MilosCandles

41 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

It usually takes several years to build a stable, profitable business base. 

The commitment level is like none other.  Multiple times a week I "DRAG" myself down to the basement.  Usually no one else is here.  Just me doing the things that need to be done.  Cause owning your own business is so "Glamorous" and who wouldn't want their own business.

OMG, you make candles.. How Fun!!!!   No, No,  I am a gloried factory worker slaving away in my basement hoping I get this order out on time.  After I get 100 Candles ready, I then need to pour 100 candles, and then clean up 100 candles, and then I need to label 100 candles and then I need to package and ship 100 candles.  All while the next 100 have started that same process.

OH, You make candles?  I will come help!!!  Fold and Tape these boxes for the next 3 hours.  Thanks LOL

Ohh the misconceptions.  LOL

@MilosCandlesyou have shared many parts of your journey with us. You persevered and found your brand in epic fashion. That is worthy of many kudos. Hopefully the lesson from readers is not to copy/paste your model to follow in your footsteps, but instead find their own artistic angle that resonates with the market they choose

Thanks @TallTayl

Ohh and......  (I got myself all fired up thinking.  LOL)

The people that post

WHAT IS THE BEST....   Wax..     Fragrance Oil...    Supplier....   Seller    

Everyone wants to know the "BEST".   Sometimes I want to respond and just say the "The Most Average One is".  LOL

I like the people that are.. 

I am "Launching" next month do I need insurance?   I am "Launching" next month do I need an LLC.   Should I do an LLC vs a Sole Proprietorship?  Ummmm   Before you decide to "Launch" how about you figure out those questions.

Or I am "Launching" next week should I use Shopify vs Etsy?  You haven't even chosen a platform to launch on and your are launching?  

OR - Help me name my business..

OR my favorite one of all time. ALL TIME.   What is your Social Media Page, lets follow each others.   WHY do I care if someone else making and selling candles like me follows me.  I want people who will actually buy my candles following me on social media.  If I wanted 100k followers I would pay a service to have empty accounts follow me.  Maybe next I will respond and say ONLY IF YOU PLAN TO PURCHASE FOLLOW ME..  LOL

Or the poor people that can not figure out what 10% FO is.   1oz to 1LBS right?  

What is scary is the number of people that have posted pics of their customers candles engulfed in flames or candles that have just exploded.  But not sure if they need insurance or LLC.

OHHH and the people that have lived on Amazon for the last 5 years..   Why is shipping so expensive?  I want free shipping.   IS there any good wax on Amazon?

Volume, Volume Volume.  Add if they love local to a decent distributor and can avoid shipping.

But neither is probably true.  Most are thinking..  Oh Look I made $4 on that sale.  For me to keep up I also have to pay people to help, and my electric bill has increased.  Fortunately I still work out of my basement so my overhead is still low otherwise I would probably have to increase prices about 20-25% 

$4 seems better than nothing and your like look at that.  When you have to produce 100 candles and it takes you 2+ weeks and you figured out how to make 1 at a time, $400 is not really worth the time.  

From the moment I started this business I always look at efficiencies and ways to streamline the process.  Including last month changing the flow of my basement from when materials come in to where the go out as a finished product.  Much more streamlined and efficient now.  I can see the time I am saving already, and it is not even super busy time.

I see these people on Etsy that have low prices and only 20-30 sales.  They do not last long.  I will be one of a few people in my niche market selling right up to the few days before xmas as most of the others sell out and/or just turn off their stores cause it is not worth it. 

Surprisingly my sales continue right through Valentines day.  I usually do not get to truly rest till about March.  I am geared up, shelves are hopefully stocked enough and ready for the season to begin.  I am suspecting it will be a crazy season with many people home ordering online and not wanting to fight the covid crowds.

Literally 1 year ago I could order 9 50lbs box of wax for $685 shipped.  The last few months it went up to $755 and today when I went order $806.  $120 more, over $13 per 50lbs box of wax. WTF!

Fortunately late last year I decided to up my prices after 4 years of not changing.  Here I thought I was making more money, but in reality just covering the new costs.  UGH. 

