# Attn. MANN LAKE shoppers



## HONEYDEW

Mann Lake is now offering free shipping to the west on almost everything they sell as long as the order is over 100.00 just bought a bunch at the Woodland CA. store and they are shipping it free to my home in OR. :applause: THEY WIN


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## Neal 48

They are doing it in the east also


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## Birdman

just looked at my catalog pollen patties are 49.10 for 40# box. online 40# box 69.95 about the same as before with shipping.:scratch::scratch::scratch:


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## cklspencer

I was in getting ready to order enough stuff for another 15 hives. I check the prices yesterday (Friday) and looked again today and they raised some of the prices enough that I might as well buy it local from some other places around here.


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## beekper

I have found when I shop around that Mann Lake almost always had the lowest price on every thing I needed. Even if they are the same as other companies the free shipping is GREAT!!!

I don't have a local places to buy so paying a little bit more and not having to wonder if I have enough money to cover shipping sounds great to me.


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## IBRed

I am close enough to pick up, and do not need shipping this is BS!!!!!!!
Dadant is the same distance, unless they follow suit, ill be there!!!!!!

As far as I am concerned, a change at any level should benefit everyone not just the ones that need shipping.

Last month I bought 200 PF120 Frames, for 1.20 per frame, today they are 2.35 what a deal!!!! sign me up!!  I don't think so....:no:


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## beekper

I understand what you are saying now you live close enough that you can go and pick your stuff up and you have to pay the higher price. Have you tried to talk with Mann Lake maybe they would be willing to give you a different price if you go pick it up.


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## NDnewbeek

IBRed said:


> As far as I am concerned, a change at any level should benefit everyone not just the ones that need shipping.


Why? Not all consumers are the same or have the same needs. Should suppliers also not discount frames as you buy more. Price discounts on frames kick in when consumers buy more than 1000 frames. This clearly benefits commercial beekeepers. Should we all expect to get the 1000+ frame price.

Mann Lake has made a business decision to try to attract those customers who need to have their items shipped. Shipping costs are variable and expensive. They are offering a level of cost certainty to their customers requiring shipping. And in some cases (such as with large, bulky items that would be very expensive to ship), they are likely also providing a less expensive product.

Part of this decision is the understanding that they might lose customers who do not require shipping, due to the necessary higher prices. It isn't reasonable to expect Mann Lake to completely absorb the costs of shipping nationwide and not raise prices. Brushy Mountain does the same thing each December - they prioritize their customers east of the Mississippi - the difference being that they do it only for a month and they absorb the cost of shipping temporarily with the hopes of making that loss up in sales volume. My understanding is that this 'promotion' is actually a potential permanent policy change for Mann Lake.

I do not live near any suppliers. I will still shop around for my equipment needs, but I like the free shipping even with the raised costs of goods. I suspect that when I do my comparisons - Mann Lake with free shipping will be competitive to the other suppliers prices + shipping.

But their strategy has worked as far as this 'customer requiring shipping' is concerned - I will definitely pay more attention to Mann Lake when it comes time to order supplies.


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## JPK

They may be offering free shipping but their prices went up......

PF125 frames used to be ~1.20 for 180 or more and now they are 1.60 for 210 or more.

I'll still do better personally because shipping on these items was almost as much as the product itself


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## Joseph Clemens

Every year, for the past two years, I've bought a fifty pound bag of Bee Pro. The Bee Pro cost was $59.95 for 50# bag and shipping was $41.00, so it cost me ~$100 for my 50#'s of Bee Pro. Now the new price is $69.95, and if I also buy a $49.95 - 50# bag of Yeast (something I've also wanted to try), I can get both for a whopping total of $119.90.

However, I like the PF120 frames, I used to be sure to buy at least 180 on each order to get them at $1.20 each. Shipping for 180 frames, was $91.00, so each frame cost ~$1.70. Now the new price break is at 210 frames, with each costing $1.60. So, if I next purchase 210 frames, they will cost $336.00, but shipping is included, so my total cost per frame will be $1.60, so I actually save ~$0.10 per frame.


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## KQ6AR

Hi IBRed,
Chico is at least 60 miles farther than Woodland. For me its a 2 hour drive, a little closer for you.




IBRed said:


> I am close enough to pick up, and do not need shipping this is BS!!!!!!!
> Dadant is the same distance, unless they follow suit, ill be there!!!!!!
> :


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## IBRed

Its all very simple, if you shop online good for you! If you shop in person, take your person somewhere else.

