Kenny Reed. Both are members of the Russian Association. I actually spoke with Velbert first and worked out a deal to purchase 20 queens from him this Spring. 
Let me tell you, I could not be more happy with Velbert's services. Not only did he send me 20 queens, he spent time to talk with me on the phone discussing some of the finer points of queens and what-not. He is a very down to earth guy and not long after talking with him could sense his compassion of beekeeping and fellow beekeeper. I can't say enough good things about Velbert. I recommend you have your own experience!
Here is the link to his website and contact information:
http://www.vlwbee.santu.com/

Oh yea, out of the 20 queens I introduced, all 20 were accepted!
Better yet, withing 48 hours of introduction I had 2 full frames laid solid with eggs!

Thanks Velbert. :applause:


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## Jess

*Chuck Norton's queens*

Thanks for the update Chris. I will check my last remaining hive tomorrow to assess how many potential splits there are and order queens then. I checked out the Velbert Williams web site and it looks professional. I doubt that Chuck Norton had/has any dishonest intentions. My gut feeling was exactly what you thought, he dug himself a hole and has not been able to climb out and has been too embarassed to deal with all of the disappointed clients. Very unfortunate for all concerned. I am just going to write off the money as a loss. My greatest peeve is the loss of time waiting for his queens. Spring around here has a huge honey flow and that is being missed. If Chuck had just been more realistic about his abilities I would have swallowed the loss and ordered queens for a normal April delivery. Although in all honesty I don't think my survivor hive was strong enough to split much in April.
Thanks again.


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## Bees/NC

*trouble @ Norton*

Iam very sorry you had a bad experence with Mr. Norton. I have tried for weeks to get in touch with him. I have left e-mails and the phone # listed just rings, I wanted to purchse some teir 2 queens as well. The site lists aug 14 as a new date for these queens. THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE. Iam sure you saved me alot of time and trouble. I hope he will straighten everything out. (we have had unusually wet yr in NC)


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## belt152

*Please reread this thread!*

Hi,

As the reply title states you should go back and reread this thread from beginning to end. There have been multiple people ripped off by Chuck and all have the same story. STAY AWAY!

You mention his website lists August 14th for the new date for queens. If you scroll on down to the bottom of the page you will see his site has not been updated since June 28th, 2008. 

Chuck has no intention of fulfilling paid orders from last year. He has pulled his ad's from both ABJ and BC. If you paid for queens last year and received none, sorry but you have taken like me. If you paid for queens this year, well..... stupid is as stupid does! :no:

One thing I want to bring up is Chuck has been removed from the Russian Bee Breeders website: http://www.russianbreeder.org/members.htm

but on his website he still claims to be an active CERTIFIED CHARTER member: http://www.mybeebusiness.com/

I for one am asking members of the Russian Bee Breeders move to remove his false claims from his website. This is how people are fooled by him. He states his queens come from fellow parter Charlie Harper who is president of the RBB association. If anything, I would assume Charlie, along with other RBB's, would not want their name associated with the hack. 

Guys?


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## Jess

*Update*

On May 20 I emailed Chuck again asking about the possibility of a shipment of my 5 queens this spring. I did not hear back so on May 21 I emailed Chuck to cancel my order as I had ordered 5 queens from Velbert Williams. On May 22 Chuck finally responded to my email and said that he would ship my 5 queens on May 26. Velbert Williams was extremely gracious and promptly refunded my money. You can probably guess where this is heading. Today is June 5 and I still have not received my queens from Mr. Norton. It is really too late to do splits here so I am totally out of luck (screwed actually) and Mr. Williams is out of stock anyway. Once again Mr. Norton is AWOL since he emailed me with a shipping date.

I am extremely frustrated and angry about this whole situation. Never in over 20 years of hobby beekeeping has anything even close to this happened. In frustration I contacted the North Carolina Attorney General and filed a complaint against Mr. Norton. Don't know that it will accomplish anything but I feel it needed to be done.
Jess


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## belt152

*Yet another victim......*

Hi Jess,
Sorry about your luck. Rereading the thread I think it was on May 20 I told you he had no plans of fulfilling orders...... YADA,YADA...

I'm surprised this thief is still taking people's money and offering queens for sale in 2009 when he didn't fill his 2008 orders. This guy is a crook who takes peoples money and then promises them queens. Then when questioned gives excuses like it's too rainy or it's too hot or it's too windy for mating flights. 

Not to rub salt in your wound but you should have stuck with Velbert. He is a first class guy and his queens are the best I have ever used. Hands down!

I hope your contact with the NC Attorney General pans out but at my estimate your out $175 plus S&H. Myself, I was cheated out of $350 plus S&H. These amounts are probably small stuff to the NC AG. I would also report him to the BBB since you are located in the same state as he.

To continue this thread, I would like to know what the RBB Association is doing about Chuck Norton. His website is fraudulent in saying he is an active Charter Member of the RBB. This in my opinion could reflect bad on the RBB having such a member advertising his product using the RBB name. This could also have legal action deflected from Chuck to the RBB if they don't distance themselves from him and call for the RBB to be removed immediately from his website. 

Any thoughts? How about it RBB members?


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## Bizzybee

You need to contact the RBB directly yourself Belt. They don't need to be called into this thread to defend themselves against someone else's actions.

Furthermore, this is a consumer report forum. It's not intended to be a perpetual rant forum. We understand the real anger and frustration caused by these things but the "consumers" are better served by having the pertinent information posted by those that have been affected.

The people reading the complaints can and will make their decisions based on that information.


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## belt152

Hi Bizzy,

I'm not calling the RBB into this thread to defend themselves. My intent is to possibly motivate them to get Chuck to remove his false claims from his website which continues to take advantage of unsuspecting people. 

