I just bought a hive of bees from a guy that is getting out of the business. I've been reading about bees for the past few months and found myself wishing that I had been prepared in the spring when I was lucky enough to find out about this firesale. I bought a single 10 frame deep full of Italians. I let them settle in for a few days, and finally smoked them and removed the top. I was too chicken to take any of the frames out, but they looked very full, plus it's super heavy, so from a first glance, I think I have a good solid, well-established hive. The exterior and the baseboard appears to be pretty old though. I just ordered 5 medium supers with frames from Dadant so that I could let this hive expand some before winter. Anyhow, I'm hoping to read and learn a lot from this forum!