PF120 was 1.20: 210 would have cost 252.00 tax = 21.10 total 273.10
now 1.60: 210 now cost 336.00 tax = 28.14 total 364.10
difference in price 91.04 = 30gal of fuel 
I can take my person to Dadant 4 times and brake even. Shoot, I can forget a .99 cent grafting tool, go back for it, and still be ahead!!!!

Notice the tax increase, even the local government gets more out of it! Remember, if you live in state you still pay taxes!


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## devdog108

I just bought 30 boxes for $236.00 shipped. Thats roughly $7.86 per box. Thats a steal seeng as how a single board to make one costs me $8.15 without doing any of the work in the garage in the blazing heat. It was a win for me but may not be for others!...


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## HONEYDEW

I hate not giving my money to the local supplier, but his queen excluders are 11.95 ea. where as Mann Lake is 5$ and some change plus free shipping and just about as big a diff. on everything else, so its pretty simple economics...on some items they dont offer free ship because of dimensions such as cases of bottles but was told just by more of the smaller boxes to get the quantity needed..


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## gstephan1981

I just visited Mann Lake in Hackensack, as I was in the area and needed to pick up a few things. I was expecting the pricing as is on the website, HOWEVER to my surprise, they have a special "PICKUP PRICE" for their walk-in customers, or any customers that want to pick their order up! I understand that pricing is good for all of their locations! What a deal!! Mann Lake.......you rock!!!!:thumbsup:


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## jip

gstephan1981 said:


> I just visited Mann Lake in Hackensack, as I was in the area and needed to pick up a few things. I was expecting the pricing as is on the website, HOWEVER to my surprise, they have a special "PICKUP PRICE" for their walk-in customers, or any customers that want to pick their order up! I understand that pricing is good for all of their locations! What a deal!! Mann Lake.......you rock!!!!:thumbsup:


That's great news!!! Thanks


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## devdog108

Placed my order last Friday for 30 boxes and recieved them yesterday!!! DID NOT expext that, but either way, great job mann lake


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## The Honey Householder

Call about 5000 preassembled frames. $2.10 with free shipping. $1.50 if I paid shipping. Shipping quote was $1075. Might have to make a trip in the off season.


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## Beeslave

2 weeks ago I ordered some supplies from the catalog they sent me last spring. When I looked at my invoice I noticed nothing was the price that my catalog stated. Now 2 days ago they sent me a catalog with the new prices.:scratch:


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## zigkid

Here in Salt Lake 2 weeks ago I paid $ 237. for 20 boxes So Mann lakes $236 for 30 boxes sounds great to me


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## honeybeekeeper

I had to buy some more goodies so i decided to take 3 different bee supply companies and check every item on my list to see what i would save on which items..."Yes Im a smart shopper"" these days you gotta be and with bee supply prices makes it even more demanding and with shipping charges on top of that well do i have to say anymore!! Well after going through several different items my results pointed to one company, Mann Lake! Since Mann Lake out priced the 2 other bee supply companies that i used as examples..(I Wont Mention Any Names..HAHAHA) I didnt have to compare the shipping charges since my order was over $100, YES I HAD A BIG LIST, im a addicted beekeeper!..hahaha...So needless to say it was hands down, didnt take no brainer to figure this one out thats for sure...Way to go Mann Lake, Keep up the good work and thank you for the great prices and the Free Shipping! I will be back once a mth.... :lpf:


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## jim lyon

The Honey Householder said:


> Call about 5000 preassembled frames. $2.10 with free shipping. $1.50 if I paid shipping. Shipping quote was $1075. Might have to make a trip in the off season.


Ordered around 5000 preassembled frames from them a few years back, huge mistake. About 25% of the foundation werent properly installed so 3 of us spent the better part of a day fixing them but that wasnt the worst of it. Little or no glue was used and the stapling job was so poor that they routinely just fall apart while we are handling them. Usually have a pretty good bunch of them in the scrap pile after a day of extracting. The quality of the frames themselves are actually quite good though. From now on I will never trust assembly to anyone else.


