# Flow Hive Knockoffs



## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

emm, remember the eco bee box.


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## mahobee (Apr 24, 2013)

clyderoad said:


> emm, remember the eco bee box.


Ha! Best response ever!!!


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## capitalbeesupply (Jul 28, 2013)

mahobee said:


> Ha! Best response ever!!!


Where are the "genuine" flow hive frames made? As soon as the "genuine" ones started production we were receiving offers from various asian manufacturers and resellers who were making/reselling them so that is why I ask. Regardless of what one perceives of the quality Chinese goods overall, the reality is there are a lot of top notch manufacturers in China that in some cases put to shame some of our own domestic makers (some of their die making, machining, machine building, programming, etc is unbelievable and IMHO a lot of what boosted/created those top notch makers is our own "fault" since we let the technology and industrialization advancements go overseas...and in certain cases provided the training and education as well).....and of course they have their share of junk makers and crooks too which many have experienced through less than stellar performance of purchased products....so, with regard to these frames there are a couple things that give me pause when I look at the eBay ads for the chinese sellers. First, the photos in some of the ads where individuals, hand models basically, are using the hives do not appear to be of Asian nationality (except for one of the sellers)...most of the truly good makers and resellers in Asia are proud of their products and will use their own people to model stuff, so those that aren't are likely lifting photos from somewhere. The other issue I see is that there are 5 or 6 sellers with these all basically coming out of the same location, ShenZen, which seems odd...it could be they are made in Hong Kong, which is close and for some reason a truckload of them ended up north and was sold at one of the commerce markets......dunno....


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

capitalbeesupply said:


> Regardless of what one perceives of the quality Chinese goods overall, the reality is .....


 Thanks for clearing that up. :scratch:
Does Capital sell much top notch Chinese made stuff?


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## johnbeejohn (Jun 30, 2013)

Would not think it would be that hard to make a knock off some im sure are better than others and they are prolly 1/3 the price


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## capitalbeesupply (Jul 28, 2013)

clyderoad said:


> Thanks for clearing that up. :scratch:
> Does Capital sell much top notch Chinese made stuff?


A few items yes. The reality is we manufacture what we can (and more precisely it is getting to be what we can afford to manufacture here). What we don't manufacture ourselves we source or contract from specialty manufacturers in the US and Canada. That gets us to about 85% of the items we carry being domestic meaning US or Canada. The other 10-15% of the products come in from several places, Mexico, India, China, Taiwan, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Italy, France, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, etc. With regard to the Chinese where they have a substantial advantage is in metal items (because the government there heavily subsidizes the steel industry which in turn sells steel to government "owned" corporations). Take for example hive tools. We could 1) stamp or laser out blanks, bend them, grind, heat treat, finish grind and paint them ourselves, or 2) source hive tools from a specialty tool maker in the US who makes beautiful pry bars, same as the common hive tool or 3) look for a good quality overseas maker. With 1 and 2 we have more cost in just the material than what a top-notch finished hive tool delivered to our dock from China costs. It is a incredibly frustrating but true fact. Are there junk makers of hive tools in China, yes. Are there really excellent makers of hive tools, yes. The price difference between the Chinese junk maker and the Chinese excellent maker in terms of US dollars for a tool like that is small. On larger items it can be a substantial difference in cost between the them. The challenge is in finding the excellent makers who are stable (and that changes especially in the non-government owned corporations as the staff at those companies change or decide to go out on their own and start up a shop) Metal nuc box entrance discs and plastic nuc box entrance discs are another example where it is the same issue in terms of cost and overall quality. Coroplast or Coroflute nuc boxes are yet another (at one time the Jesters were made in China or Taiwan and I recall the last ones I saw were now made in India). Galvanized hardware cloth is another where it is predominately imported from China and Taiwan. Beekeeping books, several of them from US authors, printed and bound in China.

All the infrastructure in terms of computing hardware in our offices and manufacturing facilities are predominately made in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong or Korea. Speciality stepper motors and motor controls made in China. All the new LED lighting for assembly/task areas, mostly made in China, some made the in US. Outdoor overhead dusk to dawn yard lighting made in China for Phillips lighting....


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

capitalbeesupply said:


> A few items yes. ....


I get it. The issue has existed for a long long time, nearly my entire adult life. A country full of consumers and managers pushing paper, not manufacturers and tradesmen, who want more, more, more. You reap what you sow.

Cheap sells, doesn't matter the quality or repercussions and few care. Imported honey comes quickly to mind. Long live the 'real food' and 'buy local' crowd!


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## mahobee (Apr 24, 2013)

we're getting a little off topic. The question was 'has anyone tried' them.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

No. Have not tried flow-hive knock-offs.


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## The Honey Girl's Boy (Jul 26, 2009)

How about a little feed back from all the folks that bought flow hives. How'd it go?


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

That would be here.

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?317311-Flow-Hive-Firsthand-Experience


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## Delta 21 (Mar 4, 2016)

I havent tried them but have been rattling the idea around in my head about afixing some sort of Flow module to the back or side of my top bar hives. 

I am still brand new at this so I havent quite figured out that I cant yet.


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## sweetas (Apr 16, 2012)

When speaking to Stuart Anderson (the father) last April, he advised that all the frames for world distribution are made in Brisbane Australia. The boxes are made in the US and Australia.

If you want to know more about the inventors go to the ABC's Australian Story http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2015/s4335344.htm. there was two episodes a year apart. According to the presenter, the first was one of the most popular stories


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