sockmonkey

Yes, that sounds exactly like what happened when I used ***. I used to order from them quite a bit and never found their shipping to be outrageous to me, contrary to what everyone else experienced. Then I guess they reviewed their shipping polices and prices and quickly made up for lost time. I was stunned to see shipping charges for one order I placed, so I looked it up on UPS and discovered they charged me about double over what it should have been. I called the company and was less than thrilled with the owner's response. Say what you want about your shipping matrix and this and that, but the bottom line is you're making money off of your shipping. Everyone knows that the everyday consumer can look up shipping rates. Companies doing volume business with any carrier get lower rates than what are published. That nice little "refund" of less than $1 I was offered did nothing but leave a foul taste in my mouth for that company, which I have not ordered from since.

I generally stick to about 1/2 oz per lb also, but have increased the amount on occasion. Never experienced any irritation from it, but I did notice a decrease in the amount of lather.

Ooh...the peach color is a tremendous improvement!

Here's some advice--don't give links to places like CT and Gelluminations, or you could put yourself out of business. I really don't think you would want your customers to come here and find your posts about how much you pay for wax, etc, and some of the other comments that have been made.

Nothing will prevent anyone from asking for free merchandise. Practically every gift store in America carries one brand of candles or another. Legitimate businesses will burn candles they carry as a way of promoting them. Getting free candle samples in their store and burning them will not do anything for their sales if they don't offer the brand they burn. There are a lot of people with tax ID's that do not own stores, but might own a daycare or such, that fraudulently use their ID to buy items at wholesale or obtain free samples for their own personal use. To put an end to the abuse, some wholesale companies in the giftware industry will require you to submit photos of your shop, a copy of your tax ID, and a list of your top three suppliers before they will send out samples as a way to weed through serious potential customers vs. freeloaders. That's a lot of trouble to go to to get a free sample.

It sounds like someone who's looking for free candles. Most people who are genuinely in the retail business know to provide all of their business info (address, store name, phone) plus their tax ID when they inquire about samples. Did this lady even ask if you offer wholesale pricing, or did she just cut to the chase and ask for free candles?

I've never used it, but everything I've read about it indicates it's used for absorbing odors. Where did you buy yours from?

I've got a couple of different sprays on hand. One is "linen water", and it doesn't list a single ingredient, but it says: "Caution: Keep out of reach of pets and children. Non-toxic. Not for human consumption. Another is "fabric refresher spray" and it also does not list ingredients, but it much more detailed. In addition to directions, it added a "note" which says: "Safe on virtually all water safe fabrics. On fabrics which may water spot (such as rayon and silk), test a small area of fabric which cannot be seen. Not recommended for leather. Does not contain zinc and is safe to use around cats and dogs. Not intended to be used directly on pets." It also added a "caution," which reads: "EYE IRRITANT. contains ethanol. If contact occurs withthe eyes, rinse thoroughly with water. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. This finished product is not tested on animals." Yet another product with no ingredients, a "pillow mist", warns: "For adult external use only. Keep out of reach of children. Avoid contact with eyes. Natural ingredients may cause color variations." Finally, there is a mist that does list its ingredients but doesn't offer any cautions. The instructions say, "give it a shake and give it a shot." So, there's a lot of food for thought.

Who'd buy those?

What about... Dominion Glow Candles Dominion Glow Candle Co. Old Dominion Candle Masters Old Dominion Prestige (Primitive/Country or whatever) Candles

Consider this: How many home football games will there be? How large is the school? How many sponsors will there be in total? (If they get 20, that means 19 other advertisements will be competing for attention) Who pays money for the possible opportunity to do fundraisers? Part of the people in attendance will be from other areas or towns which may or may not be convenient to your shop (if you have one). Unless they buy a drink with your company name on it, they will have to memorize your company info--if they're interested when they hear the announcement. Call some radio stations and newspapers, as well as mass mail coupon companies to see what $350 can get you. You can also ask the team what would you get for $100 or even $50. Of course, if you're just being charitable there's nothing wrong with supporting the team.

What about Holiday Gathering? That could mean Christmas, 4th of July, Easter, whatever you want it to be. What about Fiesta, or Party?

Just buy them from Target and re-bag them.

You're not talking about a Heritage Market are you?

I use liquid colorants from Hobby Lobby or The Chemistry Store in my m&p. I tried some from other places but wasn't happy with the results--it was like color particles didn't incorporate into my soaps. I've also tried a few different natural additives for color, but wasn't too pleased with that result either. A lot of times the herbs or spices you add can have an over powering smell that is not too pleasant (as in the case of sea kelp for example). It will just take some experimenting, but for just starting out, as long as you go with a good supplier, nothing's easier than liquids.

I wonder how many people who got samples actually bought anything from them. A lot of businesses are getting stingy with their samples because they know some of the people asking for them are just getting them for their personal use. That's why you get the third degree when you ask for them. Samples cost them money too, and what seems like a generous sized sample for homecrafters can be the equivalent of a perfume vile to a legitmate manufacturing facility making test batches.

I think this site is useful: http://fromnaturewithlove.com/soap/Clays.asp

Another thing to consider is that real, legitimate suppliers also sell their stuff on ebay, so yes, it is possible for at least some of those people with 300 scents in their inventory to have a warehouse. I know of at least two well known suppliers found on the CT supplier links who sell on ebay in addition to their regular website. The Candlemakersstore has fragrance in powdered form. I haven't used it, or know anything about it, but I assume you just mix it as needed, so it doesn't take up as much room as having 300 drums sitting in a warehouse. And, I can tell you, after spending two years researching suppliers on the web (it's a complete obsession of mine), it is possible to make money selling fo's at 99 cents on ebay without diluting them, and including the cost of the bottle. The key is knowing where to find your supplies, and yes, you can find full strength fo's for $5 and less that are not just specials. The same is true for bottles. If you know where to shop and you buy in bulk, you can find bottles for $.02 a piece. I'm not saying the $.99 stuff on ebay is good or bad because I haven't tried it. But based on what I know, I would be willing to buy fo's off of ebay--at least once.

Desert Hula?

You can very easily sell oils that cheaply if you know where to buy your oils. As an example, Lebermuth has a lot of oils on sale now. Some of them are as low as $5 per pound I think. $5 divided by 16 oz = $.31 per oz. When you have an ebay store and can list your stuff for just a few pennies you will still be making more than twice the cost when you resell it, and that's if you don't cut your oils. When you dilute them, you're making even more money off of it.

Bert's Smelly Place? I'd think twice about that one.

How about Desert Mango or Desert Fruit. It doesn't make any sense, but I think it sounds intriguing.

http://www.thefrugalshopper.com/articles/detergent.shtml This site even has a laundry detergent forum, but amost all information relates back to that same d*mn recipe!

I think you need to be careful about making "legal" statements regarding your authority to use duplicate names. Companies like Yankee and B&BW have entire departments and legal staff dedicated to finding people illegally profiting off of their brand on the internet. I don't think it's wise to state case law or statutes pertaining to this matter if you don't have appropriate legal training. A little bit of knowledge can land you in a lot of trouble. The patent and trademark lawyers they have on their staff will make mincemeat out of you for doing that. I think it would be a much better idea to rename your products, but in your description state that it "smells similar to xxx," and use any appropriate trademark or registered symbols as required.