I am scared to look at prices for me FO and other items. 

Anyone else see crazy price hikes on things they buy?

I use the Facebook groups as comic relief.  100's of the same questions over and over.

AND no one likes the shipping prices.

I just hit my 5 year anniversary for my candle business...  WOW what a journey so far.  

From a high level I am going to let you know that it is OK to change.  Change is good.  Just make changes carefully.

If you already do not know, I make candles in recycled beer and liquor bottles.  (Well aware of legal issue arguments)  When i started this business I was ONLY going to use glass bottles, nothing else!  Nothing!  This was the market I was going after!

I got an appt at a local gift shop, showed her my candles and she was like "Eh"...   and asked, do you make them in tins..  2 weeks into my official launch I was already changing what I was doing.  So I made her some sample tins and I also started selling tins.  I made Small (4oz) Medium (8oz) and Large (16ox tins).  

By xmas 2015 I had people asking for labels that were not made in bottles and only in cans.  UGH.  A little investigation work and I figured out how to make then in cans rather than bottles.  Decision was made, if they do a bottle then I would offer the cans for some of the beers people wanted.

At this same time I had an idea to use liquor bottles, well after some measuring and pricing my retail price was going to be $30.   Who would spend $30 for a liquor bottle candle.  Well they sold very well.

3-4 months into my adventure so many ideas and seeing what people wanted I was evolving. 

This generally was what I was doing for a few years, with smaller tweaks here and there.

About 3 years ago I stopped making the small tins.  The cost was almost the same as the Medium tins and I charged $4 more for those.

Some one on Etsy asked me about 2 years if I could make one in soda can.  Looked around and found a matching scent, and I made it.  listed it online and it started selling, then a diet version of that.  SURE.  Now this is a whole new line.  Found some other soda matching scents and listed them on etsy.

As my business has grown I needed to try and streamline some.  Last year I stopped selling the large tins, and just sell the med 8oz tins.

As I approach this holiday season I am looking to change and stream line more.  To try and avoid liquor bottle sales I have basically increased the price to $40 per candle.  They are very time consuming to make and costly to ship from East to West coast.  Add to the fact that I am not as easily getting the number of bottles as I use to because of covid.  (Supply and Demand)

In the last 6 months I now have a full soda can candle line which is extremely popular. 

Now I am thinking about no longer making candles in any glass bottles.  The labor to make a can candle is far less than a glass bottle.  Washing cans is easier that do not have a paper label on them. I can ship a can for $2 less than a bottle.  75% or more of my sales is already in cans rather than glass.  It is an obvious decision but 5 years ago, "I was ONLY going to use glass bottles, nothing else!  Nothing! "

Much of my decisions was based on seeing what the market wanted, what they were asking for, what they were looking for, most importantly what they were buying.  Do not be afraid to try something out of your niche.  I watch these shows on TV and the owners are so set in their ways and do not want to change.  Be willing to adapt and see what people want.

After 5+ years of supply shopping rarely do I find a new GREAT deal for something I use.  Well this weekend I did.

https://www.samsclub.com/p/scotch-bubble-cushion-wrap-240-sq-ft-roll/121568

$12.98 for a 240' 12" roll of bubble wrap.

Last year I was going to Office Depot and paying $25 per roll (buy 2 get 1 free), which then went away for awhile.

Now they have a sale $15 per role.  Not sure how long that will last.

https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/653230/Office-Depot-Brand-Small-Bubble-Wrap/ 

The Sams Club Bubble wrap is also 40 feet longer. That is 20% more for $2 less.

Hope that helps someone especially with shipping costs going up for the Holidays.

This was something interesting I found out this year..   A SEP IRA.

https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-seps

Basically allows you contribute ~%20 of your PROFITS to a tax deferred IRA.  Even though I contribute to a 401k at my day job, this is totally separate.   

I would suggest talking to your accountant and a financial advisor to set it up and find out more.

All depends of your accounting method - https://support.taxslayer.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015704292-Schedule-C-Accounting-Method

I use the Cash Method so I do not worry about "Inventory".

Enough to try and get the price down, but not so much that you break the bank.

Also knowing what you can/will sell helps.  

