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Cheesman and BeeBabys.com

52K views 89 replies 39 participants last post by  delber 
#1 · (Edited)
For a very long time I've designed and built most of my own bee equipment, especially bottom boards, supers and covers, but only a few frames. Recently I considered how much it was costing me for lumber and then the time and effort to turn lumber into equipment. I saw a posting about Mr. Cheesman and his BeeBabys.com website in Manchester, Ohio. Their prices for ready to assemble supers was very attractive, as well as their offer of free shipping on every order.

So my wife Diane and I made some inquiries:
We wanted to know if they could make a few customizations to our order, in particular we wanted our 8-frame supers to be cut 14 inches wide (creating 12-1/2" inside width), and without any handholds (we prefer our own end cleats). They readily agreed to our specs, and without any additional cost to us.

Then we heard that they were considering changing their prices and shipping policy, beginning in 2012. So we searched our budget and managed to place an order for six supers (enough, I thought, to get a good idea of their product quality). They arrived by FedEx in about three days. Most impressive - they were cut, with our custom requirements, exactly as requested (no problems trying to straighten out order shortcomings).

The end boards were nearly "select" quality, and the side pieces, even though some of them had a few tight knots (I pre-coat all knots with TiteBond III, inside and out), were straight and true. All box joints fit together very snugly (I assemble using bar clamps, with TiteBond III and coated deck screws). The box joint fingers were each drilled with pilot holes for fasteners - very precisely positioned, each and every one.

After checking the updated BeeBabys.com, the prices are a little more than they were, pre-2012, but they still seem quite attractive, especially since I have an idea as to the quality of their product. I am hoping my revised budget will permit taking advantage of one of the volume price breaks, when I am able to place my next order.
 
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#27 ·
Re: Has anyone ordered from beebaby's?

I have every sympathy for being busy and his work is good. But a month without any communication is not good business to say the least. His phone goes unanswered, voicemail is full, and he has stopped returning email.

The simple fact is that I paid a good price for a product, it arrived damaged and now I will likely have to purchase a replacement from someone else. That makes his good pricing much closer to a high price after I figure in the replacement cost of boxes and a nuc lid. Buyer beware.
 
#31 ·
Re: Has anyone ordered from beebaby's?

Based upon initial feedback I ordered boxes from him back in January. Shipment was quick and quality was great. Very happy with his product and service. I recently attempted to contact him to inquire about getting more, slightly custom boxes, and could not get a reply. Two emails unanswered, so I gotta suspect that he's max'd out. I hope he pulls through in good standing and we can do business with him in the future.
 
#34 ·
Re: Has anyone ordered from beebaby's?

In some ways I'm glad cheezer32 is behind on his orders, it shows just how much in demand his products are. I hope he can catch up and continue producing such excellent equipment at nice prices. I am hoping to be able to place a larger order with him, sometime in the future. I appreciate his product and prices enough that I'd certainly wait, if necessary, to get them.

I have a similar situation with my Nucs and queens, and am continuously working to increase my own production capacity - so I have a basic idea about how rewarding and frustrating it can be to work in the beekeeping industry. Hang in there, beekeeping needs dedicated people like you.
 
#38 ·
Re: Has anyone ordered from beebaby's?

FWIW, I just bought 50 migratory covers and bottom boards from Justin and I know he was up till 4am finishing my order. Seems like an honest hard working young man to me. Good quality, and good prices. I'm happy I went with him.
 
#39 ·
Avoid Cheeseman and BeeBabys.com

I had a negative experience with BeeBabys that I would like to report. I placed an order in mid February, which I finally received a month later after 4 emails, 3 phone messages and very little response from beebabys. What arrived less than I ordered: I had asked for assembled painted hives, and I got assembled unpainted hives. Their customer service is terrible, their website seems down now (was up a few weeks ago) and altogether they appear untrustworthy. I will never use them again.
Stavros
 
#40 ·
Re: Avoid Cheeseman and BeeBabys.com

website itself is working fine, but the web store is closed. Its a mix up with paint. I see freaking out if its the wrong size box or half of what you ordered, but paint? Justin is a small one man operation, and if you need equiptment yesterday, order from one of the guys who has many employees. This post is now the third result on google search. Don't have to call him out to the whole world over a back order and painting mix up.
 
#41 ·
Re: Avoid Cheeseman and BeeBabys.com

I ordered 3 unassembled medium nuc kits on March 1, 2012. They arrived on March 21, 2012. My understanding during this time was that his product was in high demand and that he was running about 2 weeks behind due to a very large order (2000 hive bodies).

What I didn't expect was to have the bottom boards and migratory covers assembled.
 
