JoeyG

48 minutes ago, Scented said:

Welcome to the board!! How fun it must be to make molds. Do you make them for yourself or for sale? 

Heya Scented... thank you kindly for the welcome.

And yes, it actually is fun making molds. After spending years trying to find fully 3D silicone molds without any luck, we finally decided to try it ourselves. We now make them both for ourselves, and for sale. We've also created a modular process for making the molds that will allow us to insert what we call 'multipliers' between the end caps of the mold. This increases the number of cavities by the original number. So say you wanted a 4 cavity taper mold. With 1 multiplier it would become an 8 cavity mold... with 2 multipliers a 12 cavity mold... and so on.

14 hours ago, Jcandleattic said:

I give a business card with every sale I make, whether that be in person or online. And I carry them with me, because when I tell people I make soap and candles, they ask the obvious of where I sell, and how they can buy, so I whip out a card that has all that info right there on it, without me having to try and find pen and paper to write down the same thing for them. 

You can also add a pic of your product/s on the back. I believe we used Vista Print to have ours done like that. Doesn't cost much more, and most people we have given them to usually flash us a little smile and a "hey, that's kinda neat". Regardless though, it gets a pic of your product out there, and that's never a bad thing.

17 hours ago, Clear Black said:

 

Thanks for your reply JG. To answer your question, they have been selling great at trade shows at or around $20+ retail. And ive never had a complaint about the price point. Mostly just some modest compliments on the packaging.  I feel they could retail for a few dollars more, but in a retail store maybe. The demographic at the local trade shows arent willing to go much higher than $20 retail so I keep it around or near there depending on the current location I am selling at.  For wholesale, I have actually gotten my price per container down from $7 per to $6 per by switching label companies. I can drive that further towards $5 per container once I start getting more items by the pallet like my FO for example.  Im mostly just a one person show in my shop, so my main goal isnt national accounts, but a few local retail stores that cater to candles and handmade gifts. There is big business around these parts during tourism season, so Id like to get just a few wholesale accounts for the summer. I still work a 9-5 so anything more than that is not feasable due to time constraints.  I think if I approach those wholesale accounts looking for $10-$11 per, they can retail them for $20-$22 per. They already carry 5 other brands of candles that retail between $20-$25 per so I feel mine fit in with what the other brands are doing. Who knows, they may tell me they arent interested, they may like what they see. I will know in about a month when Im ready to approach them

Sounds like you're already doing great on your costs... and even better yet if you're going to be able to buy by the skid. You must be selling a ton of candles... congrats!

Good luck as you move forward, and continued success.

On 2/26/2018 at 1:11 PM, Clear Black said:

As of now, my 16oz candles cost $7 to make. A few of the items are pricey, but I hope to drive that cost more towards the $5 per mark when I can afford to buy raw mats in bigger bulk. So for now im at the $7 per mark. Im thinking they will retail between $18/$20. So if they cost me $7 to make and retail for $20, what should the wholesale buyer be getting from the $13 profit on each candle? Would it be $3 me, $10 buyer? Does the buyer typically get the larger profit portion? Hope this makes sense in any way. I know a bunch of you folks have wholesale accounts and can maybe shed some light here. I really do think the $7 per candle cost is hurting me when it comes to wholesale and I am ok with that knowing I can further cut costs in the future by making bigger material purchases.

 

Thoughts?

My experience has been that it depends on who the wholesale customer is. Walmart may be happy only bumping the price by 5%, while C-Stores tend to want in the 30%-40% range return on their investment. Have you tested price points for your candles yet? You're thinking they'll sell for roughly $20, but what if they only sell for $8? Have you tried selling them for more? Most of these wholesale accounts are going to want to know, not think, how much they'll retail for. But there are exceptions and it also depends on what your goal is.

Are you wanting a bunch of wholesale accounts, or trying to get one or two major accounts and manufacture solely for them? If it's the latter, there are things you can do to improve your chances. Negotiate deals with regional and national distributors to try and piggy-back off their distribution routes to try and get your product introduced into their stores. You can also do private label spec candles. Many companies call on their clients and like to leave little gifts behind for them. Candles make great gifts. We did this with one of the companies who actually supplied product to us. Their product had 10 different flavors, so we made candles with scents that mirrored their flavors. If you give it some thought you may realize that you already know companies that you can tailor make your candles for.

My perspective for selling products is always this. What makes mine better... or what problem does it solve for the buyer? If I can't answer either of those questions satisfactorily, then I don't sell that product.

One thing to consider... if their candles take off, you could turn the tables on them and change your candle labels to look like theirs. Just put a nut in the squirrel's hands, or something minor like that. See how they like it.

Trappeur, I believe you are correct in feeling like they should have asked before they made the assumption that you would be okay with everything they did. We are FBA Amazon sellers, and we sometimes private label products. We ALWAYS ask permission from the manufacturer, and have them provide us with their requirements for allowing us to slap our name on the item. Generally there is no issue, because the manufacturer simply wants to sell more of their product.

In your case, it seems like the buyer is trying to remove any trace of your existence. And from what Candybee posted, it would appear that they can merely state that they are the *Distributor*, and that's why their name and info is on the candle. If they are going to be regular customers you may want to discuss your concerns with them. And it sounds like they are new, so they may not know the proper way to re-brand. And if that's the case, you would actually be helping them by pointing out the things they are doing that are a little sketchy.

10 hours ago, rhoops said:

I live in NW GA now, but lived around Atlanta for several years.  I lived in Norcross right off Jimmy Carter, then Duluth, Snellville, and finally Sewanee.  Loved it most of the time but so glad to be away from the nightmare that is Atlanta traffic!

Yeah... gotta admit, I don't miss the traffic at ALL. We were on Beaver Ruin Road... right down the road a piece from Jimmy Carter.

21 hours ago, Sponiebr said:

Hello! 
I'm a bubble head so I can't really help ya much on the candles BUT... If you wanna know how to burn soap I could probably help ya out with that! 

Welcome!  


Slainte, 

Sponiebr
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services. 

Well... you show me how to burn some soap, and I'll show you how to torch a candle... LOL

Pleasure to meet you

Thank you all so much for the kind welcome!

And looks like a couple from Georgia. My son and I lived in Norcross for about 5 years... still miss it.

Happy I found this forum. There seem to be lots of forums dedicated to soap makers, but not too many for candle making.

What's your name? Joey

How old are you? 61

Where do you live? Southern Illinois

How long have you been making candles/soap/whatever? Off and on since around 2013

If candle/Soap making isn't your primary job, what do you do? My son and I create Silicone Molds for Candles, Soaps, etc.