The Honest Part
Whether you found this on your own or you’re already on the list — before we ask anything more of you, we want to give you something first. This is the part where we’re fully transparent about where Hive Moms is right now and what joining early actually means. We’d rather you know all of it now than be surprised later. Read this before the application ever hits your inbox
Hive Moms is Brand New
You won’t be walking into an established marketplace with thousands of buyers already browsing. You’ll be among the first moms to open a shop here — which means you’re building alongside the platform, not on top of something already proven. That’s a different kind of opportunity. The moms who join now shape what this becomes. But it also means patience is part of the deal
Shipping is manual
You set your own shipping fee per listing and fulfill orders on your terms. There’s no integrated label printing or carrier rate calculator yet — those are coming — but in the meantime Pirateship is a free shipping account most sellers already use and love. Once you ship, you can pass tracking information directly to your buyer through integrated messaging. It’s straightforward and completely in your hands
Here’s how the money actually works
Your Colony membership is hosted on Skool, where your $29 / month is charged every month on the same day you first signed up. Skool handles your community access, your classrooms, and your Hive Foundations onboarding — all in one place
Your 10% commission goes to Hive Moms on every sale. That number is locked — it never goes up. That’s a promise
Stripe processes every payment and charges a standard processing fee of approximately 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction. This is not a Hive Moms fee — it’s what Stripe charges to handle secure payment processing on popular marketplaces you probably have shopped on. We don’t market it up or take any portion of it
Your commission and Stripe’s processing fee are both deducted automatically before your payment hits your account — so what lands in your bank is already net of both. No manual calculations, no surprise invoices
Factor all of this into your pricing from the start so you’ll always know exactly what to expect
A few more things worth knowing
Buyers can add multiple items from your shop to one cart and check out together. If they’re shopping multiple sellers, they’ll complete a separate checkout per seller — that’s standard across most marketplaces
There are no built-in discount codes at launch. Promotional pricing is something you control by adjusting your listing price directly
Reviews come from completed transactions only. There’s no way to import reviews from Etsy, Amazon, or anywhere else. Every review you earn here is yours — built fresh on this platform
There are no automatic cancellation or refund flows. Returns and disputes are handled personally between you and your buyer based on your shop policies. Set them clearly and honor them consistently
There’s no buyer wishlist feature at launch. Buyers can favorite listings, but a dedicated wishlist is on the roadmap
Shipping applies to product sellers only. If you’re offering services, your booking and delivery terms are set by you inside your listing
what you’re saying yes to
You’re joining a small, intentional founding cohort — not a mass open launch. That means you’re one of a limited number of moms who get in at the beginning, when it still means something to be here
The Colony is real and it’s growing. Not every feature is fully built yet. But the structure, the support, and the people are. You’ll be building inside something that’s actively taking shape — and your experience directly influences what gets built next
You’re saying yes to building before it’s perfect. To being seen, supported, and heard in a way other platforms aren’t built to offer. And to a 10% commission rate that is locked — permanently. That number will never go up
Want early access to your cell inside the Hive? Join the waitlist. Want to see what makes us different? Read on.