Bernadette

Oh, and I forgot, if you add flat rate boxes to the site, then when the customer is checking out, they will always pick flat rate shipping if it comes up less than regular shipping. So...if the items won't fit in a flat rate box, then you could end up eating alot of shipping dollars....

I hope this will help to explain something about shipping... I only sell on the internet. I have over 900 products in my store. Each product must have a weight - total weight with packaging listed. For instance, a .8 lb. product will fall between 1-2 rate for shipping one. If you decide to order 5, the cart has no way of knowing whether they will all fit in a flat rate box or not, and will go ahead charge a full blown 5-6 lb. rate. Additionally, if the customer decides to order multiple items of various sizes, the cart has no way of knowing if they will fit in a flat rate box. If the customer decides to proceed with the order and pays, if I know they will fit in a flate rate box, and issue a refund, then the processor(even Paypal) not only has taken out their initial cut, but also charges me a cut for the refund. Then I'm loosing money. The same applies to suppliers. I have it marked all over my site that I may be able to save shipping dollars if the customer will use the contact form first, letting me know what the items & quantities they want are, and their zipcodes. If I can save them shipping money, I set up a custom order for them. Trouble is, most online customers don't like to read and miss this - even though the written word is the only way to communicate with online customers, unless they call first. When I order supplies, I almost always call the order in. Since I first tried ordering online and saw terrible shipping charges, I've been doing this, and have almost always gotten a better shipping charge. Shipping charges hurt coming in and going out. It's a real dilemma.:tiptoe:

I didn't buy any of their tarts...mine are terrific so I had no reason too; besides, a potential customer gave me a few and I found them lacking. Scentsy doesn't sell a 40 watt bulb for their full sized burners. It was others on here that said they recommended them to their customers. With the 25 watt bulb, I think that's why Scentsy tells customers that they can't use other tarts with their burners. There appears to be some concensus on here that a 25 watt bulb will not melt many of our tarts in a burner that size because the bowl doesn't get that warm. That's why I think the one you spoke of must have a higher wattage in it if it's getting that hot. It will be interesting to see what wattage they have in there!:tiptoe:

I have alot of locals that want to buy my tarts for their Scentsy warmers after smelling my tarts. Turns out my grandson's school did a fundraiser that was Scentsy, so I bought one of the full sized, $30.00 ones to test. I find it interesting that you say the burner was hot. Hours of being on, and mine is so cool, I can't get my tarts to throw at all in it! It came with a 25 watt bulb. Do you know what wattage the bulb in theirs was? Others on here have said they tell their customers to put a 40 watt bulb in their Scentsy. I don't feel comfortable telling my customers to do that because many of them leave them on 24 hours a day with the 25 watt bulb to use as a nightlight type. I think that's kinda stupid, but some people you can't tell anything. :tiptoe:

I've had a Paypal account for going on 11 years now - first for eBay and then added to my website - and I've never had any funds held for any reason, so it isn't happening to everyone. I also have Propay. It has varied, year to year, the number of transactions processed between the two(I don't take checks or money orders since I'm internet sales only-just electronic checks). Since the incidence of internet fraud appears to be increasing and customers are being made aware thru internet articles and news broadcasts, I've seen an increase in Paypal orders and call ins. The thing I don't like about Paypal now is even if you make a refund seconds after an order is placed, Paypal does not refund what they took out originally, so it comes out of your funds. That stinks. Without doing the math(I haven't had any coffee yet!), I had a case where I had to do a refund. Let's say the transaction total was $15.00, and Paypal's cut was $1.50, so when I refunded them(and it was less than 60 seconds from the transaction coming thru), paypal refunded the $15.00 - my $13.50 cut plus an additional $1.50 from my funds. So this "no transaction" cost me $1.50! TG I don't have many of these types of problems. Still I keep them because the more payment options you have, the less likely you are to lose a customer that doesn't like your payment choices.:tiptoe:

I can say I've never had it happen with any of the candles I've made, but I have had it happen before I made candles, and purchased them. And they were thick glass, Libbey, and it always happened in the last third of the candle. All of a sudden there'd be a loud pop, and glass was everywhere!

