sockmonkey

Try Elements Bath & Body. They have great customer service, ship super fast and very reasonable prices. http://www.elementsbathandbody.com/

Red + green? Maybe add a touch of yellow.

Are you saying you painted those? Those look great!

Bleckkhhh! That sounds like something that would burn your nose--maybe good for sinus congestion. I'm no fan of rosemary, and eucalyptus is so strong it seems like it might be hard to overpower that combo! You're right, it doesn't sound too sea breezy. Maybe if you called it Arctic Wind or something like that it wouldn't seem as harsh to people. I would just divide it up into smaller batches and start experimenting by adding different EO's to each batch. You know people add everything to lavender, so you might give that a shot. I'm not too fond of lavender either, but it's an industry standard--people seem to expect it. Some other things that might be worth trying: Spearmint (could make it even more noxious) Benzoin Orange Cinnamon I'm sure there are some experts that can offer better suggestions. PS--have you checked out the EO co-op if you need any supplies?

What are you using? You might be able to remedy the situation by adding an EO with a more potent scent, such as cinnamon or mint to mask the others.

Have you tried Tony's Euc. & Spearmint? It didn't smell real strong in the bottle, but I used it in a room spray and I was impressed with the strength of it.

You never know, some customers might prefer the candle goof over the normal version you sell. It's only in your head--not the customer's as to what right color the candle should be--at least in this situation; now if you made a grape candle and colored it orange, then yes, that's likely to cause a problem. Selling the same candle with a different name and candle could also be viewed as marketing research. Candle companies do it all of the time, but with them it's intentional and people get paid very well to do it.

If you can't tell a difference in the scent, it shouldn't make any difference at all in your product. The expiration date is a good way for suppliers to make extra money--assuming people like you will toss the product and buy more if it has an old date on it.

Asian Citrus? Exotic Pineapple? Gingered Pineapple?

Wow, only $4? I guess I need to move to Austria, because I couldn't ship a package anywhere in this country with trackable shipping for only $4.

I don't know if you hold an outside job or not, but for some people consignment or booth rental might be the only option they have if they work full time or are busy with kids. So, if they have no start up base, to me consignment seems like a good option for them--but, only if they carefully select the right venue. Some people just aren't cut out for wholesale business--they might lack the organization, self discipline, and marketing know-how to be successful at it. Other people might have those skills, but simply don't want to invest their time in it because it's a lot easier to pour candles and drive them over to the consignment store whenever they feel like it and not worry about customer issues. I don't see consignment as the equivalent of offering terms because the product is still in your possession. When you offer terms you no longer have control of the merchandise and can never be too sure whether a merchant will pay as agreed or not, but I can understand why your opposed to consignment. My thoughts on the whole matter pertain to someone who expressed an interested in renting a space, without mentioning wholesale as an option. It seemed like a lot of responses suggested only doing wholesale, but in reading posts, you can see that many people did consignment at one point or another, so it just seems like a natural progression in this line of business to begin there.

Yes, money is tied up either way, but as I said, it's up to you to determine how much or how little you want to put on consignment--just as it is with wholesale inventory; however, assuming you do a good business at it, wholesale could require keeping a large inventory on hand. Now if you only have a couple of small wholesale accounts, it's not likely to be much of a consideration. As far as offering terms, that's completely out of the question for the majority of people who would be reading this thread. Some people here have learned rather quickly that when you're a small, independent start-up business offering terms it can quickly backfire unless you're already independently wealthy.

I wouldn't trash booth rentals or consignment or wholesale. They are all options that appeal to different people for a variety of reasons. Some people just aren't cut out to go the wholesale route. If you can't get out and market your product, you'd probably be better off renting or doing consignment, because you could wind up with more sales that way than if you only have one or two measly wholesale accounts. Also, when you do wholesale you either have to keep inventory on hand or else you have to be able to manufacture as the orders roll in. For some people, either could pose a problem because of the finances involved. Inventory on hand but not moving means you have a lot of money tied up. If you don't have inventory on hand, then you need immediate access to cash or credit to get the supplies you need to fill orders. With rentals and consignments you normally don't have to worry about dealing with the public, and you can make as much or as little product as you like, or can afford. Breakage and theft is always a consideration with both of them though. With most consignment stores and rentals, advertising is taken care of for you; with wholesale you're on your own. As to the florist, I would check to see how long they've been in business. If they've been in business for several years and are just now renting space, then it would appear business must be faultering. I would also confirm exactly how many spaces they are renting out. A few is no big deal, but 1/2 the store would make me curious. I was at a funeral the other day and a floral shop had sent a couple of unique gifts that I thought were very nice. One was a windchime decorated with a little greenery, and the other was a throw. So those items make me think that if you could make some candles with special scents or label in conjunction with reasons people go to florists in the first place, maybe it could be a good thing, as opposed to people who just put ordinary candles in a floral shop and expect them to sell when people are already buying fragrant flowers--ya know what I mean? For example, an "In remembrance" candle that might have a poem of some sort on it, or a "Wedding" candle with a special wish printed on it. Try to come up with something a little out of the ordinary to make your stuff stand out.

