PACKAGE BEE REFUND & RETURN POLICY

Bees have been shipped through the post office for over 100 years and this is a very reasonable way to ship bees. Upon request of the customer we do ship UPS 2nd day air. Customers pay the extra but UPS does not insure bees. The post office does insure certain, but not all zones. We lose very few packages each year in shipment, but it can and does happen. This is at your own risk.

David & Sheri Burns and Long Lane Honey Bee Farm do all we can to ship you a very healthy package of young bees along with a healthy queen and her attendants. However, it is the customer's risk after our packages are shipped. Customers who purchase packages from us assume all risks once they are in the hands of USPS & UPS. We cannot refund the cost of the package or shipping because we shipped a healthy package & queen. We did our part. If UPS or USPS killed your bees during shipment, you must resolve your loss with these shipping companies. Due to the bee shortage we cannot send a replacement package even if you want to pay for another package.

We can replace queens that die in shipping but the customer must pay $25 for a new queen plus shipping. Once the bees are in the customer's hand, we cannot control the environment or management styles which could possibly cause the hive to perish.

Absconding: It is not uncommon for a new package to abscond, which means once they are installed, they completely leave the hive and fly away. Again, this is the customer's loss and we cannot replace or refund packages that absond or die. There are too many variables and individual management styles and environmental stresses that are beyond our control.

All queens we provide are mated and have proven themselves to be strong laying queens. If after receiving your package your queen dies or does not lay well, we cannot provide a free replacement. Before you suspect that you did not receive a queen in your queen cage, please understand that we place a queen in all queen cages and this is double checked. 1) The person who places the queen in verifies that she is in and moving around well. 2) The person who is watching the scale when the bees are placed in the package makes sure the queen is moving around in her cage prior to the bees being shaken in. This is a process that cannot be missed. We can provide a queen as they are available for $25 plus shipping.

RETURN & REFUND POLICY ON PACKAGES PICKED UP AT OUR APIARY: At our apiary, we will show you the bees and the queen so that you can verify that all are healthy and alive. You can visually inspect your package. You will be shown your queen in her cage and can verify that she is alive, but once you accept your package, it is yours and there can be no refund or return.

Queen replacement policy: We ship out our own queens that we produce between May 15 and September 30. If you receive one of our queens and she arrives dead, you must resolve this with your choice of shippers.

99% of our customers are very happy in how they received their bees. Bees are live stock and are subject to various environmental stresses and occassionally bees do die in shipment or abscond after installation. The customer assumes all risks of losing their bees after the bees are picked up or shipped by us.

If you are not willing to assume the risk of possibly losing your package to shipping stresses, which rarely happens but can, then please consider picking up your bees at our apiary here in central Illinois. In 2010 we had customers drive over from 8 states to pick up bees. Make a road trip and come meet us and avoid possible shipment loss. We have gone out of our way to provide FREE online lessons so that you can be most successful in beekeeping. And we offer regular beekeeping classes. So be prepare to keep bees before your bees arrive. Thank you!