ive never had a problem with them. I ordered last week and had it in 4 days counting a weekend. I have an order in right now ill see how it goes. dont anticipate any different though.

 

I'm with jakec. If I ordered something today, I wouldn't be surprised if I got it before the week was over. And at the latest it would probably be here Monday. I had a migratory top get shipped and one of the cleats broke off. It was because of how they packed it with the rest of the order. It was still fully functional, but I thought the feedback about the packing might be applicable. So I phoned in, talked to a real person right off the bat, and she shipped me a whole replacement top with no questions asked and I had it in a hurry. Two business days I think? I got the tracking number within an hour of calling her.

Zebra6331, how did you place your order? By web or by phone? Another member of BS I talk to quite a bit (outside of BS) has had some very odd dealings with ML too. Mostly by phone, though.
I ordered twice during their sale. Once the first day and once the second. Both orders over $100 and both were at my house less than a week later. I'll say that I'm ordered 5 packs of boxes, 100 packs of frames, that kind of thing. Stuff that I assume is prepackaged and they just slap a label on.

The only negative experience I've had with any bee supply place was Kelley. I had a similar problem as to what you describe having with Mann Lake. Had to call to get a status update and the lady I talked to was super nice, got me the information I wanted quickly (ended up being close to a month before I got my stuff). I haven't ordered again from them, but that's mostly because their quality of frames and their pricing. I won't hold a little blip against a company, but Kelley threw in extra frame parts with my order which lead me to believe that they knew the end bars were prone to cracking/breaking.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned about beekeeping is have the equipment ordered in the fall, assembled in during winter, and painted at the first sign of painting weather (if you tend to paint outside like I do). And have more than you think you'll need. By about two times.

 

I just placed a big order with them during their sale. Ordered Monday night, received it Thursday 3 days later. Got a good price, free shipping and some beautiful wood supers and frames. I love everything about them. Have you ever placed an order with some of the other vendors out there? I've waited 2-3 weeks with some...

 

3 days to the same state? not all that good. I usually get my orders from them the next day. But then I am only 2 hours away from their store. Bad timing is what it sounds like to me. Order in the fall for next spring.

 

They offer that sale once a year. I can't imagine how many orders they got vs how many they receive on an average day. I know I personally took advantage of it myself. I had a buddy order the same day as me and he got his in 5 business days. My order took 8 business days to arrive, and while I would have liked to have it sooner I had to accept that I saved a good chunk of money on the sale. Unfortunately, in 2016 we have all come to expect things to be done right this second. The beauty of a free market is that you can choose to do business somewhere else but I'm positive you won't find anywhere with better prices when you include the free shipping. Also anytime I've ever had a problem, once it was even my fault they righted it.

 

I have a great history with them. However my last order (internet) is 11 days old and no word. Until I called today to make a phone order because the web version was locking up. The lady on the line confided that they got swamped and are on it. I'm glad I ordered early.

 

I always wait until I need $100 or more (sometimes $3-400) and order. I ALWAYS have it here in less than 5 days. Their shipping & handling dept. is top notch in my book. :thumbsup:

 

Sometimes things just happen in the mail order bussiness, and it just keeps spiraling. I know, I run one, LOL. But I have never had a problem with them. got in an order last week in 3 days, and waiting for new hives that were on sale. Sorry it happened to you.

 

I ordered 400 bucks worth of stuff on Thursday morning feb 25th. it was at my door on the 26th before noon. Pa to NH in less then 24 hours.
last year was the same thing and everyone that ordered during their sale waited a few weeks. you won't find many mannlake haters here. good product. great people. great prices on most items.

 

Sorry to hear Zebra. I have had excellent service from them over the past year. Orders always arrive within 4 days, via Fed Ex. One time I ordered the wrong frames for the foundation I use. I called in to report my mistake and they sent me the proper frames free of charge and didn't ask for the wrong frames to be returned. Great customer service as well.

 

Bought from mann lake last sat during the sale product was delivered on tues 3 days later never had a problem with them

 

The 10 day delay isn't too surprising for the MM sale.

The 2016 price jumps for wooden ware - around 20% - are quite a disappointment. I hope they enjoy the rush before the stunning silence. I'll be building that box joint jig I've always wanted. It will take a heck of a sale to get my business.

 

The 2016 price jumps for wooden ware - around 20% - are quite a disappointment.

Agreed. Glad I bought bulk boxes during the 11% off in November and some more here in March. And also glad that I cut my own boxes (with rabbet joints) so I can see how they seem to hold up and if that's a good enough solution for me. I makes sense to buy deeps at the prices they charge now. But when you start adding more and more, I'll look elsewhere.

Acorn (of plastic frame and foundation fame) sells pre-cut wooden boxes now too. And the prices they quoted me were pretty competitive. So that's another place to look. And it might not be that bad having it shipped either if you're buying in a decent quantity.

 

. . . though they spammed us 4 times a day with their emails . . . 11 days later? No email. Nothing.