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## gregstahlman

one year they did have problems with the machine that snaps the foundation in. also i think it was 2008 they came out with the frame the had a 1/2 inch thick bottom bar. we ordered 6000 deep boxes from them that year. it was a really nice frame but the only problem is that the bottom bar was also VERY wide. we put boxes of foundation on that year and if the frames were not perfectly straight, the bees would seal the space between bottom bars. this allowed no traffic through some of the frames. some of the frames didnt get drawn out and when we went to pull honey the bees couldnt run through some the frames because they were sealed together. took alot more time to pull the frames out and shake the bees off. we made numerous complaints about the design and it was changed. they are now using longer staples also. i truely believe that mann lake has many great product for a great price. their place in Minn. is pretty amazing. i would like to know of any other place where you can order thousands of boxes and they come fully assembled, green treated, and have the assembled frames and foundation in them done in a few days. they are truely innovators and we should be lucky to have a supplier like this in the bee industry


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## jim lyon

Yeah I probably should have qualified my criticism a bit. I do think they do a lot of things well, they wouldnt have had the growth they have had if they werent. I do a lot of business with them because they have the ability to fill large orders with generally good quality products. I usually buy 5 to 10K frames every year from somewhere, lately its been Dadant. Yeah I was a little unsure about the heavier bottom bar, didnt realize they did a redesign, but I have decided it may be a good idea. I just get aggravated on a daily basis having those come apart on us, like Cousin Eddie said in Christmas Vacation "its the gift that keeps on giving Clark".


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## Kingfisher Apiaries

Jim- why not go to paris when you are down here? Ray has a huge warehouse and good prices.


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## bigmitch

just did my first beekeeping purchase,,two deep,three medium ,a top with inner, a bottom , a excluder,frames with foundation,and all of it was only $217.00 shipped all the way to colorado! i think thats a good deal??


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## jip

Just ordered $500 worth of stuff. Came out to be only $30 more, which would have been my gas money driving 2 hours one way to pick it up.
Noticed some items increased price but if you buy bulk, 5 or more for some, it's not as expensive.


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## shelby207

I was looking for shrink wrap for the clamshell box's for cut comb honey and found some here. Thought I might pick up a few extra clam shellboxes. WRONG not at this price! Almost $40 for 100 clamshell boxes, plus shipping!! I will still get the shrink wrap but even that is almost $16 plus almost $9 for shipping!! It adds .20cents per box but think it is worth it to seal the box's. Never tried it so hope it works well! I am a bit clumsy so may be sorry I tried to use the shrink wrap!! I am not in it for the money it is just a hobby I am TRYING to break even on!!


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## Sundance

I have always liked Mann Lake. Just wish they
stocked the Jester Nuc boxes!! Those cardboard
are horrible.

If you are in the upper midwest designate Speedee 
Delivery as your shipping option. Way faster and
a lot less $$$.:thumbsup:


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## Neal 48

I love doing buissness with Mann Lake. With their free shipping, I make out like a bandit. Plus the fact that I have been informed that I have a nice chunk of change (money) there with bee bucks


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## S&H

It may be good for those far from a supply point, but the free shipping came with a price increase. Since I'm close enough to pickup there is little advantage in free shipping. Prices on some of the items which I've purchased have increased 50% within a year. Still, they seem comparable to other suppliers; it's just that they were so low last year.

The other issue I had with this is that they concurrently changed where the bulk price breaks occur. I had planned both prior and upcoming purchases according to those breaks; now that is all messed up.


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## shelby207

Every distributor has it's pros and cons and offers different products. It really do's pay to check around for what it is you need. I never had to buy things in bulk so that didn't affect me. I understand everyone has various pricing, but for the clam shell box's and labels there is a significant difference in price! I have nothing against Mann Lake or any of the distributors I have used. But if you just need 100 or so clamshell box's I would shop elsewhere and save a few dollars.


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## jim lyon

I guess I just find this kind of marketing a little "gimmicky", nothing is free of course it is just included in the price. I would much rather get their best price on items and then get the best shipping rate available.


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## KevinR

It was said earlier, that they offer different prices for pickup.

I can say that even with the price increase, it was cheaper for me order fomr Mannlake and get the free s/h. Than to order from someone else and pay s/h.

I agree that it's a little meh, but it's still been cheaper for me.


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## bigmitch

i received my items friday,,,,was way-pleased!! packaged great,and everything was good quality !! i could not have gotten all that from anyone else including shipping for less !!! THANK YOU MANN LAKE you have a happy customer here !!!


