justajesuschick Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 My caveats will lead. Yes, I know manufacturers and large suppliers can change and discontinue. Not saying that I will not try newer and smaller suppliers, just hesitant. Not calling out any one supplier, again, I used the word illustrates. I used the Cranberry Spice on the right for a couple of years. Same with an Apple Cider scent. The bottle shown is not old. I run a wax business so of course I get boxes of pound bottles of oils every week. When I get them, they go into Rubbermaid bins by supplier until I need the bottle. It is a circular process. First I noticed that the Apple Cider scent was nothing at all like previous bottles. I inquired with the owner (she is now no longer the owner) and told her that it was missing the rich, oak-y scent I have been accustomed. I was told that to was a new batch form the manufacturer and that it would "deepen" over time. Well, I needed the scent now and never allowed time for my oils to cure previously. Then I check the other scent, out of curiosity and rather than the deep, rich, McCall's Cranberry Spice, it is a plastic Kool-Aid scent. Literally 2-3 days later I received the mass email that she had sold the company. If I was still a hobbyist, I'd discard the bottles and simply select something else. I run a business where batch over batch I do not alter waxes not oil blends. My customers expect the same product with every order. I run a site, not miscellaneous melt cups that friends can dig through and try. I used the scents alone and in blends. It now removes scents from my line that sold well and left me scrambling to find replacements which we all know is not easy. Nor inexpensive. Just frustrating and again makes me leery when I see new or returning suppliers who I'd really like to try. It is tempting but I cannot have suppliers close up shop with no warning, discontinue nor randomly change up scents that I have integrated into my line. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Hmmm...That's a shame! How frustrating!I wonder if the new supplier diluted it, or switched to a cheaper grade to save $.Not smart when taking over a business; you would think they would want to keep everything the same at least for a while to maintain the customer base!I swear sometimes I want to start a fragrance oil company just to see what really goes on! I miss Bert's... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justajesuschick Posted April 4, 2015 Author Share Posted April 4, 2015 In this particular case, the new owners seem fabulous. This dilution/change was under the former owner. Her email back to me was kind of dismissive. Once I got the email, less than a week later, about her selling the business, I viewed the first email differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-GRAN-ONES Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 If it were me..I would call or email, and in very nice way tell the new owner exactly what has happened. .maybe she can give you some help an answers. I bet with her being a new owner she will try to get to the botton of the problem..i am sure they don't want to lose good custumers.I don't order from that company..so I don't have any history with them. But I would say how she treats you with this inconsistency..will either make you a happy customer or you will walk away and find a new supplier. Let us know how it turns out if you do.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Oh...I see....Did you ever think of buying straight from a manufacturer?Or maybe you can take what you have left and get it duped!Just a thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justajesuschick Posted April 4, 2015 Author Share Posted April 4, 2015 I have 1 oil I buy in a 10 pound jug! I should buy more from manufacturers as quickly as I go through them but I already have a line that is set and known and cannot start over finding new oils for most. This is why I find it amusing when someone thinks they can buy from 1 supplier since they have all the scents they want. I can test 12 Blueberry scents before I find 1 I am happy with and it may not be from a supplier from whom I buy my lemon scents. I do not want "good enough". That is my own issue! haha!! These were the only 2 oils I bought from that supplier so they are crossed off my supplier list for now and I have found a replacement blend for the Cider and am working on the Cranberry Spice. Unfortunately, I may need to change the scent names as I have some customers that have been buying for some time and mine are smart and discerning customers. They can talk scent notes and know when something has changed. I'd not want the changes by a supplier making me look like I am the flake. I know several vendor pals were in quite a bind when Miami-Eri closed abruptly with no notice to allow people to change. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenancy Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 (edited) I buy 1 oil from them and had to order. One of my customers had requested a tea scent and they had one, so I ordered a pound from them. I received the order, and lo and behold, they were OOS on the tea FO, so she just subbed something else. A fruity something or other. Not even close. not just a sample, a pound. I was pissed off and emailed them telling them that when I order something, I want that something. period. Either that or notify me so I can make my own substitution. She was very hurt (waaah) by my email and told me so. I said I was sorry she was hurt, but I have a business to run here. I crossed them off my supplier list. I believe this is the new owner. Finding replacements is a huge pain in the ass when you have customers that are used to the same scent. I hate it. When MW went OOB I felt like throwing in the towel. Edited April 4, 2015 by nursenancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OldGlory Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 jajc, Bittercreek South has a great Spiced Cranberry in case you haven't tried it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenancy Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I just read my emails back and forth to this company and to be fair, she did offer to make good on the order. I was really annoyed though. There's more to the story but I'm not going to rehash it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unique candles Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 i purchase a nice cranberry spice from nature gardens and peaks if i am not mistaken has a really nice one, sorry for all the problems you r having. