So after wandering amazon and ebay for the cheapest of sources…I’ve become weary and wary of what is for sale. Many of them have complaints of wrong smells, or melting being wrong(too long, changes colors at wrong temps/times), doesn’t exibit proper aging signs, color is off to begin with… so…
Where do people here get their beeswax from? I’d rather not mind my own in this case. 
Local beekeeper or farmers market…
It sucks how falsely advertised a lot of stuff is on eBay and at times on amazon (the reviews generally do help)
I get mine from a candle making booth when I go to the Ohio Renaissance Festival. They sell online at Www.naturecraft.net. Their wax is clean, smells great, and a nice golden yellow.
Amazon reviews are helpful, as long as they’re real.
Any time I’m looking to buy an unfamiliar product, I use fakespot.com to check the reviews.
Yeah,always have to keep an eye out for that. A lot (not all) of fake reviews are pretty obvious that they are fake.
Its always amazing how good the beeswax smell when at a farmers market. We are blessed to have a bunch of small beekeepers around. Closest is 2 properties away 
I get mine from my own beehives.
It is a mix of wax from mostly old comb and some cappings wax.
It does not have the nice aroma most people associate with beeswax, since it has been in contact
with dead larvae (in some cases), pollen, wax worm, multiple years of bee larvae cacoon, etc. I clean it by melting in water and allowing it to slowly cool. I can get rid of any odor by doing this multiple times, but the honey/floral odor also goes away. I don’t have enough hives to get significant pure cappings wax.
If you want the nicest smelling, lightly colored wax, what you want is pure cappings wax.
We have purchased cappings wax from beekeepers on ebay and it has been high quality.
When my wife makes candles she buys this and mixes it with my purified wax. When she makes cosmetics, she uses USP grade wax from a commercial wax suppler.
Wherever you get it from, just make sure you mind your own! 
Search for a local bee keeper’s group. they’ll help you out.
My own hives.
Now that i have the Flowhive system i get much less wax than before (it is worth it for the lack of stress my girls suffer).
I have a fairly decent but slow refining system and get a product good enough for balms and he like
I need another complex, expensive, culinary-related hobby. Are there any good sites for new beekeepers? I’ve read the Flowhive is a game changer.
II see you are living in the USA so i cannot advise much specifically… my training came through a goverment sponsored Agricultural Training course (we are wickedly socialist like that)
I HIGHLY suggest taking a course at least, if you can suppliment that with a group of experienced bee-keepers then you will do well.
Bees are, in the main, self-managing - but when things go bad you can lose a hive very, very quickly. And this is even here in Oz where we are free from the problems keepers face in the US.
This advice stays when looking at grabbing gear especially if you are thinking of migrating to the Flowhive (which is incredible), just be aware that older and more conservative keepers think the Flowhive is the devil incarnate and will cause the end of life as we know it
Put up an Airbnb post & tell anyone who asks that they’re just staying over while on vacation 
My friend buys locally made bees wax from a store in River Falls WI. She says it is well priced.
Unfortunately my employer is under the impression that my purely digital work can only be done from one specific desk.
