David Fields

Oh, forgot. We used to sell portion cups then molded tarts, but neither sold well, and the packaging was not good. The clamshells sell much, much better for us

We sell the 2 oz clamshells for $2 wholesale, $2.95 or two for $5 retail. Cost is 60 cents. We also sell the mid-size and large clamshell, but I haven't a clue what we sell them for or how much they cost. Not my job.

Oilphoria, thanks for the advice. We have looked at changing things on the site, but to be honest, we just have not had the time. Roughly 60% of our revenue comes from our retail store, 30% from wholesale and 10% from our website. The site works for us right now. It's sort of a "don't fix what ain't broke" thing. Our website brings in a little under 50k/yr in sales. So, most of our time and attention at this time is spent on the larger revenue generators. Fixing/tweeking our website is a backburner issue.

For breakables we pack pretty much like TallTayl. Lot of effort but first time you have to replace something including the shipping cost at your expense the effort does not seem so bad.

depends on how large your business is. We started out with a Big Chief tablet and a pencil. Then went to Excel spreadsheets. Then went to Quick Books. Been using QB for 10 or 12 years now. Works great for us. That's for accounting. For inventory control, again it depends on how big you are. POS systems can track inventory and sales really well but require lots of maintenance and time for input. A rule of thumb we were given a long time ago is not to worry about inventory control until it is a problem and you really need one or when your sales hit $600K/yr. Before either of these two instances, inventory is almost a waste of time. HTH (from our perspective)

Shopify works great for us. Been using it for almost two years. No problems. Easy to set up. nice designs. You can check out our site if you have questions. www.thecandleboxshop.com

4

The dye is titanium dioxide. Use much much less than you would think. The bits of white color do not normally dissolve and will clog your wick and cause your candle to look funny. So, again use much less than you think you should and you should be fine.

Sorry, Jcandleattic, but I disagree. Priming is not necessary, but for better burns it is. Priming does more than make the wicks stand straight.

What size HTP wicks are you using? We use only HTP wicks in our jars and have for 15-20 years. Never an issue with throw. We also only use IGI wax. I believe that we use HTP 83 for our 3.5" jars (double wicked). Not sure. We don't pour jar candles where I am but at another whse. I will check to see. Wick/wax/jar diameter/shape is a delicate balance to get a good HT. HTH

Square.com You pay a flat percentage regardless of the cc processor. You can get the little doohickey that plugs into your cell phone or buy the square register setup for I think $199. Lots of reports and bells and whistles with Square. We love it. Much better than all of the standard cc processors we had in the past. Been with Square for I think four years now. No issues with them.

This has happened to us a few times; don't sweat it. With Square you go through the resolution process and provide documentation that supports you. Square sends your documentation and the customer's documentation to the bank issuing the credit card for adjudication. We have been upheld every time. Takes awhile but do send everything that supports you. All the customer can provide is " I didn't make this purchase". You have the swiped card purchase and a signature. The only way you lose is if the customer has reported the card as stolen after the purchase. So, don't sweat it.

Many companies add a handling charge to shipping.

Sndfrrdy Our store is The Candle Box located in Post Oak Mall in College Station. Please come visit. David

wththomas57 - our wholesale accounts are for the most part out of town. We have some that are close enough that they pick up at our store. And a few in other nearby states. We deliver nothing. Another thing we tried that was not working for us. We don't have issues with the Texas heat or shipping. We double box all glassware with peanut between the boxes. We normally don't ship wax products during the summer. Don't like them sitting somewhere in the heat. We get new accounts from out of town customers who come into our store, buy our products and tell friends about us. Our employees talk to our customers and suggest wholesale to ones who live out of town. We make good products and have never advertised. Word of mouth is our best advertisement. Plus, we have been in business for 18 years. That helps to develop a large group of loyal customers. Oh, we have a website that we also have our employees talk up. Out of town customers who don't have business contact buy and eventually it can lead to new good wholesale accounts.