bbka mann lake

[BeeJayBee]

... may help with some sensibilisation of the prices.

That would be the best thing to happen. It would be nice to at least have parity with prices on mainland Europe instead of there being a 'British premium' price for exactly the same stuff.

 

[alanf]

The variety of bits and pieces is impressive, if the full range makes it to the UK. Not sure I'm so keen on sizing everything in inches and quarts though.

 

[Chrisfnvs]

I look forward to having another supplier in the UK to shake things up a bit,as we pay over the top for everything, on the down side no National kit and the prices don't seem that competitive to me on their main USA site, if you buy in the sales here no problems, plus i hope their arrival will not cause the demise of some of the smaller independent suppliers ! we might benefit from cheap loss leader prices in the short term but loss more in the long term we will see !

 

[itma]

received bbka news today and on the back page mann lake offering px for your national hive and £100 towards a brand new langstroth hive what do you think would beekeepers convert to a mans hive?

Impression I got was that the trade-in is a limited-time offer.
If anyone IS interested, maybe best not to hang around.

 

[Torq]

I look forward to having another supplier in the UK to shake things up a bit,as we pay over the top for everything

Think you have it bad, try moving over here.

the prices don't seem that competitive to me on their main USA site

I agree! Don't see any potential savings to be made the cheapest source of bee bits and pieces I've found so far is in Poland even with shipping costs included.

I also won't be encouraged to go Langstroth, my bees struggle to fill a national so they'd be lost in one.

 

[Michael Palmer]

I quit buying from Mann Lake. I can't address the quality of their woodenware, but much of what I have bought from them is, as you all say, rubbish.

Their smokers fall apart, and their excluders leak queens.

"You get what you pay for"

 

[MuswellMetro]

I quit buying from Mann Lake. I can't address the quality of their woodenware, but much of what I have bought from them is, as you all say, rubbish.

Their smokers fall apart, and their excluders leak queens.

"You get what you pay for"

Thanks for the "heads up" on that, always good to know the views of someone who has actually used them

 

[user 6228]

I quit buying from Mann Lake. I can't address the quality of their woodenware, but much of what I have bought from them is, as you all say, rubbish.

Their smokers fall apart, and their excluders leak queens.

"You get what you pay for"

they are a bee equivalent to Walmart then ?

 

[sipa]

A Heads up

http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...Ultra-Bee-Dry-Feed-Infested-with-Rice-Weevils

 

[Hivemaker.]

They will also be selling invert syrup, so i notice looking at the advert on the back page of BBKA news, from small containers right up to a 1440kg IBC, £.87/kg also selling 950kg pallets of Nutra bee pollen sub. Also unusual for there not to be a full page advert from Thornes in the magazine.

 

[alanf]

... Also unusual for there not to be a full page advert from Thornes in the magazine.

If I were selling advertising space I'd want a long term deal with the ML agent to be worth shifting the advertiser who has occupied that slot (and I imagine paid well for it) since the magazine went monthly.

On the other hand, if I were, say, the largest established supplier in the country I'd probably express some displeasure at having long term support ignored by publicising the rival traders exhibition rather than a trade event at the BBKA sponsored spring Convention. Ah, page 46...

As the magazine publisher, would I then place a prominent "this bee show is not an official BBKA event" on the main editorial page right under the Chair's letter? Would that look like petty retaliation? Would it annoy the company who has spent more advertising in the magazine than any other over the past three years? And other traders at the event who regularly advertise in the magazine? Er, hmm..

Reading between the lines becomes a habit. It seems to be a bet that a substantial proportion of the cash to support the magazine can be replaced by one new supplier almost overnight. I'd want pretty good odds to take that on.

 

[itma]

... if I were, say, the largest established supplier in the country I'd probably express some displeasure at having long term support ignored by publicising the rival traders exhibition rather than a trade event at the BBKA sponsored spring Convention. Ah, page 46...

As the magazine publisher, would I then place a prominent "this bee show is not an official BBKA event" on the main editorial page right under the Chair's letter? Would that look like petty retaliation? Would it annoy the company who has spent more advertising in the magazine than any other over the past three years? And other traders at the event who regularly advertise in the magazine? Er, hmm..
...

If you were concerned that a rival event was getting publicity in your magazine, you'd have to pretty daft to give it even more, and more prominent, publicity - for free.
But even the BBKA aren't THAT daft, are they? Oh ...

I'm sure someone somewhere must be rubbing their hands together and saying "All publicity is good publicity!"

 

[clv101]

Indeed, quite bizarre behaviour! If the BBKA aren't keen on this new event why on earth raise its profile directly under the chairman's letter?!

 

[Hivemaker.]

Noticed Mann Lake UK website is up and running now.

 

[dpearce4]

thanks for letting us know HM

 

[Bates]

Noticed Mann Lake UK website is up and running now.

Damn they have exactly what I ordered from the US in Jan but nearly half the price when the duty & shipping got added on.

But on a good note I got a free hive tool from them today.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

I wonder how long it will be before someone buys a 'commercial' brood box from them only to realize that it's a knotty Langstroth? And if they can be supplied painted, are they not cedar?
And why can't their catalog be in British English and not American English??

 

[madasafish]

I wonder how long it will be before someone buys a 'commercial' brood box from them only to realize that it's a knotty Langstroth? And if they can be supplied painted, are they not cedar?
And why can't their catalog be in British English and not American English??

for speed and cost reasons, I expect they just copied their US catalog.

 

[alanf]

for speed and cost reasons, I expect they just copied their US catalog.

You can have any hive format you like as long as it's Langstroth. .

Not made clear the only format is Langstroth in the catalog (sic, the top tab line has been changed to "catalogue" but the drop tab is still "catalog"). Not copied diligently enough to carry over the SKU numbers exactly either, the UK pages don't list them but the references appear in some illustrations, so you can order by reference on the UK site if you spot it on those items or get it from the US one but you will have to type in the hyphen yourself in the UK(!). I'd take that as a sign of a hacked together web site. Nor do they avoid a USD to GBP price hike of 15-20% (before adding VAT) on most of the items that I can identify like-for-like. It's a lower loading than consumer electronics, but a loading.

 

[clv101]

I'm having a hard hard time seeing just how much one of their hives costs, like for like, in comparison to say, the two Thornes hives I bought last week.