Just want to let anyone know that you don't get what you pay for at White Oak. I thought I had purchased a nuc which should have had 3 frames of brood and bees and 2 frames of honey. He said that because of the late spring the nuc would be a little light. What I got when I opened it at home was: one half frame of brood, 2 frames of bees, one completely empty frame (no comb) and one empty frame of comb the bees would not touch. And guess what? no queen, which I didn't find out until my 2 week inspection where I found no brood left and no laying going on. I left an e-mail and he doesn't seem interested in my dilemma as he refuses to return my call.
There was also an interesting article in the NY Times that stated the president of the Brooklyn Bee assoc. who purchased his bees from White Oak, had his bees chew their way out of the nuc's in the back of his car and he had to pay a fine because of the nuisance it caused. Sounds like this guy is a piece of work.
I suspected something upon arriving at his apiary as it was in total disarray, not what you would want from a businessman you could trust. That's my two cents worth, take it or leave it.
Update:
The queen which I purchased from him I had to actually pick up on site when I got my Nuc, as after waiting ten days he hadn't sent it. It isn't laying a good pattern and after 4 weeks the hive has not enlarged at all. My other hives are doing great, so its not the flow. Later
There was also an interesting article in the NY Times that stated the president of the Brooklyn Bee assoc. who purchased his bees from White Oak, had his bees chew their way out of the nuc's in the back of his car and he had to pay a fine because of the nuisance it caused. Sounds like this guy is a piece of work.
I suspected something upon arriving at his apiary as it was in total disarray, not what you would want from a businessman you could trust. That's my two cents worth, take it or leave it.
Update:
The queen which I purchased from him I had to actually pick up on site when I got my Nuc, as after waiting ten days he hadn't sent it. It isn't laying a good pattern and after 4 weeks the hive has not enlarged at all. My other hives are doing great, so its not the flow. Later
I got ripped off too!
ReplyDeleteI purchased several nucleus colonies from White Oak Apiary this season and had a near-exact experience with many of them. First, the nucs were ready 5 weeks late (originally promised May 10 and ultimately available on June 15). Second, five of them were queenless. Attempts to communicate with the apiary to address this situation were useless, as emails went unanswered and the company's voice-mail inbox was continuously full (i.e., I was not able to leave phone messages and no one would answer the phone). When I was finally able to contact the apiary's owner--12 days after the transaction!--the conversation was thoroughly unprofessional, inappropriate, and note helpful. I ended up contacting the Better Business Bureau to file a complaint and alert them of the situation. Not surprisingly, White Oak Apiary is not a BBB accredited business.
ReplyDeletewe got ripped off as well. we got 2 nucs, and 5 queens----ALL QUEENS WERE DEAD. he did not insure properly,replaced them and we had to pay again, and again the same story, queens are dying-we only have one alive. did not returned out money, never returnes phone calls, etc.
ReplyDeleteyes we are going to contact BBB as well.
be careful who u invest u money with!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
never with him again.
Having been through most of the 2012 season, I can report that aside from the queen problems outlined in my July entry to this blog, a number of the nucleus colonies that I purchased from White Oak Apiary turned out to be infected with American Foulbrood, varroa mites and small hive beetles. I have never had AFB or SHB in my apiary before, so I can firmly credit White Oak Apiary with bringing them into my operation. Based on my experience, I would strongly advise anyone thinking of purchasing nucs from a beekeeper you don't know first-hand to first consult with other beekeepers about the seller's reputation, and second to consider the liability of bringing a diseased nucleus into your own apiary. A diseased nucleus will compromise your own stock and breed problems--at a cost to you! Don't trust a website and its glowing descriptions and pictures alone, as its information could be wholly unfounded. Solicit your county inspector's help if you need it, and report any problems to both your local and state beekeeping association so that they're aware of the situation.
ReplyDeleteWe got wripped off to!! White Oak Apiary is the perfect example of a scammer! Payed for two nuces back in January and expecting them to arrive the end of May first of June. They called almost 3 weeks ago and wanted to confirm our address and would email us tracking info, still nothing or any response to phone calls!! Thankfully we payed through PayPal and they are getting the money back for us!! I would never ever recommend this company! Nice fake website White Oak Fakerary!
ReplyDeleteOrdered a Cedar Hive Stand and never got it. Thanks for ripping me off!
ReplyDeleteI ordered queens 3 months in advance and had to file with my credit card company to get payment returned.
ReplyDelete