# Where to buy Cardboard Nuc boxes



## Thad (Jan 25, 2006)

Anyone have a source to buy those 5 frame cardboard nuc boxes wholesale? I know I can get them at the usual retailers, but looking for a price break on bigger quantities.
PM's are fine
Thad


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Jester offers pallet quantities: 
http://www.jesterbee.com/EZ-Nuc.html


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## Nhaupt2 (May 31, 2016)

You can buy direct from the factories that make them through alibaba.com. They even have a rfq feature that lets you collect a ton of quotes.


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## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

Nhaupt2 said:


> You can buy direct from the factories that make them through alibaba.com. They even have a rfq feature that lets you collect a ton of quotes.


What sort of minimum quantities are involved? I'm curious if I could buy a couple of dozen.


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## Nhaupt2 (May 31, 2016)

The minimum order quantities are all over the board, anywhere from 1 to several thousand. there is obviously a price break per unit when you order in quantity. the shipping is not worth it in my experience for anything under 100. as your dealing with individual factories first hand, the prices can vary pretty wildly. i have seen nucs go from 2 dollars a piece to 7. its a pretty straight forward process to get a quote, and you do get to talk to people, go on and see what you can get, just remember to see what shipping will cost. for the quantaties i was ordering it ended up being cheaper to wait for a sale at mannlake.


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## homegrown (Jul 24, 2016)

Jester box is worth every penny in my opinion. Some of the cardboard boxes are a ***** to fold together.


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## Thad (Jan 25, 2006)

Thanks for the input everyone. 
The jesters are great, but hard to swallow the cost of making a few hundred


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## Grins (May 24, 2016)

I just ordered 10 Mann Lake boxes because my wallet sphincter closed up when I tallied the Jesters with shipping. I hope they work out, came to about $11 per box.


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## SWM (Nov 17, 2009)

I've never used these but you can get 25 for $125 plus shipping from Ohio. Just plain cardboard so probably
not as durable as the Jester boxes. 

http://www.mdasplitter.com/nuc_boxes.php


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

Has any one got a look at the new PRO NUC. I'm not sure if the big guy has got their orders in on these yet to retail. 

bee-pros.com/proNuc.php


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

The Honey Householder said:


> Has any one got a look at the new PRO NUC. I'm not sure if the big guy has got their orders in on these yet to retail.
> 
> bee-pros.com/proNuc.php


Thanks for the link. Very cool! I hope they come in competitively priced !! If not I'll stick to wood.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

SWM said:


> I've never used these but you can get 25 for $125 plus shipping from Ohio. Just plain cardboard so probably
> not as durable as the Jester boxes.
> 
> http://www.mdasplitter.com/nuc_boxes.php


I've used many hundred of these. sufficient for nuc sales. Better ventilation than Jester's. But, I used waxed, sold by Brushy. Anyone else selling waxed?


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## Grins (May 24, 2016)

Michael Palmer said:


> I've used many hundred of these. sufficient for nuc sales. Better ventilation than Jester's. But, I used waxed, sold by Brushy. Anyone else selling waxed?


Mann Lake,
https://www.mannlakeltd.com/white-waxed-nuc-box


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## rkereid (Dec 20, 2009)

I've been getting the waxed ones from Brushy for 5 or 6 years and they by far have the best ventilation. 

Mike- Mel has the waxed ones as well. He's pricing them with shipping for me now. You can contact him at [email protected]

The Mann Lake boxes don't have near as much ventilation as the mda box.


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## Hillbillybees (Mar 3, 2016)

I emailed bee-pros. See what happens. Dadant and the other Blue Sky don't have them on their website. No phone number to call. Don't seem like they want to sell them. Just a side gig probably. I let you know if they mail me back.


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

Bee-pros are a wholesale company. Looks like min. order might be a pallet (400). My wooden box with tops and bottoms are costing me $14 right now. I would bet they are cheaper then that at wholesale price.


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## Hillbillybees (Mar 3, 2016)

They emailed back. $7.50 by the pallet. January probably before they can deliver. I wonder how much plastic would sweat in Louisiana? Maybe in the shade only.


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## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

With the cardboard nuc, don't seal a nuc in the night before a sale because they will often chew out a ventilation hole and make an exit hole. It's not so bad if you detect it before the customer puts it in the car's back seat and leaves for home, but if you don't, new beekeepers tend to panic when they suddenly have bees all over the windshield.


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## AstroZomBEE (Aug 1, 2006)

Thad, how many are you looking for? 
Unless you're ready to order thousands in one order, or take your chances strait from china, going with mann lake or strait from mda splitter, mel Disselken(spelling?) would be your best bet.

Also make sure you contact them directly and tell them you are looking for skid quantities. If they know that the pallet will be sold as a whole unit and not opened they can move more on the price.


