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R. Russell queens

73K views 153 replies 57 participants last post by  Vance G 
#1 ·
Greetings all!

Was wondering if anyone who has ordered queens from R. Russell has received them yet? If so, could you tell me a) when you ordered them? and b) when they arrived?
Thanks,
Steven
 
#75 · (Edited by Moderator)
Yep, I hate to admit I fell for the line last March 2011 and ordered Moonbeams. At the time I thought RA was a straight up outfit ready and willing to sell a product. Early this year I asked to add on some Sunkist if they could be combined w/ the previous order. Yep, no problem, will just credit when the order comes through. Yeah, right. Now, I did receive 3 Moonbeams and 3 Sunkist the end of May. So far so good, except that they weren't delivered on time, 1 DOA and all the rest with 4 dead attendents and the queens barely moving. So, I said I'd take virgins for replacements and shipping credit, but they shipped 1 queen, no credit or refund for the extra $19.50 they charged over the $28.50 shipping. 3 weeks later, 1 sunkist walking around on the frames, but no eggs, larva, and alllll the others long gone it looks like. So, was that a fun $251 experience??? Just glad it wasn't more, and feel like I've got that big "sucker" sticker on my forehead!!

And yes, like the others mentioned here I did try to communicate once a week thinking that they were just busy and would get to me at some point. 4 weeks later, I give up and will write this off as a learning experience. There's toooo many other good queen rearers out there to mess with these folks that obviously are staying just ahead of the legalities of the law. Don't know what makes the difference in crooks in jail vs. those running around in their bee yards. Same thing in my experience. I guess it has more to do with the amounts over or under $$$$.
 
#76 ·
I'm a little confused Brandy,

Now, I did receive 3 Moonbeams and 3 Sunkist the end of May.
Alright, still with you. You received your order . . .

So far so good, except that they weren't delivered on time
Not fun, but it happens some time. Still received your order . . .

I really think this is a complaint against the USPS, and not so much Russell's, but alright, let's see where we go with this . . .

and all the rest with 4 dead attendents
Really? We are complaining about dead attendants? Again, I think this is more of a complaint against USPS than Russell's, but even if it was Russell's fault, you didn't order attendants, you ordered queens. The state of the attendants has little bearing on your queen order.

and the queens barely moving.
Kinda a subjective complaint. "Barely moving." Are you saying they were damaged, diseased, or inferior? Or are you saying you expected them to be livlier? Or are you saying the shipping trip took a toll on the queens ( as evidenced by the dead attendants)?

So, I said I'd take virgins for replacements and shipping credit
And that right there is where you lost me. You received one DOA queen, and the rest were still alive, but you told them you wanted virgins as replacements? Most suppliers don't replace queens anymore. Russell often does if they arrive DOA (and sometimes under other circumstances). You wanted virgins to replace queens that were "barely moving" but did survive the trip? I think that is a little excessive. If you wanted replacements because the "barely moving" queens didn't make it, I can understand.

3 weeks later, 1 sunkist walking around on the frames, but no eggs, larva, and alllll the others long gone it looks like.
Are you referring to the virgins, or the "barely moving" queens? If you received virgins, you got replacements, so there isn't much to be upset about with the "barely moving" queens not performing. They were replaced with a product you requested. If you are referring to the virgins, it often takes more than 3 weeks to get a good laying pattern. And some may be gone. 20-40% loss of queens on mating flights isn't uncommon.
 
#77 ·
A few months ago I placed an order with Russell asking for a late June delivery. Found out recently that I would be traveling from July 1-8. I emailed Russell asking for a status update. They emailed me back saying they hoped to ship this week but if not they would hold my order till I returned. Got UPS notification that the order is on its way via Next Day Air and it is on the truck to be delivered this afternoon.

I am sorry that some people are not happy but I personally am quite pleased with the service and communication I have received from Russell Apiaries.
 
#78 ·
Well, I am disappointed with RA to say the least .
I have been waiting without lots of drama for my queens this year. After several emails requesting information, I finally decided to post my questions on their site and requested a refund.
The respond I got is that my posts were deleted a few minutes ago.
What a disappointment! I believed RA was ethical, professional and honorable. I guess I will get my queens the moment I do not need them.
If anyone from RA is reading this post; I just want my money back -no drama, no big deal, no more promises of great queens or this or that- just my money back now.

