sockmonkey

The arguement is always made about the availability of samples in department stores. I say, get off of your butt and drive over to the mall to get all of the free samples you want. On the other hand, if you want to stay in the comfort of your home and shop over the internet, then pony up a buck or two and buy a sample if you're worried about not liking it. I'm sure that person uses that same routine a dozen times a day. I guess she gets lucky every now and then, so it makes it worth her while. If you're feeling generous, you might develop a plan that would essentially be the same thing as a free sample, but with strings attached. I don't have my website up yet, but here is what I plan on doing: Offer trial sizes, but give them discounts for the amount of the trial size when they order a full size item of that product. For example, if a person buys a trial size 1 oz bottle of lotion for $1.00 they will be billed $1 + shipping. I will include a coupon good for $1.00 off a regular size 4 oz bottle of lotion on their next order. That way, I'm not out anything by sending them the sample. If they decide they don't like it, they will never order again. Fine. I've got my costs covered and didn't lose a nickel. If they decide they like the lotion and want to order the bottle they get their buck back and it makes it seem like they're getting a discount on the lotion when they see a $1 credit on their invoice.

Sorry, I don't think one exists!

I use 1 oz or 2 oz disposable cups and weigh fo's in them on a scale. They weigh practically nothing and are inexpensive, and saves me the bother of clean up. Don't let fragrance sit in them for any length of time, because I learned that fo's will quickly eat through them.

What state will you be traveling from?

It looks to me like you have a lot of white space on the label, which is not such a big deal. The thing I find distracting is the stringy looking things coming off the font in Perfect Pixie. It reminds me of cobwebs, and makes it harder to read. Perhaps if you changed the outline color to a lighter one--light blue maybe, it would work better. I think you're trying to achieve a whimsical look, but the text is just a teensy bit harsh the way it is.

This isn't an "extra", but I think it's always a good thing when the promoter of a show will visit the booths to see how things are going with the vendors. You know, actually check out the merchandise the vendor brought and see how it's displayed and inquire about how they're sales are going. Maybe offer handy hints if things aren't going so well. Do you print a list to hand out to shoppers at the show with all of the vendors and description of their products listed on it?

Maybe you can switch to Soaper's Choice . http://www.soaperschoice.com/cgi-soaperschoice/Web_store/web_store.cgi?query_price_low_range=0&cart_id= Since they have a charge with shipping zones, you can find out exactly how much your shipping will be. You might have to order a little more than you normally would, but they do have some good prices, and in the end it will probably be worth it to you. http://www.soaperschoice.com/vegetableoils/shipping_zone_chart.html

Saltbox, you're right. You shouldn't do business with a company that would gouge you like that. It's not uncommon for companies to upcharge on shipping a little bit, but that is outrageous. I would much rather see products with a little higher prices and charge actual shipping, than to see super low prices and inflated shipping. All that does is create dissatisfaction among customers and lose repeat business. What does it say about a company's products if what they make the most money off of is their shipping?

Ask me how embarrassed I am! I was looking at MARCH! Things aren't as bad as they seem! Four days isn't a lot, it just seems like a lot when so many people were posting please, please give us your guide and didn't have any response.

Unless my calendar is wrong, I believe today is April 7th. I agree, it takes time to get things done, but dang, I wasn't expecting a pulitzer prize winning novel's worth of information or anything--only a simple quick tip sheet or something. Maybe she's a perfectionist and that's why it seems to be taking a long time. I'm sure nobody here wanted to put her out in any way. People are on here begging for it, maybe she could pop in and let us know she's working on it or something.

How about posting who it is that is doing it, so we can all get a head's up?

I am not a candle maker, but what I've picked up on various forums is that some people claim that soy just does not, and will never have the ability to produce a throw as strong as paraffin. Combine that with an inferior fragrance oil, and you've basically got an unscented candle on your hands. As I said, I do not do candles, but I have purchased fragrance oil samples from Longwick's, and I was not pleased with any of them. Maybe you should try fragrances from a couple of different suppliers. Scent-works.com and tonysfragranceoils.com usually get praise from everyone. For more budget conscious supplies, naturesgardencandles.com and candlesupplys.us also seem favored here.

