Fine print
Refund policy
Deposits
Nuc deposits ($50/nuc) are non-refundable. Your deposit sets a colony aside for you, and we stop offering it to anyone else.
The exception is on us: if we can't deliver your nuc for any reason on our side (winter loss, queen failure, a pickup window we have to cancel), we'll refund the deposit in full, or move it to a later pickup window if one's available and you'd prefer that.
Queens (paid in full)
Queens are sold as we have them, usually on short notice. Once we've caged a queen for you, the sale is final — she's been pulled from a colony and can't go back. If we can't produce the queen we agreed to, you get a full refund.
Missed pickups
If you can't make your pickup window, contact us as soon as you know — we can usually rebook you into a later pickup window in the same season at no charge. One reschedule per order.
If you don't show up and don't reach out, we'll try to contact you. If we can't get a hold of you within seven days of the missed pickup, the order is forfeited and the colony goes to someone on the waitlist. We'd much rather rebook you than redistribute, so reach out.
After pickup
Once you take possession, the colony's outcome depends on your management and your apiary's conditions — neither of which we can control. Sales are final at pickup.
One exception: if the queen isn't laying when you do your first inspection (within seven days), contact us. We confirm a solid laying pattern before queens leave us, but if something went wrong in transfer we'd rather know and make it right. The full first-inspection guarantee is in our terms.
Beyond that — we're always happy to answer questions, look at photos, and help diagnose problems. That part doesn't expire.
How to request a refund
Email hello@arcadiabees.com with your order number. Refunds go back to the original payment method via Stripe and typically appear in 5–10 business days.