sockmonkey

Thanks for the tip. I just ordered a few things during their 25% off email special (which is due to arrive tomorrow), but I might have to scrounge up some more money and hit 'em again!

I would be livid over this! I think you deserve to have more information about the situation. Apparently this must be claiming that someone else used their credit card to purchase your soap. Did you get a signature for delivery? Was it shipped to the same address on the credit card? PayPal should be able to confirm that for you. If it was the same address, then what happened to the soap? You can't have it both ways--get a full refund AND the soap. Contact PayPal and ask for more information, and tell them you will need it to get the police involved.

Is it possible you could be adding too much EO? Remember, you only use a fraction of EO compared to FO.

Would these do? http://floridasoapsupplies.com/gpage5.html

Maybe her husband frequents the joint and that's why she got so riled up. Hopefully, you'll be much better off with the dirty store. With school fundraisers you are relying on a bunch of kids to hawk your stuff and bring the money back. I think it's a much better idea to sell to adults with cash in hand. I also think the man is a genius for having the idea to put candles in his shop, and for realizing that women love candles. This lady "dumping" you sounds like the best thing that could have ever happened to you. You don't need someone who's not your business partner telling you how to run your business. I would have no qualms about selling $200 at a time to the dirty store vs. $10 a week to a soccer mom.

The only one I buy from them is goat's milk & honey.

I've gotten nothing but good service from them. They are a neighboring state, and I've sometimes received my order the very next day! I know some people complain about their shipping, but I guess because I'm so close their shipping doesn't seem bad to me. I don't think you should have to wait 2 weeks to get their stuff unless you have a very large order or they have to make a special batch or something. I've purchased a LOT of their lotion base and it sells extremely well for me. Since you're in SC, you might try The Chemistry Store. I've had good experiences with them as well, but I've never tried their lotion. Nature's Garden might be another option for you. I'm not wild about their lotion, but others have recommended it. I've found their shipping to be very reasonable.

Ok experts, I need your help. I mentioned to someone that although my m&p soaps smell great when you're bathing with them, they don't leave any lingering scent on your skin. The person told me that was because m&p doesn't have oils that stay on the skin after your rinse the soap off, and therefore no fragrance to bind to the skin. I don't know if this is true or not, but it sounded good. Does anyone know if this is true? Anyway, I thought I would try adding jojoba oil, since it's pretty odorless, not supposed to go rancid and it's used for moisturizing. Every maker of m&p says not to add extra oils because it could cut down on the lather. I added about 2 oz. of shea butter to a 5 lb batch of soap I made and couldn't tell a difference in anything--it didn't affect the lather or fragrance. Maybe it was because I added such a small amount. So, when I try adding oil, does anyone have a suggestion for how much I should add to a 5 lb batch, or if it's even a good idea to do it? I have visions of my soap not solidifying because I add too much oil. I know someone said they routinely add extra stuff to their soap--was it Prairieannie? Any thoughts are appreciated!

I've used their clear m&p and was very pleased with it. I thought it had a fantastic lather and didn't sweat. I would definitely order it from them again. I've used their dyes and found them to be ok--nothing exceptional, just pretty ordinary. I've purchased a few fragrances from them and except for one, I wasn't very pleased with them. If you have any questions about products you can usually get in touch with the owner directly, and I have found him to be very helpful.

I bought one from Outdoor Edge on ebay. It was kind of a panic buy--I just happened to look up canopies, and saw they had one for under $60, and with one minute left, I bid on it without checking the cost for shipping. Imagine the nice surpise I got to see that shipping was practically the same cost as the canopy. I wrote to them to ask if I could use my own UPS account to ship it, which would have only cost me around $30. They told me no, but said I could pick it up at their warehouse in California (not quite convenient for me, since I'm in the midwest), but that they would still charge me a $15 handling fee for that. A-holes. Even with high shipping, I think I still got a good deal on the canopy.

You can buy sheets of vinyl off of ebay. There are several sellers that have businesses and basically sell the ends of rolls that they don't need or can't use. This is the stuff that professional sign makers use. I bought some off of ebay from a dealer in CA, and never thought I would get it, but I finally did and it is great. I made an outdoor sign with it. I made a template on my computer, laid it out on the vinyl and cut it out using a rotary cutter. You might also be able to find some adhesive label material suitable for bumper stickers at Staples.

Go to Walmart and get some ointment specifically for poison ivy. I can't think of the name of it, but I know it cost $32! I just had to buy a tube of it after dealing with huge 1.5" blisters on my arms. The stuff has some gritty material in it that instantly relieves the itching and is supposed to remove urishol, the irritant in poison ivy. According to the literature that came with the stuff, it says the oil actually binds to your skin and can't just be washed off with soap and water. I don't know if that stuff is true or not, but I know that I wish I would have bought this stuff when I first broke out instead of being cheap and going with the $4 bottles of Meijer brand caladryl. I'll look for the stuff later. Sorry I can't remember the name right now. Of course, it's the only thirty dollar over the counter medicine for poison ivy, so it should be easy to find.

