No way it costs that much, and NEVER buy used bee equipment. You may wind up purchasing disease-laden equipment which will give you and the bees nothing but trouble.
My all wood standard hive setup cost me about $275 as a kit that I put together myself, and it was a higher-end unit. Then all you need is the hat, gloves, bee brush, bee tool, and smoker. Save the suit for later as you can use bluejeans and a heavy shirt if you wont be working them for long. Total cost around $325 or so.
Most equipment has been ordered from here and is very high quality:
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Some people have tried with success the plastic/foam hives which are much lighter and cheaper and survive winters better. However they do have more moisture problems.