Aurelio (leo) Paez
DBA Michas Honey House.
 
#81 · (Edited by Moderator)
I feel obliged to post my consumer experience in this thread. I ordered a couple of Sunkist queens based on the "hype" surrounding their buildup. While I was waiting for them I managed to snag a couple of Sunkist nucs from someone who refused to pick up their order from Russell (let me interject a big THANK-YOU to whoever it was that didn't want their nucs). A few weeks later, I have concluded that the "hype" about the Sunkists is well deserved. :)thumbsup:x2) They have done very, very well building up in a reduced nectar flow. Got them as a 5 frame nuc (bursting at the seams), moved them into 10 frame hives, added another deep to each, then another deep to each as they needed room. Having this experience, I ordered more queens (Buckfast and JN Russell's) to add diversity to my stock and to try some bees that I've been wanting to try. I can hardly wait until they get here, but until they do, I will keep focusing on my plan to increase my hives and become a better beekeeper, so that when they do come I will have plenty of places to put them.
 
#82 ·
The disparate experiences in this thread confuse me a bit as my experiences have been nothing but good.

I ordered a Carniolan queen this spring and it was shipped a week late (after 2 of their employees were killed in the accident). I was fine with the delay once I checked their webpage.

Post office lost the package for a bit and the queen arrived late. I promptly installed her without inspecting her fully as I just wanted her to start laying. A week later I noticed that she had a damaged front leg and still had not started laying. When I notified Russell, Victoria offered to send me 2 more queens right away but I opted to wait another week to see if she'd start laying (as I didn't have another nuc or hive body to keep another queen and I'm not fond of trashing viable queens). Upon week 2 she hadn't laid yet and Russell shipped me a replacement. Took the 'damaged' queen out, put her in a nuc box I built, and installed the new one. 2 weeks later, BOTH queens are laying very nicely and I am moving my nuc to a 10 frame hive body to let the hive build up.

I did offer to send money for the 'replacement' queen as both have turned out fine and both Robert and Victoria declined. I'd order from them again if it were an option. FWIW, I don't know anyone at Russell and this was my first order with them.
 
#90 ·
Im kinda tired of not having a signature, kinda subjective too.

Actually on subject now, I emailed them, they havent emailed me back. if I lost a couple hundred bucks so be it. Im not terribly worried about it. Ask yourselves, can you get on an airplane and find somebody? This isnt Nicaragua. if youre out a few grand go find him. If youre out 20 bucks, youre kinda whiney. Either way, their business is clearly defunct. But I hope they still deliver whats paid for.
 
#84 ·
Thanks Barry...that's been the dang problem all along. Folks post what they've unfortunately experienced and then they get attacked. Meanwhile, those that have had good experiences get a "glad that worked out for you...if you had experienced what we have, you wouldn't feel the same way."...and that comment gets additional condescention...again, thanks!
 
#91 ·
I filled out the form on Russell's website yesterday asking about the status of my order that I placed last year.

I had an answer in my inbox this morning (sent by Victoria at 2:55AM).

In it she says they are still running a bit behind but my order will be filled ASAP.

I'm looking forward to getting them. If they do as well as the queens I bought from Russell's last year I'll be a happy camper!

They are not the best at "on time delivery" but their Sunkist bees are something I've found to be unique to work with and unless they're working with an experianced mentor, I wouldn't recommend them for a new beek!
 
#96 ·
I filled out the form on Russell's website yesterday asking about the status of my order that I placed last year.

I had an answer in my inbox this morning (sent by Victoria at 2:55AM).

In it she says they are still running a bit behind but my order will be filled ASAP.
Did your email look anything like this?

Hey John,
We are still a bit behind. I apologize for the delay. As soon as they're ready to ship you'll receive an email stating your shipping label has been printed, as well as a note from us to co tact your local post office and the ship date. The email will also contain your tracking number. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Victoria Ball
Russell Apiaries
www.russellapiaries.com

This is the email I got a month ago.
 
#92 ·
Apple...just curious...why would you not recommend them for a new beek?(btw, I am not a new beek...including my time with my father as a kid, I have 40 years under me, 20 on my own) But I am curious as to why you would say that...thanks.
 