For my wholesale pricing I get 2-3 times my cost depending on the volume they buy. For retail it's 4-5 times the cost. For you to be selling wholesale you should already be aware of the "perceived value" of your product in the marketplace. You shouldn't rush out, see what someone is selling your stuff for, and then figure out your pricing structure. In order for me to set my wholesale prices I determine what I have invested in each unit and what comparable items sell for elsewhere. If I have something very unique that no one else has I can charge a premium for that item. I do not claim to be an expert under any circumstances regarding wholesale, but to me, I think a lot of people make the mistake that they should base their prices on what one customer charges for their products. Just because one store is able to get an outrageous amount for your product doesn't mean that every shop will be able to perform the same magic. That might be a great selling tool, to say that so-and-so gets X amount for her candles and that perhaps it MIGHT be possible for the current customer you're trying to sell to. To use this as an example, if you charge $5 wholesale to your customer and she turns around and instead of selling your candles for $10, she's getting $20--good for her. That means she's got a sure moneymaker on her hands and will probably be placing a larger order from you in the future. The store nextdoor to her could buy the same candle, try and sell it for $12 and not have any of them sell. There are a lot of factors--personality of the shop owners, the appearance of the shop, the lines they sell, and the traffic they get just to name a few. If you decided to raise your wholesale prices to $10 just based on what one store was charging retail you won't be getting re-orders from the original customer, and you might have just priced yourself out of range for the new wholesale customer. The bottom line is that you should have made enough money off of the sale you made to her to make a profit--regardless of what she chooses to sell your product for.

I think what you will find is that most printers will have a minimum quantity in order to run a job for you (that would make it cost effective anyway). I'm talking about 5,000 to 10,000 piece minimums--and that's considered a small job. Have you considered using crystal clear labels instead?

I bought some spray from Indigo Wild (famous for their Zum bars) a while back. They had a rosemary spray that was so powerful, that with just one squirt I was ready to run out of the room. It was too powerful. I would recommend it for people with sinus blockage, because that was all you could smell. I'm not kidding, hours later my nose still burned from that stuff, and it was all I could smell. To me, it wasn't a pleasant smell, but it was ALL I could smell. Maybe it would work for him.

Tonysfragranceoils.com has a "sweet cinnamon pumpkin" that is great in b&b. I've used it in body sprays and m&p. It doesn't really smell "food-y" to me, but is a light, sweet scent.

Just add more of your dry ingredients to the mix. It's sort of like cooking--just keep adding until it's right, but make sure you keep track of your measurements so you will be able to duplicate it in the future.

How does the mica work in m&p? Are the colors any more vivid than liquid dyes, and does it blend in easily?

Although some might disagree with me, I did not care for NG coconut lime verbena dupe at all. I use WSP's and am thrilled with it.

They are about a 1/2 hour away from me. I might be able to stop in there on Monday to check out their inventory. If I think they look like decent stuff, should I do a co-op?

F.Y.I., I use WSP lotion base.

Cost is not a guarantee that you will get a quality fragrance. I love Scent Works, and feel confident with their quality. I've spent a ton of money on fragrances from a certain supplier that I will not name, that is ridiculously overpriced on their stuff, and I can say that their fragrance oils are DEFINITELY not worth the price. You absolutley cannot smell them in soap, and they are very faint in lotion. This was true for all of the stuff I got from them. I think rather than looking at price for a guideline, the best thing you can do is try samples as you've been doing, and listen to suggestions for what members say is a good fragrance. Of course, everyone's nose is different, but if you see certain suppliers recommended more than others, you should probably feel safe taking a cue from that.

I guess I've been lucky--I've never experienced any discoloration yet. I've used Pink Sugar in m&p and lotion. I add a few drops of pink color to it and so far, the color has stayed a lovely light pink. WSP and some other places sell vanilla stabilizer to add to your fo to supposedly prevent it from turning colors. I know it is said that it can take weeks or months before it discolors, but I keep sample batches, and I have some lotion from December that is still as lovely as the day I made it. (I only use lpre-made lotion bases) I use Pink Sugar from SW and ICS. What supplier are you getting your Pink Sugar from?

I think you are mistaken about the alcohol being used for clear soap. I just looked at my ingredient lisf from SFIC for their clear glycerine soap, and it lists: Coconut oil Palm oil Castor oil Safflower Oil Glycerine Purified water Sodium hydroxide Sorbitol Sorbitan oleate Soy bean protein I think the reason it is clear is because they do not add titanium dioxide for color. I have read that coconut oil is what is drying in melt & pour soaps. Maybe the best thing to do is experiment by adding different butters or oils to your soap to get a little more moisturizing benefits out of it.

It seems crazy, but $7.95 sounds much cheaper than $8.25. I wouldn't lower my price to anything less than $7.50 unless you are able to get your materials for less. You seriously do need to consider what your market will bear. Although it would be nice to get 3 times what you have invested, it will not always be possible. Some people can do it because they might be buying their stuff for a lot less than you, so that enables them to make more off of their stuff than you will be able to at the prices you are currently paying. I think that's a common mistake some people make--expecting to apply a rule of thumb formula and get the same results as everyone else. If everyone else in your town is selling similar candles to your for less money, then I don't think you will have an easy time selling yours. But if you offer something that is unique, and you find the right customer base, you shouldn't have a problem.