What grounds would he have to sue you? Were you responsible for the packaging? As far as I could gather from what you wrote, it looks like that could be the only basis he could have for a claim against you. It appears as though you provided him with plenty of samples, so he knew exactly what he was getting. You proceeded to manufacture per his specifications and now he thinks somehow you're at fault for something? I don't get it. My advice is not to wait for him to initiate any type of proceeding against you. He owes you money and you are out for several thousand dollars worth of supplies due to his failure to adhere to your agreement. You should immediately contact a lawyer to put a stop to his nonsense.

I suggest getting full payment up front. Most retailers expect to pay in full at the time of the order. Sure major suppliers like Yankee can offer terms, but if that's a criteria they have to order from you, then look at it as a red flag.

It looks very well made--nice straight stitching, no puckers.

I don't feel like I could really say what's my favorite until I knew how the colors were going to be used in order to create the "elegant" look you want. I hate E, don't care for C, and I'm not that big on D either. Based strictly upon swatches of color shown here, I would probably choose B. But, depending on your use of color, maybe E could turn out to be my favorite. Another thing to remember is that colors can vary from monitor to monitor, so we could be seeing different things alltogether.

Every base will have some kind of smell to it--some stronger than others. To me, WSP reeks of alcohol even after fragrance has been added. SFIC has a slight scent, not an alcohol scent or an upleasant one to me, but it seems to disappear after fragrance is added.

It should take scents well since most of them contain clays to absorb scent, but remember most detergents are already scented, so unless you find an unscented go for a scent that will be compatible.

I would have an aversion to using food stuff like oats or rice to be stored in closets, gym bags, shoes, etc., due to the possibility of attracting bugs. Why not use powdered detergent or maybe baking soda? You can put those in an ordinary envelope and seal it. Or, you could pour some in a paper towel, glue it shut, and place it inside a fabric "envelope" you make from old clothing or other fabric scraps to make it pretty.

You don't need to answer these here, I'm just saying these are worth considering: How many years have you been in business? How many accounts do you have--whether or not they currently order? How much has each account bought during each year? Who are your top ten buyers? What are your yearly sales? How many products do you sell? What is your most popular product? Of your yearly sales, what percentage is derived from the most popular product? Which product makes the most profit for you? What is the current value of inventory you have on hand? How much outstanding debt do you have on credit cards or loans for the business? If you shut down your business will you still be under contract for credit card processing or web hosting fees? In some cases, what buyers are really interested in is your customer list. It saves them all the work of trying to drum up new business from scratch and gives them an automatic foot in the door, and that's valuable. Breaking down the stats above will give them insight into the potential to make money from your products. Buyers can still be interested in your company even though you are not making a profit overall. In factoring how much you should ask for, three times your net profit is common, however there are other intangible factors, such as the value of your customer list and the exposure you have received on the internet--whether people bought from you online yet or not. If you aren't making profits though, then you should go by the value of your assets and the intangibles--something only you can assign a value to.

HeavenScent, wallpaper borders are good for using on shelves. I paint shelves and then paste a strip of border acoss the back piece of the shelf. I'd like to find some of that border to use on shelves and see if it sells as well as the pictues! (I just sold my last picture yesterday.)

I've never seen diffusers in a plastic bottle and I wouldn't take a chance on it. It's possible for plastic to discolor from fragrance and I don't think it would be as esthetically pleasing to look at as glass.

If anyone's interested, I'm doing a co-op right now that ends July 17th to beat the price increase.

I bet little girls just go ape over the Hello Kitty pins (even college girls around here would like them). Very cute.