I just came from a candle mold site where almost every mold said to use SB-C or SB-1C wicking. Are they referring to "square braid"? And what is the C? Cotton? I've never seen this terminology on supply sites before. Maybe it's there, but I've never heard of it, and just checked out a couple and couldn't find it. Any help would be appreciated.

I can't believe the difference in the look...amazing how something so simple can really jazz something up. You're more than welcome. I'm glad you tried it!

I vote for a kiss, or melt a thin layer of chocolate colored wax in a small lipped metal pan, and when it cools, break off very small pieces and scatter them on top, pressed in alittle to look like chocolate pieces.

I'm alittle confused by your post. What are you boiling...the mold or the wax? I use silicone molds all the time, and have never had any wax stick to the inside, but you know, whenever I've purchased second hand molds, they always come with wax stuck inside. Like I said, I've never had the problem myself. I'm hoping one of the moldmakers we have on this board will respond. I'd like to know why this happens myself.:tiptoe:

I suppose I didn't elaborate enough... I've been making tarts for over 9 years now and have a zillion different types of warmers, both tealight and electric(different wattages). I have tested them under so many different types of conditions. I just recently got a Scentsy warmer because I have a potentially large market here of Scentsy customers that are sick of high prices without long lasting, weak scents(they tell me). They do, however, tell me that because the bowls never get hot, they can pick them up and dump out the liquid wax in the garbage to switch out the scent. Do I know better? Of course! But as a dedicated "seeing is believing" candlemaker, I tried it and they are right. After hours of being turned on, you can pick up the bowl without fear of being burned. I've told them they shouldn't do this, but who are we fooling? Do I know you shouldn't leave any burner on continually? Of course I do. Telling them makes no impact. A 25 watt bulb is used in any nightlight around here, and people leave them on 24/7, 7/wk. I'm sure that's why they do it. I was just asking about the heat from the 40 watt bulb because I don't have the time right now to take the hour ride to Walmart to get bulbs and try them out to see if they heat up this particular warmer. It's wedding season and every waking moment is filled with making candles for orders. I guess that's why I prefer the tealight warmers though, more than the electric. A tealight will go out after just so long, whether you forget it or not. Electric is too easy to turn on and forget.:tiptoe:

A quick update.... I have no idea what happened with all this... I didn't do anything except reply to their emails, but somehow two of the three have placed orders as of today. Somewhere in their email accounts they must have found my messages because we've been emailing back and forth since yesterday and I had to set up custom orders for them; the last of which was placed a couple of minutes ago. I can't help but wonder if the download of IE9 had something to do with it. I know IE9 isn't compatible with some parts of my webhost(is that the right name for it?). They are having to reconfigure parts of it...it'll take two weeks total, they estimate.

I live in the desert where it is extremely dry. If I don't shrinkwrap, after several months, they become as hard as a rock and curl...still useable if you don't want to waste them, but certainly something you never would sell, or even want someone visiting to see!:laugh2:I have one bar here that I keep as a test(long test!) I've had it for 8 years!!! It's multi colored and scented, in shrinkwrap. It's still fine and still smells great.:tiptoe:

I'm not sure I totally understand what you're saying, Eric, but I want them to respond to my website email, which is service@....com. When you deal online, that's how it should go. Years ago, I had that email forwarded to my personal email. Even then, if I responded, there were still providers that did not allow my email response to go thru. I'm not having a problem receiving, they are. These emails are from young people that are getting married. I hear all the time that people 30 down to 5 know a 1000 times more about computers than I do. Maybe these people don't. Knowing that I'm a small online business, they should use the internet. If they aren't getting a response, give me some way to get in touch with you, like a phone number. I've overcome technology many times, but there's no way here. It's like getting a letter in your mailbox requesting a response, with no return address or postmark...:tiptoe:

pleasureridgecandles, you're right. Neither this person, nor the other 2 gave any kind of contact info other than their email addy. I did hear back from the one I told you about this morning. They said they checked their inbox before sending today's email. So at least I heard back from one of them that got something from me. I forwarded the original email to them with an explanation. Nothing again.... I'm ready for a drink!!!