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## Storm (Apr 6, 2017)

the Mann Lake nucs are ok - but require a special stapler to secure them and the ledge that holds the frames often moves and allows frames to fall and of course, potentially harming queens.


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## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

Hillbillybees said:


> I emailed bee-pros. See what happens. Dadant and the other Blue Sky don't have them on their website. No phone number to call. Don't seem like they want to sell them. Just a side gig probably. I let you know if they mail me back.


They are super new, just shared with the public (patent rules) 2 weeks ago, Dadant, Bluesky and Mann Lake will handle them as well as Betterbee. They will be in the new catalog in Jan and set up in the computer by then. You guy are on top of the game!

As for sweating, that not an issue, and these have a lot more ventalation, as well as guides to keep frames from banging around and hurting queens. Yes it will Be Jan before any ship out to customers, but I will have them at the ABF conference and the AHPA.


Charles


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## Thad (Jan 25, 2006)

Looking for around 200/yr. Kind of an awkward quantity. Not enough to justify a pallet, but at $7.50 @, ouch. I like the look and price of the http://www.mdasplitter.com/nuc_boxes.php , but am not sure if they will hold up in my Willamette valley wet spring.
Looking at a place in China, but I'm not much of a gambler!


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

Thad said:


> Looking for around 200/yr. Kind of an awkward quantity. Not enough to justify a pallet, but at $7.50 @, ouch. I like the look and price of the http://www.mdasplitter.com/nuc_boxes.php , but am not sure if they will hold up in my Willamette valley wet spring.
> Looking at a place in China, but I'm not much of a gambler!


If I'm a customer and given the option to buy a nuc in either a cardboard box or a durable plastic box and the price differential is only $3-$5, I'm going for the plastic. Of course, assuming that these plastic nuc boxes don't have some major drawback. It seems to me that as a producer, this extra cost is just a push downstream. Of course there's more capital that gets tied up, but that can be factored in as well.


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## rainesridgefarm (Sep 4, 2001)

I have used the MDA nucs and they are horrible to work with. I will never buy another one.
I talked to another beekeeper that purchased 500 of them and ended up tossing 300 on the burn pile instead of using them.


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## Thad (Jan 25, 2006)

Great insight guys, exactly the discussion I was hoping for!


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

AstroBee has a great point. I sell a lot of nucs and use nice wood boxes. My cost is higher then most, but I feel it's worth a few extra $$$. My buyers must think so too. I've had many buyers show up to pickup nucs thinking they are pickup cardboard nucs and are impressed to get wood boxes that they can reuse. Sales increase 25% each year. 

Wood boxes are nice, but if the pro-nuc does as good for half the cost. I'm in for trying them.


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## Storm (Apr 6, 2017)

"1 gallon feeder cans commonly used" Can you expand on this? Any specific jar that you recommend?


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Storm said:


> "1 gallon feeder cans commonly used" Can you expand on this?


Non-beekeepers call them _empty paint cans_. 

The 'lined' ones work best, and you can generally buy 'unused' cans at paint stores. See MP's photo in post #5: https://www.beesource.com/forums/sh...methods-for-side-by-side-stacked-4-frame-nucs


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## Storm (Apr 6, 2017)

No kidding? Yes, we here in New Jersey are certainly familiar with the term "paint can" however, if you look at the top of the Pro Nuc - it appears that the front opening (and I know "ya'l"l in Tennessee are more familiar with Mountain Dew bottles that might be used at the back of the Pro Nuc), may fit a jar feeder and not a paint can.


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## ApricotApiaries (Sep 21, 2014)

AstroBee said:


> If I'm a customer and given the option to buy a nuc in either a cardboard box or a durable plastic box and the price differential is only $3-$5, I'm going for the plastic. Of course, assuming that these plastic nuc boxes don't have some major drawback. It seems to me that as a producer, this extra cost is just a push downstream. Of course there's more capital that gets tied up, but that can be factored in as well.


Personally, If I am a buyer, I am going to the guy who regularly has good bees, regardless of the box they come in. In the case of sales, the nuc box is just a unit to build into, get a queen mated or introduced, and delivered to the customer.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

I get mine form Becky <[email protected]> ( tell Becky max sent you) She is great to deal with.
You can get 5 or 5000 - they are as good as others. Fairly quick and easy to put together. Get a few to try out and see if you like them.
Price depends of quantiy and means of delivery.


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## Nhaupt2 (May 31, 2016)

How much do you pay per nuc after shipping? I


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## Thad (Jan 25, 2006)

Thanks for everyone's input!
Best price I have so far is about $6.00 each delivered for wax coated. We have pretty wet springs, so just regular cardboard nucs fall apart. Looked at getting them shipped from China, but the whole international shipping regulation process was too big of a PIA


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

I saw Pro-nuc boxes. Look great, but to be cost effective you have to buy a pallet directly from them. And a pallet has about 700 boxes.


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