I've spent a small fortune buying samples from them. I've got a whole box filled with samples that I didn't care for. It seemed like they all had a common underlying note about them that smelled somewhat weed-like. Anyway, out of the dozens and dozens of bottles, here is what I wound up buying and using: Lemon Sugar Country Christmas Cool Water Bermuda Triangle

How long does it take to post a wholesale guide? She originally made her post on March 30.

Note your account for what? That your an easy target? I would say, how about a REFUND! They are entitled to charge any amount they want for shipping and for handling charges. Unfortunately, there is no law that limits them to a reasonable amount. There is a law against overcharging someone and keeping their money. Unless they have a disclaimer on their website about giving "in-store" credit for overcharges to your creditcard, then they are obligated to put the money back on your card. I wonder how often they miscalculate shipping for all of their other customers. Chances are, if it happened to you, it's happened to others. If they do any volume of business, $.50 cents here, $.10 there starts to add up. Maybe you should simply take your business elsewhere. Who wants to get cheated in business? I would certainly contact them to get my money bac for the overcharge. You might have them review your other orders to find out if you were overcharged. If you get an attitude from them, maybe you can suggest that you would like to make the Federal Trade Commission and/or the State Attorney General's Office aware of their policies, and perhaps the IRS would like to do an audit.

The m&p I use feels rubbery--tacky feeling when it's first unmolded, but then I let it sit out a few days and it hardens and feels just like any other soap. I bought some goats milk base from Aztec and it really didn't lather very well at all. Then I bought goat's milk bases from SFIC and Stephenson's and I could really tell a huge difference in the way they lathered. You need to rub it a little in your washcloth, but they make a very nice, frothy lather. I don't object to adding anything additional to m&p bases, I just haven't experimented with it yet.

What brand of m&p were you using? I see a lot of m&p does not recommend adding additional oils or butters, as it may diminish the lathering ability. To anyone who adds extra butter and/or oil, can you really tell any type of difference? I mean, only 1 or 2 tbs doesn't seem like it would have much of an effect. Do you just do it so you can say you have shea soap (or whatever) when you're using plain bases to offer more variety, or is there really a difference? I see that SFIC adds 5% shea to its m&p. Which, that's not a lot either, but it certainly seems more substantial than a couple of tbs. Any thoughts?

Either whiffing to many FO's, or has attention deficit. We got 1/3 of an answer anyway.

Are you saying she is printing labels and doesn't even have candles yet? Doesn't that seem a bit odd, or am I not understanding the question?

Is it just me, or does the candle look like it curves to one side?

Thanks, but no thanks. Just kiddin'! Where's it at, already? Everybody is waiting!

If you don't really want to lose this account, I would tell them quite frankly, that you think the altered appearance of your labels could possibly have a negative impact on their sales. Why don't you propose they do what a lot of shop owners do. Instead of hacking up labels that makes it look like they've been gnawed on by rats, place her store's return address label over top of any of your information. I know a lady with a shop who sells warm glow candles and she covered up all of their info with her store's address label. It gives the impression that she made the candle, but if you pull the label off all of the details of warm glow are still there. No one has had the nerve yet to pull the label off until after they've made their purchase anyway.

When I try to determine what size of label to use I will typically cut a strip of paper long enough to cover the diameter of the container and just go from there. I think the art and text you choose are considerations for how big you want the label to be. Once you know what will go on your label you will be in a better position to see how large it needs to be and then you can check out dimensions that most closely match what you have chosen and do whatever tweaking to your label you need to in order to accomodate that size.

What does earwax smell like?

Don't just give us part of the story. Tell us where you got the good stuff from, and who you sent the bad stuff back to.