I'm about ready to hit the ceiling!! I don't know what's the matter with people lately. I've had three potential customers on my website lately that are driving me nuts. All I have to do is tell you about one for you to get the gist of all three. Last week I got a request for custom colored wedding candles. They wanted to know the process for ordering. So I immediately emailed them back. Know the email went thru because it didn't come back(gmail). Then a couple of days later I hear from them again...why aren't I answering them? Email back...nothing. Just heard from them again...alittle snippy...why aren't I answering them? All three requests are like this. I know they are legit. I'm assuming that the answers are going into a junk mail file as my emails are coming from service@.... I have it all over my site that people have to put service@... on their safelists to receive emails. I also have my phone number listed. If it were me and I wasn't getting a response, I'd call, or I'd give them a phone number in my email that they could call. Are people braindead? Sorry...I'm just so frustrated....:tiptoe:

The brown looks great, Luminous. I only make green when someone asks for them. They don't sell very well. I'll make any color if requested, but most people purchase in different shades of brown. That's been my experience anyway. Brown, and the white birch whick requires some additional work.

The ones I have I got at Michaels years ago when they were really popular. They are really big. I bought them before I even made candles and liked to burn big, 10" high pillars. Now days, I have test enclosures that hubby built for me awhile back to test in, especially when I'm trying something that I think may flame up or something, or I have to leave them upattended for a short time. But these hurricanes I use in the house because there's no place that doesn't have a mild breeze when the air is on or the window open. I use them all the time, and they never heat up. The diameter is 8" at the top, bottom and middle. And I use them for votives up to tall pillars now, and it hasn't changed anything except keeping the flame upright instead of on it's side! HTH:tiptoe:

I live in the SW desert also, ladies, and have the same problem with drafts once the air goes on. Get yourself a couple hurricanes, the taller ones that are open at both ends. Burn your pillars in those and the draft won't reach them. Mine accomodate up to 6" pillars.

I posted a picture of this in the gallery awhile back, but for the life of me, I can't find it this morning. I'm sure it's still there...(bear in mind I haven't had my first cup of coffee yet...maybe I'll find it after!):tiptoe:

Making lots of floaters for two wedding orders - diamonds for one, gardenias for another. Also some food candles for another order - cheeseburger with everything, onion rings and fries - and a hotdog with fries.

At the very least, did the person who contacted you give you a link to any of their past reviews? If not, I'd say they were trying to get some free product. I've never bit on any of these offers. Anyone that wanted to review my products, purchased them. Within the past six months, I've had one product reviewed on the WeddingBee(from a customer that posted in the gallery), and another featured on Iheartdaily(not a customer but loved the look and provided a link to the product), without solicitation. I got beaucoup sales from those reviews. Your candles are gorgeous...you shouldn't have to give them away to have someone come along and review them. Just my opinion.:tiptoe:

Propay is coming out with their equivalent to Square this month. Difference is theirs is encrypted at point of swipe, which Square isn't. It's supposed to be more secure. I don't know because I don't sell at shows...only the internet, so I don't need it. There is a charge. There's a number on their site you could call and get the info. You do have to buy the device, I think.

Your results are about the same as mine. I know the potential customers I have will not wait that long for the tarts to throw. Funny part is, if I take the same tarts and put them in a tealight burner or any of the older electric burners I have, the scent is so strong within minutes that you can barely stand it(I overloaded these in the hopes they'd work faster in the Scentsy burner than previous tries). I even had the windows open with the wind blowing in and the whole house smelled like I was baking apple fritters in every room(and I'm talking 2700 sq.ft.)! In a different thread, someone said you need to put a 40 watt bulb in the big Scentsy burners to get them to work properly, but my potential customers love the 25 watt bulb because they can leave it turned on continually for the night light effect AND because the bowl never gets so hot you can't pick it up, even after hour after hour of being turned on. I've asked if the folks on here that have switched to a 40 watt bulb in the Scentsy burners have found that the bowl gets hot, but haven't gotten a response. I'll continue to test these. The sales potential is too great.:tiptoe:

Forgot to add this is the summertime schedule. The rest of the year I ship Mon-Sat.