#93 ·
Riverhawk - I've heard others make the same suggestion. Sunkists can be very heavy layers. As a result, they can require heavy splits to maintain their populations. Additionally, the heavy numbers can be daunting to some beginners, as reaching into a box that is literally overflowing with bees may not be the best environment for a beginner to learn on. Plus, along with those heavy populations come alot of hungry mouths. They can consume quite a bit of stores if you aren't careful.
 
#94 ·
Because I think that SK's can be overwhelming for a beginner. Most new beeks that I have mentored or talked with do not have enough equipment available to handle the SK's brood laying. If they have a mentor there is a posibility of borrowing equipment to handle the rapid build up if not their up a creek. SK's were developed for building strong hives to shake packages from (not honey production) and the new beeks I've talked to want to keep bees for the honey they can rob from them.

Look how many new beeks start with just one hive. A couple of deeps and two or three supers. I just talked to one that thought one deep and two medium eight frame were enough for a hive. No nucs, no extra boxes, no extra frames.

I recommend to the people I've mentored to start with a mutts at least two hives and get some experiance, equipment, drawn comb and a hive through the winter. Then experiment and learn what works for them.

Hawk, for the record I'm not knocking Russell's at all. I have five more queens coming from them. If they perform like the queens from them last year, I'll have about thirty hives and ten nucs to go into winter with.
 
#95 ·
Thanks Apple...a great reply. Would've loved to have worked through that problem!!!! I asked because I had a couple of queens released but then the hive killed them within 10-14 days of being released and before they layed. Jerry on the RA forum tried to say it was my fault because I didn't know how to work with RA queens. I'll refrain from going into how angry that foolish statement made me.
On a similar note, Shazam has posted there he believes there may be a pattern with bad queens during that earliest of June time. Seems non laying and hives killing the queens has happened often to others only with queens shipped then.
 
#99 ·
On a similar note, Shazam has posted there he believes there may be a pattern with bad queens during that earliest of June time. Seems non laying and hives killing the queens has happened often to others only with queens shipped then.
Hawk,

That was pure supposition on my part, as there seemed to be a similar set of behaviors described and all seemed around that same time period including by me. If the bees were all sent out together, and sat in similar heat at the postal depot, might have caused it. Dunno of course. I know mine ended up sitting at the Jackson shipping facility for an extra unexplained day before being shipped out. It would be a shame if some of the 'bad press' RA got was due to such.

That said, I have queens now that have been released and are already laying, so cross fingers, and thanks to RA for replacing the queens.
 
#98 ·
I canceled my order through PayPal yesterday. I found it odd to read on here that some people ordered in the Spring, received their order and have already received replacements for the dead ones and Ive had mine on order since December 2011 and still havent received them. Im learning to rear my own so I wont have to deal with this again.
 
#102 ·
I ordered last October and paid for a new wunderbee just being released. I requested early May delivery. At this point I would say I am never going to see those bees. I certainly would not advise anyone taking a chance and ordering from them. I certainly will avoid any purchase that is any way attached to the Russell name. If I got those queens tomorrow and they were the finest in the land, it is still too late in the year for me to utilize them in any productive capacity. If I got what I paid for tomorrow, they would just inconvienience me. I won't try to cancel. I am sure the weaselwords on his website about please allow time for delivery cover him well. Those kind of people usually cover themself well if not in glory. I am ashamed that I was taken in and was an advocate and defender of this Ponzi scheme. I apologize to anyone who listened to me. Vance E. Gilbraith
 
#103 ·
I have not posted on these threads for quite some time.

But I wanted to say, Thank you Vance for your statement. I think all of those who have had less than professional service or no service at all appreciate the honesty of those that have now changed their minds about this company. Sorry about your order.

I guess folks believe what they believe until they see evidence that proves they were not totally correct.

Robherc had put together a single email to Mr. Russell to try to get him to address a lot of the orders that were not delivered. He is not associated with Russells and is just trying to help out. He has not had any resolution though I believe. Even though I still have not received any contact from Russells about the remainder of my order, I am grateful to Rob for trying.

I am in agreement with you, if the queens showed up now it would just be an inconvienence. I would prefer Russells ship any queens they have to someone who can still use them or is in desperate need.


As Rob said to me, "you made statements that you felt were appropriate at the time, and now have made other statements to clarify your new understanding."

Vance, we are just in the same boat.
Thanks again for your post. We understand. No worries.
 
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