Correct marking of Queen for auction

[Poly Hive]

I happened to browse on an advert for nucs for sale.

The advert reads "All queens are this years, clipped and marked to the correct colour ( blue for 2010)."

If the queen is bred in 2009 then surely she should be marked to that colour?

Personally I don't follow the marking code as some of the colours ie yellow are not too good for OSR, but surely a queen mated in 2009 should be described as such and marked as such?

Your thoughts?

PH

 

[RoofTops]

If it says "this years" then that implies they are indeed 2010. If they are available now then, assuming they are 2010 queens, they must only have come from the southern hemisphere, e.g Argentina or NZ. Alternatively, is there some fine print that says they won't be available until June?

 

[Black Comb]

Surely a 2010 queen should be born in 2010.

If you are not sure, don't buy.

Another reason for raising your own.

 

[ian]

Hi Pete

I think that's the advert on the new auction site?

If I read it correctly they are being reared this season and orders are being taken.

Can't see to much wrong with it myself, as long as the buyer is made aware what the time frame is, and of course nothing goes wrong with the great British weather


Regards Ian

 

[Poly Hive]

The way I read it was that the nucs existed with last years queen marked up for 2010 hence my post. If I read it one way and another another then possibly the wording needs some adjustments to avoid confusion.

PH

 

[BKF Admin]

I have had a couple of Emails from members(Non have posted yet in this thread)regarding the auction in question.

I need to contact the vendor and ask him to maybe change the wording to explain better what he is offering.

 

[PaleoPerson]

Slighty off topic but....
I will be marking queens I have, using the correct colour for the year. However, if the queen is derived from a swarm or another source where the age of the queen is uncertain, then I will be marking in Orange (a nice hi vis one).

I currently have two unmarked queens, they are most probably 2009, but as I cannot be 100% they will be marked later on in the year (when it will not be too much of a problem if I cock it up) Orange.

 

[Hombre]

Regarding the advertisement in question. The advertisement clearly says Spring - So available by the last day of May at the latest. If the vendor is unable to produce a mated Queen in good time then surely it's up to him to make it good at his own expense.

In short; if you enter into a contract to sell, then you had better make good if you want to avoid legal proceedings at some point in the future. Like the stock exchange selling short to make a profit. Sometimes they come unstuck and have to just tough it out and take the financial beating. Buyers won't care if you have to go out and buy in a 2010 mated queen to satisfy your end of the contract. It's not their problem.

The vendor wouldn't be impressed if the vendor sought to pay 20% less than the agreed contract price.

I understand that there is a bidder on the auction item. Is it now acceptable to materially change the offer? Particularly when information regarding the naivety of the item was made available some days prior to a bid being placed.

As this is now out in open forum, I would be interested in your comments, as doubtless would the vendor, who I believe has had similar concerns voiced directly to him.

 

[Frisbee]

I too have expressed concern over the auction, both to the vendor and Admin......both of whom have ignored my pm's, or at least not bothered to reply.

This is selling on the open market, my concern is the vendor is offering for sale, with a deposit, something which does not yet exist, indeed the proposed queen/s to be used for breeding from haven't yet made it through the winter.

It's one thing ordering a nuc this early from an established business, they will come up with the goods regardless of the spring weather, they have the back up and the know how. Ordinary mortals and hobbyists would do well to wait awhile and see how the spring pans out, offering nucs for sale when they actually exist and have a laying queen would be a much wiser move.

The phrase something to do with eggs and counting chickens comes to mind.

Personally I expressed my concern because I think the auction is a good idea and wouldn't want to see it fail. A bad reputation is so easily aquired.


Frisbee

 

[BKF Admin]

Sorry to not reply Frisbee,I assumed that you had spoken with Hombre.
My mistake,sorry

 

[Hombre]

If I may be so bold; I would suggest that the vendor would be well advised to have the item removed from the auction, reconsider carefully what he is actually offering. Then make sure that the description makes it very clear exactly what is being offered for sale.

Material facts in my mind are the number of such items that a winning bidder is actually bidding on. With a winning bidder situation, as there can only be one winner, the answer should be ONE and therefore the description of "5 frame nucs" number limited at the moment, infers (like it or not) a mininum of two nucs being bidded for - if this isn't the intention and the vendor doesn't want to test it in a court of law, then he should take the advice given.

With 2010 marked and mated Queens on offer, I am under no illusions that the vendor is looking to make up nucs as early as possible in the early Spring.

If there is a buy-now-price then multiple "5 Frame Nuc" (note not plural) items can be sold on the same auction item, but there must be a mechanism to prevent more being contracted for sale than the Vendor intends to be marketed. Either that or each should be listed as singletons and a buy-now sale should take that auction ID off sale.

If any of this is new to you Admin, please let me know. I will pm ThurrockBees so that he is able to make up his own mind about what he wants to do. I suggest that he may benefit from wise guidance.

I'm sorry if you find this in any way embarrassing. It was not my intention, but I did make myself eminently clear.

 

[Tom Bick]

I have ordered a nuc from ThurrockBees not through the new auction site but through the forum and to be totally honest not that bothered if it is a last years queen that has overwintered or if it will be a very young queen this year and if she is painted yellow with pink spots most importantly for me I am confident he is a good beekeeper and passionate about the craft and will provide me with a perfectly good queen and bees at a time when the bees are ready. Having dealt with grumpy bee (easy) in the past this will be a walk in the park.