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## wbee

The Honey Householder said:


> Call about 5000 preassembled frames. $2.10 with free shipping. $1.50 if I paid shipping. Shipping quote was $1075. Might have to make a trip in the off season.


Are these deep frames? I'm just thinking this through out loud here.....

Free shipping quote on 5000 frames comes to $10500 ($2.10 X 5000)

Paid shipping quote on 5000 frames comes to $7500 ($1.50 X 5000)
and even with your shipping quote of $1075 
that's a total of $8575

So....free shipping comes out to almost $2000 more expensive.

By the way, I ran a shipping quote on 5000 deep frames from Polson, MT to Cincinnati, OH since I don't know exactly where you are in Ohio. Approximately $670.

Rick
Western Bee


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## hipifreq

This whole conversation makes me happy I'm a spreadsheet penny-pincher when it comes to order anything. I like to make a big list of equipment I want, and then go through catalogs and put in prices, shipping, etc. Then I take my list to the local shop and buy anything there that's cheapest and cherry-pick my orders from different suppliers.

Of course, that's only for tiny orders compared to 5000 boxes and frames, but I find that running the numbers is always a good idea.


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## giant pumpkin peep

We ordered some candle molds. They forgot to send us two items. We called and they are shipping it tomaroww. :applause:


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## RiodeLobo

I just got my order of frames and foundation. They look good, only one issue with the order. They forgot to put half of the side bars in the order, so the number of side bars equaled the number of frames. I called them and they were very apologetic and offered to ship them out today.

My personal opinion is that everyone can make mistakes, what separates a good company from a bad one is how the respond. Mann Lake took care of the issue right away in a sincere manner. To me that is the mark of good customer service.

Dan


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## Mike Snodgrass

wbee said:


> Are these deep frames? I'm just thinking this through out loud here.....
> 
> Free shipping quote on 5000 frames comes to $10500 ($2.10 X 5000)
> 
> Paid shipping quote on 5000 frames comes to $7500 ($1.50 X 5000)
> and even with your shipping quote of $1075
> that's a total of $8575
> 
> So....free shipping comes out to almost $2000 more expensive.
> 
> By the way, I ran a shipping quote on 5000 deep frames from Polson, MT to Cincinnati, OH since I don't know exactly where you are in Ohio. Approximately $670.
> 
> Rick
> 
> 
> Western Bee



Looks like free shipping isnt really........FREE!!!!!


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## Grant

I ordered 400, unassembled, select medium frames at $67.50 per hundred with free shipping. They weighed a ton. I was grateful.

With this discussion going on, I went to their catalog to check their pricing on paid shipping. They don't list select frames but did list the commercial grade, unassembled frames at 66 cents each in units of 100.

Seems like I got my shipping for free (?)

Grant
Jackson, MO


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## green2btree

I ordered and received some un-assembled deeps from them recently. I went to put some together last night and found that they will not go together. The cuts are 3/16" of an inch off on some of the pieces. I could trim, I guess but I will be left with a 3/16" gap when stacking hive bodies and gaps in the joins themselves. I am going to call Mann Lake and see what they are willing to do.

JC


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## Risky Beesness

I just ordered and received my 1st two hives from Mann Lake. I priced the same equipment from several different major suppliers. They were about $20 cheaper than Mann Lake but around $175 shipping on a $500 order. Mann Lake offered free shipping. It was 5 packages for a total of 178 lbs.

I place the order on Sun 1/2 and received it on Fri 1/7. They mistakenly shipped it to my billing address instead of my shipping address. I notified them on 1/5, and they were able to change the delivery location with UPS, It was delivered to the correct address on the original delivery date.


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## green2btree

Update: After e-mailing them a couple of pictures of the box joints on the hives that wouldn't fit together, Mann Lake replaced the miss-cut hive bodies for me free of charge. The new ones are just fine.

JC


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## jip

Yup, same thing happened on my last order. Replacements were good.
Also, going to ship two economy bee suits to them tomorrow for replacement. The zipper handle broke off.


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## [email protected]

I got a quote via email from Mann lake for 2000 sheets of unwaxed deep foundation. When they were justifying being $0.05 higher than Dadant they said that I needed to remember that they would ship it for free. I called the next day (Friday)and placed the order. They called today and said that the free shipping did not apply for unwaxed foundation! When I asked why, they said that "it actualy costs more to produce unwaxed than waxed". I asked what that had to do with shipping and why then do they charge a lot more for the waxed foundation. He said it was because of the process and said that it would cost me $250 to ship. Does this sound confusing? Has any on else had this problem? Needless to say, I canceled the order and ordered from Dadant.