These could be related. I placed my first order ever with Mann Lake a few weeks ago. My very first order confirmation email made it to my Inbox, but then I didn't see anything more, though I did receive my order 4 days after placing it.

I just searched my email client for "mannlake" and found that my second order confirmation and my shipping confirmation were both in my Junk folder, along with a flurry of promotional emails from them.

So good on Mann Lake for shipping quickly, but they really need to throttle that spam machine back a bit.

 

Claimed they had over 18,000 web orders, and they're behind.

From my order confirmation email it also looks like their systems are not well automated.

My shipping address is mis-spelled on my order confirmation PDF, despite it's correct in my online account. So some poor soul is manually re-typing addresses into their shipping system. (p.s. to Mann Lake; if you're going to re-enter shipping address, at least copy and paste them!)

And the Fedex shipping charge is in a different font, and slightly misaligned. So some poor soul is manually editing PDFs with shipping charges.

If they're doing this with 18,000 orders I can understand how they'd get backed up.

 

I ordered twice. The first order was here within a couple days. The other one took over a week. I'd kinda forgotten about it until I was heading home for lunch and I wondered about it. Lo and behold there it was on my front doorstep. All of my interactions with Mann Lake have been very good.

 

check out Ohio bee box for wood ware

 

Do they have a website? I don't get a hit on Google for Ohio Bee Box Company.

 

I get the stuff from mann in two days without fail, always good quality. They sent some stuff wrong size once, I had the replacement the next day.

 

ohiobeebox.com

 

I agree. Great prices, great quality. Shipping is very fair too.

 

Weird, I ordered on March 4th and had everything by the 9th. NO problems. I did, however, place another order yesterday via phone because I had a few questions regarding the product and they told me they were 5 days behind on shipping out. I was fine with that since they told me up front.

 

I've had great luck with them in the recent past - no complaints there. Last year I stocked up on medium commercial 8 & 10 frame supers, on sale for $7.50/ea with the bulk discount (40 & up). Free shipping. Now I'm thrilled with that decision.

Like I said - it will take a heck of a sale to get me back "in the mood", now that they are $12.10/ea., in bulk.

Thanks for the OB link...

 

I've order twice from the Ohio Bee Box Company this year. You can't beat the price. Justin has always done me right. He saved me over $2000 on my last order.

Ohiobeebox.com

 

Put in my MM order on March 6th. Still nothing. I called, and they said they were backed up.

I've always had great service from them, but between lack of major savings, and rising costs, I need to learn to make this stuff on my own. This is my 2nd year. The woodworking would be somewhat of a hobby in itself.

Guess it's time to buy that fancy table saw I've been wanting for some time.

 

Guess it's time to buy that fancy table saw I've been wanting for some time.

Or a $50 one off Craigslist.

 

I ordered on the 6th of March. Got confirmation the next day saying they'd notify me when they shipped. Since then, nada. All my stuff was marked "in stock" when I ordered it, and it is relatively small, just-over $100 order of things, not tons of woodenware, etc. This is my first, and maybe, only, order from them. I'm not impressed, so far. They are on my cranky call list for tomorrow.

I am so spoiled because I can drive to Betterbee - it's practically next door to my preferred supermarket.

Enj.

 

Mann lake has the BEST customer service of any company out there. They are the quickest to ship. Try a few of the other suppliers and you will see the superior customer service. The best prices are from dadant, and they have been offering free shipping from time to time lately. I've called Mann lake when I need an order quickly. I called two weeks ago for a bag of pollen sub on a Thursday afternoon and it was at my door Friday morning. Granted they are onlyb4 hours away, that is the best free shipping you will ever get! Sorry you had a bad experience, but Mann lake is always willing to make it right. Best of luck

 

Or one sheet of 3/4 ply wood $29 from Home Depot = 8. 6 5/8 honey boxes, also made a great daddy/ daughter project.

I only wish I could make the frames, As I ordered frames on 3/11/16 it's now 3/16/16 still no email shipping confirmation. Last time it took 15 days to get my order. I'm unable to get a Mann lake Rep on the phone, only their answer service. I'll be dropping them as soon as I can find a suitable alternative.

 

This time of year most if not all beekeeping suppliers are backed up with thousands of orders. A little pre planning will ensure you get what you need in time for spring. I order all my supplies in Jan. Get it all within 4 days.
As far as emails, you can unsubscribe anytime you want.

 

I respepectfully disagree with your post because a company of this size should be upfront with its customers, if you don't have an item in stock then say so on your website. And certainly don't take people's money and then take 3 weeks to deliver. If you are backed up tell your customers! I've tried to cancel my order but I can't get anyone on the phone, and there's no way to do it on their website.

Update: finally got a Mann lake Rep on the phone cancelled the order, have already ordered through an other online retailer guaranteed delivery Friday for the same exact items. If Mann Lake want to stay at the top there going to have to up there game