5 years ago when I started I would buy 1 50lbs box of wax at a time.  I found a place I could get it next day and was a good price.  Order it as I needed it.

UGH, well over 100 new pictures I will need to take.  I do not have a white background.  What a PITA.

Amazon is going to begin enforcing two MAIN image requirements this year to help improve product discoverability and eligibility to be featured in Handmade Marketing Campaigns. The MAIN image is the primary image of your product. The MAIN image is what displays for a product in the search results and browse pages, and is the first image customers see on product detail pages.

MAIN images cannot have text, logo, graphics, or watermark
Effective: 8/31/2020

If your MAIN image features a text, logo, graphic, or watermark, you must upload a new MAIN image without the prohibited content by 8/31/2020 or risk being suppressed from Search. While this has always been an Amazon image requirement, ASINs violating the rule previously were not removed from Search. Please ensure all images meet the imaging guidelines to ensure there is no impact to your business and to provide a great experience for your customers.

Amazon will begin requiring pure white backgrounds for MAIN images by 12/31/2020. We wanted to give you plenty of time to make the changes to your images prior to enforcing the change. Updating your MAIN image to a pure white background will increase deal eligibility and ensure consistency across the Amazon experience and product detail pages—RGB color values of 255, 255, 255.You can still feature lifestyle images as alternate images the customer will see on your detail page. 

On 6/4/2020 at 4:11 PM, karinz40 said:

So just about the same as Ebay at 10% on a sale and if shipping 10%

So what is the Etsy advantage I wonder. It dioe look more Posh

What/How do you drive sales to your ebay listing?

I tried selling my candles on Ebay and basically did not sell anything there.  

People go to Etsy for Hand Made items, and unique gifts.  (Not saying that it 100% what etsy is)  

11 hours ago, EAM said:

I use paypal for PFRE or first class and I use Pirate Ship for everything else. I used Shippo for YEARS and I did not agree with my charges this year, I contacted them and they informed me that I had to figure out each shipping to see if it was correct or not. When I showed them charges that did not agree with my estimations they would not help me. Shippo changes their app every few months so it is a constant re-learning of the app.

I use Shippo under 2 circumstances. 1 When I have a larger box, I can easily compare rates between USPS, UPS, and Fedex.  Usually Fedex wins out.

2nd.  Any of my Amazon Handcrafted orders, as Pirateship does not integrate with Amazon yet.

12 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Totally agreed about weeding out the less desirable customers.  I used to offer small sample/trial sizes. After spending several days in a row shipping out orders that made no profit for the time spent I cut that off hard. I like orders of all sizes, but needed to treat the whole of my life more fairly as the shop was robbing my family and farm of their most precious resource: my time. 
 

Where things really changed was when etsy went public. Pleasing Wall Street results in changes that cater to the mass sellers as you noted.  It, like most craft fairs around here, has become reseller flooded. The dismay from many hand made sellers came from the lies made by both etsy and resellers that were eventually called out.  got to talk with a big etsy honey shop at the ren Faire and my eyes were opened about the game. I need to check my personal opinions about it at the door and start using their lessons.
 

it is what it is. I sell enough there still as the market was carefully cultivated, but it is far less profitable per order than orders placed on my own site.  At least I can reach customers I would not otherwise have. And it for certain beats setting up at craft fairs! 

TIME...  I find people do not put enough value on this.  Of course in the beginning when you have more time you do not have as much as a value on it, but as your business grows you find you have less time, which then makes that time more valuable.  Times of the year also change my time value.  Slower times I do more for people.  Try to cultivate some new customers.  But there is just your time, do not forget family and friends time.

I no longer offer discounts on my Etsy page,  only on my website, cheaper shipping also.  Every month sales on my own site are increasing. It is hard for me to imagine that I ever leave Etsy.  Maybe I end up getting to the point I have to charge so much that people just stop buying from me there and it just is not worthwhile to maintain it.

Orginally Etsy was made for the home crafter to be able to easily sell things online. But as the site grew and and profits for them, they needed to adjust their service also.

