[shaneTX]

I had an extra small colony and not enough equipment and decided to sell it off as a 5 frame nuc..

Posted it on Craigslist.. wow... I learned a lot

i was shocked how many completely unprepared people called me.. 3 different people called and after some questions, I realized they had done zero homework and had no beesuit.. wow.. I turned them down gently and told them my story and encouraged them to attend some local beekeeper association classes and spend some time on youtube.

Im totally cool selling to a newbie as we all had to start somewhere. I guess I was shocked how people missed the basics like a bee suit .. How did they think it would work?

I'm still laughing about this.. These are wild caught texas bees.. Not aggressive but definitely not bees you are going to managed with short sleeve and a veil.

What I learned was I need to add more requirements of who Im willing to sell to.

good luck out there!

 

[bushpilot]

I sell equipment on CL. Basically I source unassemble equipment during sales (such as black friday) during one year, assemble over winter, and sell it in the spring, when prices tend to be higher. Bought right, it can pay a little, and gives me something to do in the dark cold winter. If I don't sell it, I plan to use it myself, but selling has not been a problem so far.

Anyway, rambling here. It is amazing how I sell nothing until about a week before packages are coming in, then it all sells out to people totally unprepared. For example, slightly built people buying double deep 10 frame equipment, with no idea of what it will weigh (I tell them, and they buy it anyway). People who have never been to a class. People who don't have a suit. They ask me questions while looking over the hives that they should have figured out long ago. It is pretty universal that they know that they are going to be "treatment free," even if they do not know what a super is or how to install a package.

I enjoy answering questions, and the interactions, but am surprised by their lack of preparation. I do what I can to get them started, and welcome them to call me anytime. Very few do.

I hope next year to sell a few nucs, I'm sure it will be a similar experience as yours.

 

[Titus142]

I feel so lucky. Early on I think the best piece of advice I got was Join a bee club and take their bee school, excellent advice. And have everything ready to go the winter BEFORE you plan on getting bees. When I got my first 2 nucs there was no panic no rushing around.

I do notice on reddit r/beekeeping especially it seems people decide in the spring I want bees then do a sort of panic buy before they are really ready. Some of the questions I see preceded by the statement "Just installed my first package" really surprise me as what I would consider very basic fundamentals that should be learned before hand.

I am planning on selling off my excesses as nucs if splits go well, so I really appreciate the insight into what I may encounter in trying to do that!

 

[username00101]

I've had people who do not own bee suites who want to buy bees from me.

Then I remember back, when I first purchased bees. I was naive too.

I had planned on selling bees this year, but with COVID I've contemplated that the economic downturn will make owning bees more valuable than selling bees.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I am also not in immediate need of $, and would rather have beehives that can produce food, and pollinate orchards, etc etc.. Than a stack of worthless paper that has dead presidents printed on the front.

 

[JWPalmer]

Yep, I was one of the niave ones. Had done a bit of homework before I got my my bees, but was swayed by all the folks working bees without a suit. I bet the beekeeper that sold me my first and only bought hive was laughing inside real loud. Bees were pretty good and we were ok until honey harvest time. That did not go well and I had a jacket and veil a week later. I am thankful that I was able to get those bees and have learned so much since then. As a result, when my last nuc customer showed up with her snow white bee jacket, gloves, and veil wearing capris and sandles, I just asked her to stand back until I got a feel for the bee's temperament that day. I hope she changed into long pants before taking them out if the box :scratch:

 

[Tigger19687]

I feel so lucky. Early on I think the best piece of advice I got was Join a bee club and take their bee school, excellent advice. And have everything ready to go the winter BEFORE you plan on getting bees. When I got my first 2 nucs there was no panic no rushing around.

I do notice on reddit r/beekeeping especially it seems people decide in the spring I want bees then do a sort of panic buy before they are really ready. Some of the questions I see preceded by the statement "Just installed my first package" really surprise me as what I would consider very basic fundamentals that should be learned before hand.

I am planning on selling off my excesses as nucs if splits go well, so I really appreciate the insight into what I may encounter in trying to do that!

I'm buying a nuc in May from Nashua, maybe this is you

Take what I say with a grain of salt because I don't have Bees but......... I have been studying since 2015 and have bee suit & supplies WAY before I was going to get Bees.
I did join the Bee Club here and while nice there were too many NewBees that kind of ruined it by asking the most basic questions over and over in the meetings. Seriously it is like your CL people, Learn at Least a LITTLE before you go. The interwebs is the new teacher for just learning.
One parent dropped off their 11 year old daughter at a meeting at someones house and she sat there for an hour asking every new question possible. I do have to say she at least wanted to learn and had a notebook but darnit, no one could ask any questions. That was my last day there.

I send people to this site to Learn and tell them that they better take 2 months just READING before posting. Also just about every Library near me has books on Beekeeping.

 

[bushpilot]

I'm buying a nuc in May from Nashua, maybe this is you

Take what I say with a grain of salt because I don't have Bees but......... I have been studying since 2015 and have bee suit & supplies WAY before I was going to get Bees.
I did join the Bee Club here and while nice there were too many NewBees that kind of ruined it by asking the most basic questions over and over in the meetings. Seriously it is like your CL people, Learn at Least a LITTLE before you go. The interwebs is the new teacher for just learning.
One parent dropped off their 11 year old daughter at a meeting at someones house and she sat there for an hour asking every new question possible. I do have to say she at least wanted to learn and had a notebook but darnit, no one could ask any questions. That was my last day there.