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansmommaya Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 It is so hard when a supplier changes an ingredient! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faerywren Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 That supplier is in my state, so I have used them on occasion. I haven't had any issues with them, luckily, but primarily used them for heavy items like wax etc that I could go pick up. I haven't ordered from the new owners yet, either. Those Cranberry Spice oils are obviously different. The colors are not the same at all. I loved this company when it was Alabaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OldGlory Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Wouldn't it be nice (and responsible) if we were notified when FOs are reformulated? Do you think our suppliers know when it's done but not at their request? Sometimes I see that an FO was reformulated in the description of the fragrance, at Candle Science for example, but I think those are the ones for which they requested the reformulation. I think we should put some pressure on the suppliers and ask them to put some pressure on their suppliers for transparency when products are changed. Just to let us know! I went thru this with Bittercreek and their Peppercorn FO a few years ago. I still had a bottle left that was soap safe, and I had used it in soap with fabulous results. I suggested it to others and they said it was not soap safe. Sure enough, the formulation had changed and the soap safe rating had been changed. Someone from Bittercreek explained during the course of the thread that government regulations had changed and they were forced to change the rating, but the formulation had NOT changed. If the conversation had not occurred I would have reordered Peppercorn without looking at the detailed description and seeing that they listed a new and lower % for soap. I would not have looked at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 OG, when IFRA changes limits for components it is entirely possible that an FO from the same drum sold today will not be rated the same tomorrow. That bottle you have may very well be from the same lot, and that the overall rating that changed with the latest amendment,As for color, i have watched as new FO changes color to darken a LOT over time. Comparing a new drum of Pink Sugar to some from a much older drum you would not think they were the same, but they are. Some FO can also separate into layers based on different component specific gravities. If a supplier does not shake those drums the. What you pull from the top will not be the same from the middle or bottom. I know that some bottles i bought during sampler sales are not the same as those i ordered bigger sizes later on from a few popular suppliers even though told otherwise. When you have two bottles sitting side by side and they smell very different, even when purchased within the same month that "something" changed. It has happened with more than one popular retailer. Time did not change them one bit.Someone who will only ever use EO asked me once why i would put up with all that with FO... I had to remind her that EO change from year to year, grower to grower too, along with price volatility that usually does not vary so wildly with FO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonshine Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Can you name this supplier please- if I use them I need to find replacements and if I don't I want to make sure I stear clear of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonshine Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Can you name this supplier please- if I use them I need to find replacements and if I don't I want to make sure I stear clear of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OldGlory Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 OG, when IFRA changes limits for components it is entirely possible that an FO from the same drum sold today will not be rated the same tomorrow. That bottle you have may very well be from the same lot, and that the overall rating that changed with the latest amendment,I;m sure that is what happened, TallTayl.Maybe I don't understand candle supplier retailing, but I feel it would be so much smarter to let your consumers know in an obvious way that the classifications and formulations were changed.Like "Please be aware that IFRA requirements have changed and the following fragrances have 1) been reformulated, or 2) been reclassified:Peppercorn, no longer soap safeLovespell, reformulatedCranberry Spice, reformulatedCountry Linen, now soap safe"That is just an example of how the changes could be announced on a supplier website. We could then order a sample of the newer product and test it for ourselves. That would be the transparent way of doing business IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I totally agree with being alerted when know changes like that are made. It is super frustrating... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Sucks for sure. Yes, being alerted would be nice so at least you're not surprised but it really doesn't help the problem of consistency. When I had my web store, I had so many smallsupplier go out of business that I put a note above each category that said fragrance oils are not always consistent from batch to batch. Not sure it really helped, but at least I waswarning them about changes. I've really never had a batch problem with oils changing, just suppliers closing and using replacements. I lost a few really good customers when one supplierclosed, I never could find good replacements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.