My biggest concern with the mergers was that they'd start dumping some of the JS and RE scents, and they did. Right away. Even though the JS Aveda dupes were more expensive, the quality was worth it. Shampure flies off the shelves for me, and I didn't want to compromise on that. I finally ran low on Rosemary Mint and went to get another bottle and poof, it was just gone from the JS catalog. My heart sank. No warning, no clearance, no sale, just GONE. Yeah it's nice that the WSP site allows you to search by company but doesn't that look weird to everyone, having 4 different brands in the same shop and some of them carry the same scents? IMHO their catalog is a MESS now, and the timing for fulfillment and shipping sucks. RE was one of the very first companies I started buying from, and while their shipping costs were higher, the customer service was top-notch. I never had to wait a week to have an order processed. Now it takes 2-3 weeks. I saw the collective groan out here when RE sold. They both carry exclusives I'm afraid to see go. I can't help but think of the employees out of their jobs too. Good news though is there are a lot more newer carriers popping up. I live in the Omaha, NE area and always complained we didn't have anything within driving distance. Finally someone opened a shop out here. There's nothing like being able to walk into a place and get your stuff in real time, smell oils before buying and being able to grab emergency clamshells or beeswax in a day, not get stuck waiting in some insane queue. I was so jealous of everyone working with a local supplier.
I suppose one good thing came out of the merger....free shipping!