I ordered some beehives and when I ot them they were absolute junk that in no way would hold bees. The boards were warped, cracked, knot holes missing and one side was longer than the other. I contacted the owner Albert Chubak and he ask me to return them so I did. Now Albert will not refund my money, answer my calls or text. He has his returned merchandice and my money. The total is $317 Plus Im out another $60 for return shipping
I originally met Albert Chubak at the Wyoming Bee College in Cheyenne, WY. I had only been a beekeeper for 2 years at that time. I have always used Warre Hives and have very good luck with them but I was so impressed with his class on bee keeping - especially how he starts new colonies and raises new queens. The hives he sells are works of art but fairly expensive so even though I couldn't afford one of his beautiful hives I decided to order 2 dozen of the mini frames and build my own boxes to put them in (they're not as pretty but they are functional). Following his class instructions and videos on line I had fairly good luck splitting off some bees and of the 2 mini hives I tried one colony was able to produce a new queen in my mini hive. The next March I saw Albert Chubak at the Bee College once again and was able to purchase more mini frames at the end of the event for $65. This time the frames were unassembled but looked like the same thing I had purchased before. But as soon as I got home I discovered that the side pieces were 'taller' in the new frames than the original ones I had purchased the year before so the new frames would not fit into my boxes. I was surprised as I had spoken to him several times at the conference and no mention was made of any size changes to his mini frames. I sent him an email immediately and after several weeks finally received a message that he had 'just got my message' and wasn't able to make the shorter sides. As I didn't have the tools to cut down the pieces I had purchased I decided to return the new frames to him - still in the same condition and packaged as they were when I purchased them. He said that would be fine and that he would send a refund as soon as the frames arrived. It cost me $13.00 to mail the frames back to him and I waited for my refund. After several weeks I had not heard from him so I contacted him again and learned that the frames had arrived and the refund would be on it's way the next day. Next March it will be 2 years since I purchased those frames and I still haven't received my refund. I have continued to call him, send emails and messages every few months and I always get the same response - he doesn't seem to remember what this is all about and once I refresh his memory then 'the check will soon be in the mail'. Of course it has always taken a couple weeks to get a response in the past but now he no longer returns my calls or answers my messages and I'm down to leaving reviews everywhere I can to warn people about the horrible service from this guy and his company. I have heard the same complaints from 2 other local beekeepers who have dealt with him since then - one went so far as to stop at his shop while traveling and getting her problem straightened out in person. So after reading this, if you are still interested in buying one of his hives or other products I would strongly recommend that you make sure that it is exactly what you want before you buy it because if you have any questions or problems with it or you need additional parts for it you will be stuck with whatever you get from him. And by all means learn from my mistake and NEVER EVER return the product to him unless he is standing in front of you with a wad of cash in his hand because I am convinced you will never get your money back otherwise. I'm sure he is a wonderful beekeeper but as a business owner he needs some serious work. I wasn't able to attend the WY Bee College last year and I know he is not there every year but I'm thinking it might be worth a 4 hour drive (one way) to face this guy and make a loud and public scene in front of his booth until he gives me my money. Other than that I'm pretty sure I will never see my money.
Eco Bee Box Reviews
I ordered some beehives and when I ot them they were absolute junk that in no way would hold bees. The boards were warped, cracked, knot holes missing and one side was longer than the other. I contacted the owner Albert Chubak and he ask me to return them so I did. Now Albert will not refund my money, answer my calls or text. He has his returned merchandice and my money. The total is $317 Plus Im out another $60 for return shipping
Refund? I guess not...
I originally met Albert Chubak at the Wyoming Bee College in Cheyenne, WY. I had only been a beekeeper for 2 years at that time. I have always used Warre Hives and have very good luck with them but I was so impressed with his class on bee keeping - especially how he starts new colonies and raises new queens. The hives he sells are works of art but fairly expensive so even though I couldn't afford one of his beautiful hives I decided to order 2 dozen of the mini frames and build my own boxes to put them in (they're not as pretty but they are functional). Following his class instructions and videos on line I had fairly good luck splitting off some bees and of the 2 mini hives I tried one colony was able to produce a new queen in my mini hive. The next March I saw Albert Chubak at the Bee College once again and was able to purchase more mini frames at the end of the event for $65. This time the frames were unassembled but looked like the same thing I had purchased before. But as soon as I got home I discovered that the side pieces were 'taller' in the new frames than the original ones I had purchased the year before so the new frames would not fit into my boxes. I was surprised as I had spoken to him several times at the conference and no mention was made of any size changes to his mini frames. I sent him an email immediately and after several weeks finally received a message that he had 'just got my message' and wasn't able to make the shorter sides. As I didn't have the tools to cut down the pieces I had purchased I decided to return the new frames to him - still in the same condition and packaged as they were when I purchased them. He said that would be fine and that he would send a refund as soon as the frames arrived. It cost me $13.00 to mail the frames back to him and I waited for my refund. After several weeks I had not heard from him so I contacted him again and learned that the frames had arrived and the refund would be on it's way the next day. Next March it will be 2 years since I purchased those frames and I still haven't received my refund. I have continued to call him, send emails and messages every few months and I always get the same response - he doesn't seem to remember what this is all about and once I refresh his memory then 'the check will soon be in the mail'. Of course it has always taken a couple weeks to get a response in the past but now he no longer returns my calls or answers my messages and I'm down to leaving reviews everywhere I can to warn people about the horrible service from this guy and his company. I have heard the same complaints from 2 other local beekeepers who have dealt with him since then - one went so far as to stop at his shop while traveling and getting her problem straightened out in person. So after reading this, if you are still interested in buying one of his hives or other products I would strongly recommend that you make sure that it is exactly what you want before you buy it because if you have any questions or problems with it or you need additional parts for it you will be stuck with whatever you get from him. And by all means learn from my mistake and NEVER EVER return the product to him unless he is standing in front of you with a wad of cash in his hand because I am convinced you will never get your money back otherwise. I'm sure he is a wonderful beekeeper but as a business owner he needs some serious work. I wasn't able to attend the WY Bee College last year and I know he is not there every year but I'm thinking it might be worth a 4 hour drive (one way) to face this guy and make a loud and public scene in front of his booth until he gives me my money. Other than that I'm pretty sure I will never see my money.