4 years ago I would of been happy to personally drive a candle to someones house for an order.  Now if someone is not willing to pay the $6 shipping I charge, SORRY.  Go to one of the many stores that carry my candles or find me at a fair.

Etsy is no different.  They cater to the top 10% that generate 90% of the revenue. (I am making up the numbers)

I really do not do anything different.

I gave a full range of reviews.  99% positive, but always happy to figure out a way to satisfy some of the people complaining.

Few Samples

Had some email that they never received their package (candle).  While I was checking the tracking info, they also posted a 1 star review claiming they never received their package.  The package said delivered.  At that point I did not bother responding after the negative review.  Normally I gladly send another candle to them.  

Someone on my FB "Doesn't Recommend Me", with an crazy explanation.  I clicked on his name, and all of his comments across FB are negative.  

I had a problem for a bit that customer thought changing the scent also changed the can it was it.  I quickly learned that if it doesn't make sense I just reach out to them to confirm, after reaching out twice and no response I just cancel the order.

Generally if anyone reaches out to me directly I offer a refund, or a new candle and hope they buy again.

On 5/5/2020 at 12:56 PM, candlesinflorida said:

Do you mind sharing who you use for shipping? I have really focused on local orders and wholesale but finding it tricky to figure out the best rates for shipping an individual candle across the country.

Read this is may help - https://716candleco.com/candle-business-usa-shipping/

On 5/30/2020 at 12:47 PM, birdcharm said:

 

Also, for some labels, the Paypal shipping service can come in handy.

 

Look into Pirate Ship (https://www.pirateship.com/) So much better than Paypal.  It is FREE, and integrates into MOST e-commerce platforms, and is cheaper.

On 5/30/2020 at 12:39 PM, birdcharm said:

 

 

I think First Class is up to 13 ounces, although I know this type of stuff keeps changing, so I could be wrong.

If it is 1 pound (16oz) it can not go First Class.  ALL my single Can Candle orders go 1st class mail with a standard weight of 15.9oz listed on the postage label.  They usually actually weigh between 14-15oz, but MUCH easier to just leave it at 15.9.  Shipping on a 4x4x6 Box 15.9oz is NEVER more the $6, I think the most is ~$5.80

On 5/27/2020 at 8:18 AM, Paintguru said:

 

Do you no longer ship regional rate boxes?  Is this one more efficient?

It is actually a little cheaper than the Regional A box for pastage.  AND it can fit my Cans and Bottles a little easier with out extra packaging material at times.  

It basically  a smaller square version of the Rate A and cheaper postage. 

In order of preference and cost

Square

Rate A

Rate B

Medium Flat Rate

Large Flat Rate

I generally only use the Flat rate for shipments to Hawaii and Alaska. 

If you candle packaged weighs less than 16oz (1 pound) I would use 1st class mail.  ~5.50.  Anything over 1 pound you have to use Priority Mail.

This is basically the new size box I use.

https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/priority-mail-box-4-P_O_BOX4

I can fit up to 5 of my cans in it, Shipping starts at $7.80 for local and then goes up based on distance.

My online sales are up.  I am not 100% sure why.  I have many ideas.  Everyone being quarantined and stores being closed am I sure is part of it.  How much I am not sure.

On 4/30/2020 at 3:16 AM, NewtonAgency said:

Did it ever blow up again? It might because the original blogger and facebook post used affiliate links so if the sales were good they made money to so they may either bump the old story again or recreate it if your product was a good seller and made them money.

Yes it did, not like in the fall. 

Yes they do continue to post the message on their facebook page.

It is going to be a scary 2020.  There will be a recession, there will be many canceled events, and when there are events sales will be less that we are use to.  

I live in Buffalo, NY.  Schools are all closed till at least thru 4/12, already talk through the end of the school year.  Many local businesses will start closing   New York State, the counties and towns have all declared a State of Emergency. County Executive strongly urged the workforce to stay home.  And this is just in my area.  The reality is that this is a WORLD WIDE issue. 

Fortunately I have a day time job that I think is secure, and selling candles is a side job. 

I expect some of the gift shops I am in to be closed by the end of the year.  I expect some of my competition will lower their prices to try and sell more.

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.