#42 ·
Re: Avoid Cheeseman and BeeBabys.com

Stavros,
I have ordered from some of the bigger bee suppliers and had to wait a month, especially in February, and have had items back ordered from some of them for almost 2 months as well. I don't see a problem with waiting a month when ordering in Febuary which seems to be the busiest month for all of them. Have, you given Justin a chance to rectify the issue, just PM him I know he will take care of you but you have to give him the chance first.
 
#43 ·
Re: Avoid Cheeseman and BeeBabys.com

I have ordered a couple times with Justin, spoke to his Dad and met his Mom when she delivered hives to me. The hives are excellent - a superior product. Made well, tight joints and overall the best supers, best woodenware I have purchased. He is a young man overwhelmed with our orders and trying to do the right thing AND have a life outside of making all of us happy. He is a good guy.

Sure he has some to learn about business as he grows. HOWEVER, I am sure he does not have giant warehouses - or the financial reserves to store thousands of pieces of supers, top and bottom boards, inner covers, nucs. I worry that the negative comments here, e-mails and phone messages that may or may not have been rude might discourage him to the point that he gives up and we lose a great vendor of well made products at a good price.
 
#44 · (Edited by Moderator)
Re: Avoid Cheeseman and BeeBabys.com

I don't see anyone here trying to impugn his character and I don't see any posts that are rude. The very purpose of this forum is to provide feedback on retailers.

As to my own posts, my only complaint was the lack of communication which is detailed clearly. I even went so far as to describe the good quality of the woodwork. My order is supposedly on it's way now and I plan to update this thread when the issue is rectified.
 
#45 ·
Re: Avoid Cheeseman and BeeBabys.com

I just received my 20 Deeps today and they look to be very good quality and a good fit. It took a little longer than I expected, and I would like to see automatic notifications of shipping and tracking. After reading this thread and the 2000 box order, I can understand the delay. I am happy with the the product and I look forward to doing business with him again.
 
#47 ·
Re: Avoid Cheeseman and BeeBabys.com

I've now received my full order and thought I would post an update and final impression. My replacement parts were shipped to cover the damaged in transit pieces and arrived last Saturday. Unfortunately the replacement end pieces were for a nuc and not a medium, but in looking over my email to justin I can see how there could have been some confusion so I'll take the blame over that.

I assembled all the boxes the other night and my impression is mixed. Wood is nice and straight, there were some large knots in the wood but they are are tight, and the joints were a bit loose and some had some light showing through them after assembly. Another application of glue and paint should remedy this. The boxes were predrilled which made assembly very nice. My main complaint would be the joint quality and fit but it's not terrible. In comparison my mann-lake commercial boxes had a much tighter joint fit.

Overall the Mann-Lake commercial boxes (my primary basis for comparison) are nicer quality in regard to the joint fit but at a higher price (even after factoring in their free shipping). So if you are looking for quality above all else I'd suggest ordering someone else's 'select' or 'commerical' boxes. However justin's boxes are a great buy for the dollar spent. Frankly, I can't see how Justin is making any money on them after shipping (especially after shipping replacement pieces to me). I'd be shocked if he made money on my order.

If you have the time to wait and the aforementioned problems are not a concern for you I think he is a safe bet. In summary:

Quality : B
Communication: C*
Price: A

* I'd bet that if one were to order in the off season that communication would be much better. My order was placed 2/2/12 and it sounds like he was buried with a larger order. Not an excuse from my perspective but I thought it should be noted.
 
#48 ·
Re: Avoid Cheeseman and BeeBabys.com

Its been a month during the busy season and not a peep . No complaints ? I thought i saw Justin say ...if its not out by this day i'll send refunds . Ok..how many took him up on this offer ? I'm sure that if someone asked for one and didn't get it in a timely fashion they would have posted . I've sure seen a lot of those posts..ie long lane . Kincade ..a couple points about your grading ..quality ,,WB {way better than i can make} Commo ...Where have i seen that come up before ? In this topic a C is under par , price is a A ..i cant buy the wood cheap enough to justify the labor . Disclaimer ,,, only met him once on a run for brood on the side of I75 . I left with a smile and a wife impressed. On a side note i found a marked queen in with the brood. That bee is doing well .:D . Its in the top 5 , but a different grading scale .
 
#49 ·
Re: Avoid Cheeseman and BeeBabys.com

I am still waiting for the rest of my order, has been a month now sent he sent the first part of it to get me off the ground for the year. Still owes me more then half of the original order. Have messaged him 3 times now over the last two weeks with no response. His voice mail is still full so you can't leave a message and I have tried calling multiple times on different days and different times of day and no one ever answers. His website looks like it is back up and open, but buyer beware at this point as he is not responding to any of my attempts to communicate. I ended up having to go buy through another source for additional boxes for my hives this year, but am still owed the ones I ordered through him. Original order was placed in February.
 
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