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## KevinR

I ordered 200 sheets of waxed ritecell.. It was free shipping. Placed order on last Tuesday, got it by Friday.

I've never ordered unwaxed, but I don't know why it costs more than waxed. Unless, they don't do the waxing. 

*shrugs*


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## [email protected]

I don't know why either,especialy when they emailed a quote that included free shipping. Sounds like bait and switch. I buy thousands of dollars of supplies each year, but I'm betting it wont be from them any more. Adam


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## jim lyon

Not really sure why Mann Lake continues to play these games. I suggest you have them price items to you first with the "free" shipping and then with their best cash price plus their best shipping rate and see which is better. Just placed a large woodenware order with Dadants and got a good price and incredible freight rate for delivery directly out of Polson.


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## fat/beeman

I have bought from them in past but I tend to shop best prices and try to get free shipping.wooden ware is heavy so I buy at end of season or buy a pallet of stock some times its#2or#3
I be cheap======thrifty
Don


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## ACBEES

waxed foundation should cost more to ship because of the extra weight. It should cost more to make because of the cost of waxing. Unwaxed foundation costs less to make and weighs less. Therefore Mann Lake was blowing smoke up your dress. I buy my foundation from Pierco. If I buy unwaxed they charge me less for both the foundation and the shipping. My experience with Mann Lake is cheap price means cheap quality. Bought a large bee smoker from them, after the first week the hinge broke on the top. Bought an extractor from them. The reel was messed up and would not take a medium pierco frame. Had to cut the frame notches so the pierco frames would fit. Then when spinning, sometimes frames would fly out. A lot of the equipment they sell is made off shore and is poor quality. Their stainless steel is so thin you can almost read a paper through it.


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## NorthernIllinoisPlumber

I placed an order on Sunday via the computer, arrived today. I compared prices to others and they seemed about the same.


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## Solomon Parker

If you are conscious of such things, another item to take into account when ordering from Mann Lake is that they are employee owned.


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## Solomon Parker

ACBEES said:


> Their stainless steel is so thin you can almost read a paper through it.


That's a bit over the line.


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## TheCompound

I just ordered materials for my first two hives from Mann Lake. I was going to order most of the items from Dadant, but the shipping charges were going to be crazy! I found similar prices on items from both (unassembled supers/frames) so I ordered from Mann Lake and save over $100 in shipping. 

I ordered late in the day on Friday via their website and everything was delivered the following Tuesday (during a blizzard no less!) Everything looked good with the exception of a corner being broken on one 6-5/8 super side panel. I emailed them today for a replacement. Provided they send one promptly, I'm very happy with my purchase.


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## TheCompound

I also ordered two screened bottom boards and some foundation from Dadnt at the same time. They're charging me $39.48 in shipping based on an item weight of 39.5 lbs. That seems unreasonably high to me. I received an email saying that the items should be delivered on 2/3/11 (two days later than Mann Lake) and that the weight of the items totaled 38.7 lbs. However, if I click on the link and look at the actual UPS package tracking info, UPS has the weight at 26.9 lbs. That's a pretty big weight descrepency. Especially since Dadant is charging based on weight.

Has anyone else run into this? :scratch:


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## TheCompound

Mann Lake sent the replacement board and I received it the next day. Still haven't received the original order from Dadant, but the UPS site says it should be delivered today. Very impressed with Mann Lakes shipping via Spee-Dee delivery!


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## HONEYDEW

Still great customer service, ordered 4 large items 2 where in stock 2 back ordered and instead of waiting till everything got in they shipped them to me as they got them and didn't charge me till they shipped, and still got it all within 3 weeks..:thumbsup:


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## Sundance

Spee-Dee delivery is a huge plus for those of us
in the upper midwest. Fast...... and less money 
than the brown guys.

If you are ever in the Hackensack Minnesota area,
their operation is impressive. And nestled in a fantastic
area to vacation.

I only wish they handled Jester Bees - EZ Nuc boxes
and not those awful cardboard ones.


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## DeeAnna

"...That's a pretty big weight descrepency...."

You ordered some lightweight, but fairly bulky items, which probably incurred a "dimensional weight" charge. --DeeAnna


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