Bob Harrison said:

> Kind of like the cost of wooden ware in the U.S. would be most
> likely double the price today if large commercial beekeepers
> did not buy the amounts they do keeping prices within reason.

As someone who makes beekeeping products, and sells through
dealers, I can say with a high degree of certainty that an
businessperson would view the market for beekeeping supplies
"the other way 'round".

The hobby segment, buying in smaller quantities, and paying full
retail price, provides a profit margin to the manufacturer and
dealer. This allows these businesses to not just meet payroll,
but make an actual net profit, and reinvest some of that profit
in new or upgraded capital equipment and new product development.

The hobby segment also justifies the overhead costs inherent in
the extensive distribution channels that serve both the hobbyist
and commercial beekeeper.  Think about it - why does Dadant have
a warehouse in Lynchburg, VA of all places?  It is not on the east
coast migratory route, in fact it is several hours drive from I-95.
Virginia is not a major honey-producing state.  (When one uses the
term "large" to describe an operation in Virginia, one is speaking
of hundreds, rather than thousands of hives.)

The bulk orders placed by large commercial beekeepers are awarded
to the lowest bidder, so much of this woodenware is sold near, at,
or even below cost by the manufacturer.  The manufacturer is lucky
to break even, and a dealer does not often even participate in the
sale at all. Of course, Dadant, Brushy Mtn, Mann Lake, and a few
others are both dealers and makers of their own woodenware, which
blur the distinction.

So, one could say that the large commercial beekeepers are able to
exploit and profit from a situation that would not exist if not for
the much more profitable hobby market segment.

If not for the hobby market, there would be far fewer companies for
large beekeepers to pit against each other in the annual race to the
bottom of the price curve, far higher prices for all the items purchased
by all beekeepers, and far less incentive for anyone anywhere to innovate.

Jerry's Hive-ID project is a difficult challenge, one made much more difficult
by the lack of any reason for a hobbyist to ever "tag" hives.  The technical
problems are not as difficult as they might seem, but the basic financials
of the business make it a safe bet that no one will making any boat payments
with the profits from such a venture, if any.

The technical issues are not all that much of a problem.  We've been quietly
tracking bottles of Bee-Quick with satellite recon for years, but we weren't
going to admit it until other companies took the brunt of the predictable and
highly justified paranoid reaction to the implications of "traceable products".
http://www.bee-quick.com/bee-quick/rpt3/test.html


                jim

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