Bernadette

debele, you made me laugh! For the GXG shipping service there is a "battery operated products" item description!

The order shipped yesterday. Geez...the paperwork for that type of service is amazing! And no one at the Post Office seemed to know everything that needed to be done to make sure it went thru Customs okay. I wanted to print the label online, but you have to do the customs declaration online too before it will let you pay/print. What fun! I tried to do it Wednesday night and something was wrong with the program. You have to enter a total package weight. Then you have to list the item, the quantity, and their calculator multiplies it out, and it cannot exceed the total package weight. Well...the package was 12 lbs. total. Each candle was 8 ozs., 24 candles. Kept multiplying out to 31 lbs.! Wouldn't let me proceed. Took the individual candle wt. down to 1 oz each(my eighth and final try) and still said it was over 13 lbs.! Gave up for the night with a splitting headache. Early yesterday morning everything worked fine! Interestingly enough, for that service you also have to list item type. They must have 180 categories you can choose from, including corpes and body parts(!), but nothing that candles really fit in. When I took it to the post office to ship, they said minerals, since it's wax(oil), just so you know if you ever have to do one. In any event, I shipped it yesterday and it will be there today. Nice to know you get good service for $100.00! The customer was ecstatic!

I forgot...the post office DID tell me I could leave it off AT the post office - if I wanted to pay the additional charge for regular priority mail.

I would not lie about this...I've tried it and they told me to leave with the box. I called on the phone, and they told me the policy for the reduced rate is "online only for printing the label, carrier pickup only for the reduced rate". You are very fortunate that your post office lets you get away with it. I'm sure others do to, but it's against their printed policy. I can't use the regional boxes until the fall now, because it's far too hot here to have pick up and have candle boxes sit in a hot truck all day, but when I do use them, I simply add them to my daily scan form online, print, put with the box(es), and the carrier scans the form and puts in my mailbox.:tiptoe:

I got an order from a customer today that didn't complain about the price. They called me from Canada. A Catering Company. A really great order, but they have to have them by a week from Wednesday. Since I make everything to order, the only USPS servic that can get it to them in time is GXG and costs $105.00 vs. a priority rate of about $35.00-36.00. They didn't even bat an eye! I did tell them it usually doesn't cost that much, for future reference. They told me they only just found my website. They placed the order and I've been working on it all day. After all the gripings about shipping expense in this economy, it was refreshing to know that some people can still afford it and understand, even if the cost is terrible.:tiptoe:

The policy for USPS regional boxes stated on the website says you have to print your labels online(you will notice when you're signed in to your usps account, there won't even be counter price listed), and they have to be picked up by a carrier. You don't have to schedule a pickup, but you're not supposed to be able to take to a counter. Here they enforcd that religiously. :tiptoe:

If it's a pie slice you're doing, Scottcrew has a pie slice shaped lattice mold. You may want to take a look there too. :tiptoe:

When I responded to this, it was afternoon, and I had had my coffee(serveral cups) for the day, so I don't know why I forgot...another variable is your wax. Some waxes are just too brittle as they start to harden...:tiptoe:

I think the company you're referring to is Hat Creek Candles. comfortscents, sorry...didn't see that you were going to pour in a cookie sheet. Just make sure it's deep enough...if you view the Hat Creek video, you will notice the pieces they cut are considerably thicker than what you would get if you used a silicone mold. This will make them more pliable and easier to work with. So, yes, time, temp, and thickness are the variables.:tiptoe:

You have to time it just right, and you have to get it right the first time every time. If not, pieces will break off rather easily. You don't have much time to do it either. Even using a mold, if you want to mound the crust for a really stuffed pie, say, You have to watch it set up closely, and when it looks just right to mound, it might be too late. Very tricky.:tiptoe:

And many people do...that's why they want it handed to them. And these are the type that give us all a bad name.:tiptoe:

I've gotten these types of emails for at least 12 years now. Used to respond, but was called a "bitch" and "selfish" for not giving out info...oh yeah, and "anal" too! Over the years the tone has changed somewhat to include either "I won't be any competition for you because I only want to make them for myself,friends, and family"(gee, I only sell on the internet, so do you think some of these individuals could be my customers?), or "I think your products are AWESOME! Since I plan to retire in a few years and would love to make candles, could you answer a few questions for me?" For some reason, people seem to think that when you are a small business, working from home, you're not serious, or a real business. Hate to tell you this, too, but some of these requests come from people that are phishing. They send emails that supposedly look legit, to make sure the email is active, and than the scamming emails follow, if you respond. Not right away, but within a couple of months. I've saved suspicious emails(that's what I call these) and compare the source against some of the spam. Sure enough, some match.:tiptoe:

I bought some wholesale candle glassware here in town yesterday. It came in 4 paks. It was packaged like some drinking glassware - in that flimsy cardboard on top and bottom with the see thru sides so you can view it, and thin strips of cardboard in between. Evidently someone had opened one of the paks to get a better look, or was trying to buy 1 or 2, and the store had put this really sticky tape around the whole thing to put it back together. Luckily, there was only one pak like this, but the tape was around the pak in a single strip across the cardboard and across every glass. Well, after I got them apart, I've tried everything I know of to get the "sticky" off the glass - straight dishwashing liquid, lighter fluid, goo be gone, fingernail polish remover, even an exacto knife - and I can't get it all off. Does anyone know of anything else I could try? I'm at my wits end... TIA:tiptoe:

All 4 of the waxes I use are over $110.00/50 lbs., even if I I buy 500 lbs. at a time. I don't have room for pallets so I'm out of luck for lowering the price. I only sell on the internet, though, and I make to order, so at least it's only raw materials sitting around. I checked a couple of weeks ago, and many of my direct competition for the past 10 years or better have closed their websites. I was shocked. And then most of the search engines started changing their search criteria this year, so I lost placement and have been scrambling to change things to get it back. I've lost numbers of orders, but those who are placing orders are placing much larger orders so overall, revenue has been the same. I have raised my prices, but most seem to understand that everything has gone up. It's a hard plank to balance.:tiptoe:

I can almost guarantee you that, depending on how many of these you sell, with or without warnings, someone won't trim that wick before they light it, so I'm glad it's slightly underwicked. That way they'll have time to blow it out and trim the wick before they have a torch. Depending on what the fragrance load of the actual candle is, you really don't have to tell them to remove the fruit embeds. There aren't that many on there that they would change the scent throw. And people just want to see the "whole" candle burning. The wick and non wax embellishments like the plastic spoon and/or straws, paper umbrellas, etc. are the things I don't include anymore because whether you tell them verbally or in writing to remove them first, there's always that one that won't. They simply see them in/on the candle and think they must be safe.:tiptoe:

I make loads of these faux food type candles and have sold hundreds over the years. Your candle looks terrific, but I have a couple of questions/comments. I hope you take them constructively. Be careful with that curlyque wick. I have found that although ALOT of people sell their candles like this(and they do look cute), no matter what kind of warning you may put on it, some people will always try to light it without trimming the wick. More people than you think buy them to burn, not just sit on the shelf, and I have heard of horrible accidents that people have had with this type candle because of the curly wick, especially if it's primed. Have you test burned that candle? If you haven't underwicked it so it tunnels slightly, it looks like it would overflow. If it does, make sure you have some kind of warning, so that people don't think they can set this right on the counter or table and light without having a mess all over everything. :tiptoe:

What on earth are you talking about?! I think this looks wonderful as far as technique goes...color isn't all that bad either! When I heard the scent, everything tied together. Nice job!

I am receiving question after question on my website about this.... Because of this horrendous product, and the media simply referring to the fuel as gel, everyone is starting to think that "gel candles" are unsafe again! I'm sorry, but the gel I use in candles DOES NOT contain ethanol! The stupid, dangerous fuel for this pot does! No wonder you can't see the flame at times! Anyone who has ever been to a banquet or party where alcohol burners were used to keep the food hot knows how hot the trays get, even when you can't see the flame, and how easy it is to get burned if you accidentally touch the metal serving dish. I hate irresponsible sellers like these people, that sell open alcohol fuel to the general public. Why not just sell grenades to the general public. As ridiculous as that sounds that what they did here, and then to just call the fuel gel is very misleading.

