selling an overwintered nuc

[citrus]

Never done this before but its not really a beginners questions ....

So as insurance for last years demaree I made up two nuc's and so by the end of the season they are in a nuc with double brood extension and so 12 frames and doing well going into winter (and still looking well).

In the spring they'll be ready to go into a national hive but was thinking whilst they are easy to transport in the nuc was thinking of selling one instead.

Questions are :-

Do I sell the whole paynes nuc - or just sell the contents and get the paynes double back off the buyer ?

Where do I sell ? (ebay ? or just list on here ?)

How much should I be asking ? (they get 12 frames and a working colony)

Note I'm not currently a member of the local beekeeping group (my mentor is tho so could go via that)

 

[Cuckmere couple]

we have a local bee fair in spring at which people sell nucs

id say your local version of this would be the place...they have a process to 'sign off' to check they're ok for sale...disease, laying q etc

always a lot of interest and they go fast

 

[Erichalfbee]

Your local BKA will snap the bees up with little effort on your part so ask your mentor?

 

[MerryBee]

West Sussex bee auction

nucs of good bees usually attract a good price, but it is an auction so you never know.
You have to arrange for the bees to be inspected by the bee inspector before sale. No charge for that in West Sussex.

 

[Poly Hive]

There are FB groups for buying and selling bees and kit.

PH

 

[madasafish]

Ebay has a no livestock policy...

We sell bees plus deposit for nuc, refunded on return.(if we don't know teh buyer).

 

[citrus]

thanks for the tip on facebook groups ... dont know how successful it is selling through that ... but worth a try I guess

not really allowed to have an account as my wife isnt a fan of FB !

auctions/spring fairs ... sounds a bit more time intensive and time is one of my enemies !

 

[Vortex]

The FB method is a little hit and miss.. Sometimes the for sale threads on here are better, but there's a premium on that route.

It's easier to sell in an existing Nuc box, just factor the replacement into the cost. The alternative is a corex box. These vary in price according to the supplier and quality. Beck's bees do some very nice corex boxes but they are expensive.

Once you've sold a few nucs then you'll find people start approaching you in subsequent years. I've have enquiries for 3 nucs already...