I believe it's a total crap-shoot. I've purchased queens from several sources over the last 5 years. I've tried virgins and mated queens. Cost per queen does not equate to the quality of the queen. Some of my best queens came from small, cheaper suppliers.Some of my most expensive queens have been killed by the hive [much like your report] and several were also superceded almost immediately. That said I have received very nice queens from almost every breeder I've tried. 

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