How we sell our honey
We sell honey directly from our apiary, just as our ancestors did for generations. This is not an online shop. The website simply lets you contact us and arrange a visit in person.
What this means in practice:
We do not dispatch honey, pack it in shipping boxes or send it by courier. Every jar you take home was bottled in a small batch at our apiary and waits for you here — where the bees live.
We treat a message sent through the website as an expression of interest, rather than an order. The amount of honey available at any time is limited by the current nectar flow, so we always confirm availability personally — by phone or email — before you travel to see us.
The sale itself, including handover and payment, takes place exclusively at an in-person meeting at the apiary, at a prearranged time. You can pay in cash or by QR code on site.
Why we do it this way
Farm-gate sales are not an administrative loophole. This traditional form of sale has a purpose in Czech law: it lets small-scale keepers offer their own products directly to neighbours and local people, without intermediaries, warehouses or wholesale logistics. We respect this approach because it reflects how our honey is made — in small batches, according to what each year brings.
The contact form on this website is therefore not a shopping cart. It does not calculate prices for a selected quantity or allow anything to be ‘ordered’ with a single click. It is a simple way to let us know you are interested — we will arrange the rest together, in person.
Legal framework for sales
Farm-gate sales — Section 27a of Act No. 166/1999 Coll., on veterinary care
We sell our honey under the farm-gate sales regime governed by Section 27a of Act No. 166/1999 Coll., on veterinary care and amendments to certain related acts (the Veterinary Act), together with the State Veterinary Administration's implementing rules on small quantities of products of animal origin. This regime allows keepers to sell their own products — in our case, honey from our own apiary — directly to the final consumer, without having to operate an approved food establishment within the meaning of Regulations (EC) No. 852/2004 and No. 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on food hygiene.
The conditions of this regime are that:
- the products come from the keeper's own animals and are supplied in small quantities (the current annual limit for honey is 2,000 kg),
- sales are made directly to the final consumer,
- this is not distance selling within the meaning of the State Veterinary Administration's interpretative guidance.
State Veterinary Administration guidance — advertising (point 12) and distance selling (point 13)
In its interpretative guidance on farm-gate sales, the State Veterinary Administration distinguishes between:
- an informational online offer (point 12) — publishing information about products available from the keeper, possibly including contact details and an indicative price, without selecting or reserving goods or concluding a transaction remotely,
- and distance selling (point 13) — operating an online shop or similar system that allows goods to be selected and ordered, and potentially paid for, over the internet.
Our website is designed exclusively within the scope of point 12: there is no shopping cart, price calculation for a selected quantity or option to place a binding order. The contact form serves only to express interest; specific quantities, confirmation of availability and the sale itself are arranged through personal or telephone contact, outside the website.
Distance contracts — Section 1820 et seq. of Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code
Under Section 1820 et seq. of the Civil Code, which transposes Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on consumer rights, a distance contract is one concluded under an organised distance-sales scheme without the simultaneous physical presence of the parties. Our website does not allow a purchase contract to be concluded through any remote action — a message submitted through the form is only an expression of interest, not an order — and the purchase contract is formed only during an in-person meeting at the apiary. Our sales are therefore not distance contracts within the meaning of this provision. Consequently, the provisions on the consumer's right to withdraw within 14 days (Section 1829 of the Civil Code) and the duty to provide the information required for distance contracts (Section 1820(1) of the Civil Code) do not apply to our sales.
Tax treatment — Section 10(3) of Act No. 586/1992 Coll., on income taxes
To the extent specified by the Income Taxes Act, sales of honey from small-scale beekeeping (up to 50 colonies) are treated as occasional income rather than business activity, provided they do not meet the criteria for continuous activity carried out for profit under Section 420 of Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code. Given the scale of our apiary (7 colonies) and the nature of our sales (irregular, dependent on the current nectar flow and without an automated ordering system), these sales do not constitute continuous business activity.
A summary for visitors
This website is an information channel for a small-scale beekeeper, rather than an online shop. Sending a message through the contact form does not create a purchase contract: it expresses interest, after which we contact you about honey availability and arrange an in-person meeting at the apiary, where the sale takes place.