I send people to this site to Learn and tell them that they better take 2 months just READING before posting. Also just about every Library near me has books on Beekeeping.

My local library has great beekeeping books, but do people read books anymore?

I am impressed, a member since 2014 and 187 posts, and you are now getting bees? Way to go!

I was a college professor, still occasionally teach. One thing I have learned is that learning is complicated. Sometimes people might "hear" (meaning their sense of hearing was functioning at the moment) several times before they cognitively understand an idea, let alone accept it. So the repetition is good, sometimes required, even though it frustrates those who already "got it."

Other times, it is lack of doing the homework.

 

[odfrank]

I have sold four used Flowhive honey supers only on Craigslist and also encountered frightfully unprepared interested buyers. I in general do not support beginner beekeepers because of that failure to learn first problem. "No, you can not extract in my fully equipped extracting room and waste my whole weekend". My best Craigslist story was when I was selling 25' tall bamboo in 24" boxes. A lady came to pickup in her SUV and was puzzled when I refused to load it for her. The rear seat did not fold down and it would have hung out the back 20' long for a 15 mile drive thru busy suburbia.

 

[JWPalmer]

My best Craigslist story was when I was selling 25' tall bamboo in 24" boxes. A lady came to pickup in her SUV and was puzzled when I refused to load it for her. The rear seat did not fold down and it would have hung out the back 20' long for a 15 mile drive thru busy suburbia.

When I bought the glass front merchadiser I use as an incubator, the seller was relieved when I showed up in my 4Runner. Apparently the last person that wanted to buy it was driving a sub compact. The fridge is about 2x2x3 and would not even begin to fit through her car door.

 

[NorthernIllinoisPlumber]

I just sold 2 packages on FB Marketplace. Both were beginners, meets went well.

I did have several tire kickers!

 

[jonsl]

I bought 4 beekeeping books, had taken a class and owned a full bee suit before I got my first bees. I guess I was over-prepared!

 

[Muenster]

And then when you sell them the bees they call you every three days asking what to do with them....

 

[RayMarler]

OH what memories this thread brings back.
Back in the late 80's I was working as a auto mechanic and I popped up one day and said maybe I'd get a beehive and some bees. I forget what brought that thought on. Anyway another mech there in the shop heard me and told me to come to his house and he'd give me one to start out with. Boy was I in for a surprise!

He'd had an empty deep ten frame box with no frames, that a swarm had flown into and drew comb off the top lid and set up home in the box. So, with no veil or smoker we both in essence did a cut-out on them, removing comb and tieing into frames with cotton string. We finished up and set them in place, and had a small lunch snack of raw vegies chips and dips. He gave me some tips and tricks in our chatting and we loaded it into the back of my small truck and I took it home. OH I almost forgot, he gave me a hive tool as well. My oh my, those were the days.

I set it up at my grand-dad's place (he had some property out rual) and went thru that hive the first time on my own. The only bee equipment I had was a hive tool. Boy oh boy, what fearful nervous but grande excitement that was! I was hooked on bees.

So I was talking to my Mom's neighbor (he was a sideliner beekeeper) and he gave me a second hive and a smoker! WOW I was set now, living in paradise for sure! So I took that hive out to Grand-Dad's place and went thru both hives. No hat, veil, suit or jacket but I did have a hive tool and a smoker now. It was great.

Time went on and I heard about from Mom's neighbor about a local bee supply shop and a bee club. I went to the shop and bought a book, "The Hive and The Honey Bee" by Langstroth and Dadant publications. The publish date on it was 1987 so that's about the time I started beekeeping. I read that book cover to cover, and to this day I claim that is the book that every new beekeeper needs to read to start out on this beekeeping adventure.

Ok, time goes on, I start collecting swarms, getting on the swarm list at the local club. Then I got to the point where hives were stronger, later in the year, honey stored to protect, so the hives get more aggressive. I got stings now and then, but never anything serious, but realised I needed some protection, so I bought a suit with veil.

Anyway, those were my beginnings in beekeeping and this thread brought it all back to me. Not everyone needs the full setup to start beekeeping. I was always the type to jump in and do to learn, and that's how I started it with beekeeping. Granted I had a couple people talk to me a bit at the start, but no mentor or anyone to go thru hives with me even at the start. Today? now I very seldom open a hive without a veil, never wear a suit or gloves, but do have a jacket if the bees are kinda nasty.

 

[AR1]

OH what memories this thread brings back.
Back in the late 80's I was working as a auto mechanic and I popped up one day and said maybe I'd get a beehive and some bees. I forget what brought that thought on. Anyway another mech there in the shop heard me and told me to come to his house and he'd give me one to start out with. Boy was I in for a surprise!

Kind of like me. I mentioned at church to an uncle that I wanted bees. He arranged through his daughter to give us two hives at a very minimal cost, essentially free now that I know what the bee market price is. I had a veil (mosquito net over straw hat) and long-sleeved shirt and leather work gloves when I went to pick them up. I forgot my wrists! Finally tied towels around my wrists and went back and finished transferring the bees. Got many many stings on the wrists and was pretty swollen for a few days. I still use the same setup, except that my mother-in-law sewed me some wrist guards. Works great.