If you are considering an order from Kinnickinnic Bees (kinnibees.com) of River Falls, Wisconsin, this page sets out what the public record shows, with links to every source. It is not a verdict. It is the material a careful buyer would want before paying in advance.
Is it a real business?
Yes. Kinnickinnic Bees is a real, family-run beekeeping operation in River Falls, Wisconsin, selling bee packages, nucs and queens, and running a Host a Hive subscription service. It has an active website, social media presence, and a Better Business Bureau profile. Many customers report good experiences, particularly those who collect their bees in person.
What is its BBB standing?
Kinnickinnic Bees holds an A rating with the Better Business Bureau and is not BBB accredited. Its profile records three complaints over three years. Note that BBB letter grades largely reflect whether a business responds to the BBB, not whether customers were satisfied. All three complaints concerned orders paid for and not delivered as expected, one in each of the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons. A separate BBB Scam Tracker report was filed on 27 July 2026 concerning a $399 Host a Hive deposit. See BBB Complaints.
What do customers complain about most?
Two things, consistently, across several years.
Orders paid for and never received, with no reply to calls or emails. In the 2026 season alone, at least six customers publicly reported paying early in the year and receiving nothing by late June. Comparable reports appear in 2023, 2024 and 2025. One 2025 BBB complainant wrote that "7 other people have not gotten their bees either." See Orders Never Received.
Bees arriving dead. Customers report packages arriving 70–80% dead. The company's standard reply is that its terms place shipping risk entirely on the buyer. See Bees Arriving Dead.
What happens if something goes wrong?
This is the question the public record answers most clearly, because the company replies publicly to most negative reviews. Those replies have described customers as liars, as ignorant, as nasty, and in one case as committing fraud. On at least five occasions the company has raised the prospect of a defamation claim, a fraud allegation, a lost-revenue claim, or reporting the review. See How the Company Responds.
The company generally directs customers with dead or missing bees to claim from the shipping carrier rather than from the company. One reviewer states his carrier claim was denied because the insurance the company purchased does not cover live animals.
Things worth checking before you order
- Whether the product ships at all. As of 2026 the company states nucs are pickup only, while bee packages still ship. Several 2026 customers state they were nonetheless charged for shipping on nuc orders. Read the product description itself, not the order confirmation email.
- What shipping service you are actually paying for. Four customers state they were charged for a fast guaranteed service and that a slower one was used. One published an order confirmation reading "USPS 2-Day Priority Mail" on an order that never arrived.
- Whether your state is served. The company declines to ship to some states and has told customers who ordered from those states that they should have read the description.
- The refund terms before you pay. Host a Hive deposits are refunded at 50% under the company's published terms. Shipped bees are not guaranteed once handed to a carrier.
- How far in advance you are paying. Several customers paid in full in January or February for bees expected in April or May. Consider what recourse you would have if that timeline slips and calls go unanswered.
How to judge this for yourself
Every claim on this site is quoted from a public source and linked to its original, and the company's replies are published in full — including the replies where it answers well, issues a refund, or turns out to have been right. One reviewer withdrew his complaint after discovering his own telephone was at fault; that is here too. Read the sources and decide. Our Sources & Method page sets out the rules this archive follows.