I have spoke with members of the RBB and they seem very nice and trustworthy. I even spoke with Carlie Harper last summer about this situation with Chuck. He told me I was not the first person having reported the same problem with Chuck. He went on to say the there was nothing written in the RBB bylaws to address this type of situation. He said that Chuck's info would be removed from the RBB website this way the RBB wouldn't be directing people to Chuck. I thanked Charlie and told him I was sorry he had a bad apple in the organization. 

Also, I don't how one could call this thread a PERPETUAL RANT. Especially when another person comes out yesterday (Jess) and states he has not received his queens either. There is no anger on my end but It does frustrate me the unsuspecting people are still ripped off.


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## SPRUCE BEE

FYI,

Chuck came through for me today. I received the four queens that I had ordered early spring 2008. He sent me an email yesterday stating that he had upgraded my order to tier II queens. They were and they arrived in excellent condition (I wonder what it is that I get queens in better shape from the east coast than out of California?). I was worried like alot of others and thought I would never see my queens. 

I hope Chuck is able to survive this ordeal and get his queen business back on stable ground again. I really enjoyed my phone conversations with him. I think he really probably is a sincere person who had a bad streak of luck with his bees that just about put him out of the bee business. I would be willing to try him again if he is willing to accept payment after I receive the queens. That sound fair. Trust

Spruce Bee


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## Jess

*Update 2*

I too received my 5 queens from Chuck Norton last week, also updated to Tier 2. So far so good with 4 readily accepted in splits and the fifth needing a push in cage in the original hive. Hopefully she will be accepted as well. Maybe Mr. Norton is turning a corner and getting his business back into order. The shipment was very well prepared and the queens all looked very healthy.


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## sgwjr1979

*Re: Update 2*

WOW! Am wanting Russian queens...Has anyone had any good experiences with this guy? I'm a few miles from him and it'd be nice if he's up and running now. If nobody has had any good experiences with him then I'll look elsewhere.


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## WG Bee Farm

*Re: Big Problems with Chuck Norton*

Last I heard was that he was no longer selling Russians.
I have not seen or heard from him in approx. 1 year. We were in the same Rockingham County Beekeepers Assoc. in NC. Haven't heard or seen him in a while.


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## sgwjr1979

*Re: Big Problems with Chuck Norton*

He Emailed me when I posted on here looking for Russians.


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## A2 Bee Man

*Re: Big Problems with Chuck Norton*

Wow . . . I'm glad I found this thread on Chuck Norton. I had a very bad experience with a David Winters, owner of Long Creek Apiaries, so I found Norton's website and was going to try his queens . . . but not anymore! (I'll look for a local source now.) Thanks for posting this thread.


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## BeeCurious

*Re: Big Problems with Chuck Norton*

*The original complaint is almost two years old.
* 
*Perhaps you could start a thread asking if anyone has purchased from him lately, and what their experience was.

I think some new input could be helpful...* 


I edited my other posting to remove Norton's name.


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## NDnewbeek

*Re: Big Problems with Chuck Norton*



WG Bee Farm said:


> Last I heard was that he was no longer selling Russians.
> I have not seen or heard from him in approx. 1 year. We were in the same Rockingham County Beekeepers Assoc. in NC. Haven't heard or seen him in a while.


http://mybeebusiness.com/

Not an evaluation of service - just for the sake of information.

Hopefully, he has been able to 'right the ship' so to speak.


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## Barry

On his website:

"I am an initial member of the Russian Honeybee Breeders Association, Inc. and my entire breeding operation is currently certified and is set up per the established protocol of the RHBA."

I wonder what that means? I heard that he was no longer a member. I think this is an important point to know where the truth is. Is he saying "I am an initial member" but not telling you he no longer is?


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## Barry

*Re: Big Problems with Chuck Norton*



sgwjr1979 said:


> He Emailed me when I posted on here looking for Russians.


How did he get your email address?


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## Barry

I confirmed with the Russian Honeybee Breeders Association that Chuck is *NOT* a member. Buyer beware.


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## susiequeen

Barry said:


> I confirmed with the Russian Honeybee Breeders Association that Chuck is *NOT* a member. Buyer beware.


Are you saying that we shouldn't buy queens from anyone that isn't a member of the Russian Honeybee Breeder Association?


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## Barry

I'm saying that someone who advertises stuff that is not true . . . buyer beware!


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## baldwinbees

pay with a postal money order,then it's technally mail fraud,postal inspector will get involved


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## Whitetail

My first thought when I saw this post was, "I didn't know Chuck Norris kept honeybees." Then I read a little closer.........


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## bnm1000

*Anyone had experience with Norton's Honey Farm*

Looking for some good nucleus hives and queens for this year. Has anyone had any recent experience with Norton's Honey Farm?


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## bnm1000

*Re: Anyone had experience with Norton's Honey Farm*

Update on Nucs from Chuck Norton.

I met Chuck today and picked up two nucs. I was very impressed. Mr. Norton spent two hours with me. We went through each nuc, frame by frame. The nucs I picked up had an established queen, excellent brood patterns, and were absolutely heavy with bees and brood in all stages. Honestly, the nucs were better than what I expected. I expected 3 frames of brood and a frame or two of honey and pollen. What I received was 5 frames of brood with some of the frames having bands of pollen/honey.

I realize that a few people had some bad experiences a number of years ago. I can't speak for these people, but I felt like I received a lot for the cost. Sometimes Chuck is difficult to get hold of, but that seems to be typical with people working in the field. Originally, I was expecting the Nucs in late April or early May, but we had a very cold Spring so everything is delayed. 

I would definitely purchase nucleus hives from Chuck in the future. Quality was great and the price was great too.


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