Best Time To Buy Equipment?

[Silex]

Hello to all,

This is my first post. I am a complete novice to bee-keeping, though I have lurked around the site for quite a while (it's been an excellent resource to my learning curve, thanks to all the regular contributors) and I have joined our local BKA. I am planning my first hive for next year and I wondered if there was a seasonal buyer's prime time to buy hives and equipment, and if so when that might be?

For instance my other hobby is biking and I know that the best time to purchase a motorbike and gear is during the winter months. Fewer people are thinking about summer biking then, and bargains are much easier to find between November and early March. Is there a similar seasonal bargain sales time with bee-keeping? I'm guessing it would also be during the winter months, but that is entirely speculative on my part.

 

[gavin]

Yes, that's the season for sales - though Th%rnes (the spikey things on roses, Google it) have a sale this coming Friday and Saturday at their Scottish branch for personal callers (yes, I know its a bit far .... ).

You may find adverts in the local press for secondhand equipment at any time as folk are always dropping out of beekeeping. Old age often, also people carried away with enthusiasm for their new hobby who then find that they can't cope. Burn the frames, scrape down and scorch the inside of wooden boxes, and clean other equipment in washing soda (soda crystals) and you'd be fine.

 

[johnandyrob]

As Gavin says look out for the sales from major suppliers normally at the end of the year. Keep popping in here as people normally post a reminder for others when the online sales are about to start.

 

[ultreen1]

Flea bay has some good bargains and good sellers!

 

[tonybloke]

the best time to purchase equipment is before you need it!! (many on here will vouch for that)

 

[ultreen1]

the best time to purchase equipment is before you need it!! (many on here will vouch for that)

So true!

 

[ratcatcher]

welcome fellow biker

what do you ride?
I have my trusty hornet 600 (weird that I had a hornet before bees,lol)
and my wife has a cbr600

 

[mbc]

The bubble has burst and many new beekeepers have suddenly developed bad reactions to stings or have had changes in circumstances, so stacks of nearly new equipment will soon be sold for a fraction of their new price at auctions across the land. My advice is to buy cheap, nearly new equipment at auctions, give it all a thorough clean and save yourselves a fortune.

 

[Luminos]

Welcome to the forum, Silex
Don't buy a cheap, flimsy beesuit

 

[psafloyd]

Flea bay has some good bargains and good sellers!

And some bad, too.

 

[susbees]

Flea bay has some good bargains and good sellers!

I wouldn't recommend it for beginners: lots of problems crop up with kit bought from online traders and some of the smaller enterprises - often regarding beespace issues. A few come recommended...but research it well first.

I have had to return a whole consignment of nuc boxes this year as they had been cut wrong. A new beekeeper would have likely struggled on. And even then the couple I bought ready assembled had the roof bars in the wrong place!

Silex...get along to some of the winter programme at Shrops Beeks . See you there .

 

[Silex]

Thanks for all the advice,

eBay worries me in that quality is difficult to be sure about. I have seen some, 'too good to be true' offers on eBay and experience lends toward, "if it appears to good to be true, it often is." I did purchase two P@ynes suits off eBay, 12 months old, for £90. Not sure if they would be considered decent quality suits, but the previous owners claimed they were and only selling them because Mr had developed a bad reaction to bee stings.

 

[Silex]

welcome fellow biker

what do you ride?
I have my trusty hornet 600 (weird that I had a hornet before bees,lol)
and my wife has a cbr600

Hey, thanks for the heads-up,

I'm a Harley man, my wife has a GPZ600, which she refuses to part with in spite of its age and my infrequent nudges!

 

[Silex]

I wouldn't recommend it for beginners: lots of problems crop up with kit bought from online traders and some of the smaller enterprises - often regarding beespace issues. A few come recommended...but research it well first.

I have had to return a whole consignment of nuc boxes this year as they had been cut wrong. A new beekeeper would have likely struggled on. And even then the couple I bought ready assembled had the roof bars in the wrong place!

Silex...get along to some of the winter programme at Shrops Beeks . See you there .

I'll keep my eyes open, and look forward to catching-up with you at some point.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

When is the best time to buy equipment?

When the OH isn't looking, of course!

Dusty

 

[DanBee]

I would recommend buying at the BBKA Spring Convention, which will be on your doorstep at Harper Adams early next April; bees will generally not be available before May at the earliest (swarm or nuc). All the reputable suppliers are there (the inverse may not apply ) so you can compare directly, and in your own hands, the products and prices. 2nd quality can be a good saving but get in early and look it over to sift out the better quality 2nds!

MBC is right that if/when the bubble has burst a lot of nearly new kit will be coming onto the market at bargain prices, but this will also depress the new prices/demand - the major suppliers have all expanded heavily on the back of the recent boom and therefore have even more incentive to keep the new stock shifting rather than sitting on their shelves.

 

[oliver90owner]

I would recommend buying at the BBKA Spring Convention

I wouldn't, unless you were going anyway. It would cost you umpteen quid just to get there.

I would recommend the winter sales with some advice on what to get, beforehand. Too much, within reason, is better than too little (and having to buy extra at full price later).

Welcome to the forum btw.

 

[jackbee]

It was also possible this year to pre-order seconds kit from both Thornes and Maisemore to avoid the ruck and make sure you get your kit, although there was plenty to go around at this years convention, think the extra space meant they had more out. Check the websites nearer to the convention date but not too near as they had a cutoff for ordering.

 

[DanBee]

I would recommend buying at the BBKA Spring Convention

I wouldn't, unless you were going anyway. It would cost you umpteen quid just to get there.

The OP is in Oswestry, Harper Adams is circa 35 miles away. I'd travel 35 miles to have all the major suppliers in one place, competing for my cash, letting me compare one to the other, even if it did cost a tenner for entry. Plus there's all the lectures and other events once you're there.

I suspect your objection is more that it is a BBKA event, rather than it being the biggest beekeeping trade event in the UK beekeeping calendar.

 

[oliver90owner]

a tenner for entry.

70 miles round trip.

Only a tenner? A hundred quids worth, delivered free from Th8rne, costs nothing to get it delivered to your door wherever you are in the UK (apart from a very few places, maybe).

Not everyone pushes the BB*A (you clearly do) and my advice stands purely on cost merit. Th8rne are likely the preferred supplier for a beginner, although I might recommend poly for the hives, from MB.

Further, the spring may be a bit close for some, bearing in mind the possible start of the season.

You made your recommendation; I gave a perfectly viable alternative (like most things in beekeeping) - and a potentially cheaper one at that. Just tough that, but don't need you making suggestions re my motives, thank you very much.