I've been thinking about this all day...they said the warning were on disposable wrappers, too small, etc. And in the story Luminous posted, it said the person that read the directions wasn't there when the boy that got hurt tried it. Well, you know, as a sideline, I sell only on the internet. I have to rely on the written word to tell consumers about my products, and I've learned over the years, to condense the pertinent points as much as possible if there's any hope of them reading it. You have to READ to know what you're ordering on the internet. Well...here's one for ya'...I have over 900 different products on my site. It would be impossible to show each candle in EVERY available color, so I show a popular shade, or one that shows up well online, but in the discription let them know that any color is available; but if they don't specify a color, they'll get the default of the natural wax color. So a few weeks ago, someone buys a bunch of floaters with no color option. I make and ship natural color. Then I get an email, "they're beautiful, but I ordered red! What happened?" So I check her order. No color specified. I sent her a copy, plus a link to the description, so that she knows what happened. Then she writes back she thought they were red because they were red in the picture. Just saying, if the person ordering doesn't read, or pass on info to users, this ceramic pot is going to be a danger and shouldn't even be on the market. It still boggles my mind that people can be so nonchalant about products that produce fire.:tiptoe:

The one they showed on TV was made by NAPA something or other. It was very pretty, and big...but after they blew it out, the ceramic was scorched from the heat of the flame, and the flame actually hitting it. One part of the demonstration the fire department did...they had a tee shirt stretched on a hanger that they moved in, at the normal height of a person, as this little robot thing poured some gel into the metal insert, because it looked like it went out, and the flame immediately shot up and caught the tee shirt on fire! It was really scary to watch the demos they did on this product. And even though the firemen were all dressed in full firefighter gear, they felt safer to have a robot move in and put the gel in it? Wow, is all I can say... Say some prayers for that poor kid. I hope he makes it...and that no one else gets hurt by these.

I'm not sure this is the right place to post this. Wanted to make sure as many people saw as possible, but if it's the wrong place, I apologize and hope a mod will move.:tiptoe: I just saw a candle on TV that Bed, Bath, and Beyond is selling that may directly kill a 14 year old! It's an outdoor ceramic pot that has an appoximately 3" diameter metal insert. You pour this gel fuel in the metal insert and light. It supposedly scares away bugs, and burns like the old tiki torches, but the flame! My gosh, it was at least 2 feet high, and when the wind hits it, it goes all over the place! The major problem with it(they had a fire department demonstrating) is when the flame goes low, it doesn't look like it's still lit, you pour more fuel in, and it explodes fuel with a lit flame all over you! The gel isn't like the candle gel that we use. It's always "pourable", but very thick, so you have to stay there awhile to get it to pour into the insert. People are using these for outdoor parties. The company that makes them has told Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pull them off the shelves, but on TV they went to a store in Maryland, and they were still there. The boy they showed on TV was at his aunt's wedding. He poured more fuel in, it exploded, the gel went all over him, and his body is completely covered in bandages, he's blind, and all his organs are shutting down!

They just did a piece on the news last night about debit card fraud. They cited the Michaels fiasco that happened a couple of weeks ago, and said that thousands of bank acounts in our area have been cleaned out! Our son was in Walmart yesterday and tried to purchase groceries with his debit card, and it kept getting refused, so he got on the phone right at the counter and Bank of America told him that any debit card ending in the last four digits of debit cards they know were compromised have been frozen for the time being. He can only use his debit card at a Bank of America machine now. Debit card theft is becoming a major issue. Credit cards are highly recommended if you can't use cash. Will this ever get better...scary....:tiptoe:

Wasn't commenting on the price or quality, just the technology. I'll stick with mine too. Wish I could sell 11,000 at those prices in 20 minutes, though, like they did!:tiptoe:

Funny...that doesn't work. Go to QVC and type in item # H191717.

I'm watching flameless candles on QVC right now...they have a candle that looks like the flame is real and moves! Take a peek.... http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail