SageSlowdive

3 hours ago, NightLight said:

You should be able to contact Etsy through live chat.  Access it through as if a buyer instead of seller. You can reach out through twitter or facebook possibly instagram.

 

Etsy makes it a big pain to contact and sometimes you have to be creative.

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us?segment=shopping

 

You may have to create another account to get to someone for help. Don’t rule out an Etsy glitch. 

This happened to me yesterday, I couldn’t log in on one browser.

Did you try another browser, also dump out cookies in browser

Trying it now to see - I've sold things on Ebay for many years and they support their sellers much faster.

Hi guys,

Not sure how off topic this but I'm hoping to find some advice (and rant/warn, of course).

So, I started selling on Etsy in October 2021 - it was an uphill climb trying to figure out branding, marketing, and traffic patterns and it took me, really until March, to see a climb in sales. I was hit with a reserve on payments almost immediately, which complicated getting my money for orders immediately (thank god this is just a side hobby) but I worked through it and perfected my shipping times, feedback ratings, and message responses. I became a Star Seller in February (missed it in January because a person I ORDERED off of replied back to me and I didn't respond in 24 hours  🙄) and in March I became a top seller with almost 300 sales.

So, April 1st rolls around and I am filling at least one order a day, continuing my Star Seller streak, and anticipating the higher percentage rates Etsy is going to charge. I go to log into my account and it says my account is locked. I tried multiple times to figure out on my own what the problem is and I STILL have no idea why they did this. I tried emailing Etsy, 20 times over the last two days and still no one has replied to any of my messages. They no longer have a customer service number as well. I've read up on forums that this happens to people and they usually get access to their account after a few weeks - the problem is my shop has not been shut down and I'm still getting orders! I have access to the customers addresses through email so I'm making every effort to getting these packages out but I can't update shipping or inform the customers that their orders are in the way. I've read some real horror stories about people having to CANCEL orders they already shipped out because the customer filed a false claim! 

I'm at a standstill and honestly this whole experience has jaded me to ever wanting to try this again. What kind of company sends emails saying they invested millions of dollars in advertising but can't have a solid team to support sellers? Let me also emphasize that (as far as I know) I have done nothing wrong. I have not had any customer compliments, trademark issues, or Etsy policy violations. They are supposed to send an email if you've violated a certain policy and I do not have that.

Does anyone have any advice? I put sooooooo much time, money, and energy into making this work - to see it possibly end like this is really saddening.

1 hour ago, Marleigha said:

I couldn’t agree with you more!  I called

there one time to see if they could get a particular fragrance and he said they would check into it.  A few weeks later he said they were testing out a few options and it will be on the website soon.  They are so nice and so willing to accommodate us makers.  You have to try their Cocoa Butter Cashmere, Peach Gelato, Island Escape, Apple Crisp & their Iced Vanilla Woods!  So good!  🥰

The only one I've tried of that is Island Escape and it's amazing! Truly one of my favorite suppliers.

On 3/6/2022 at 9:39 AM, TallTayl said:

I’ll pm to you. 

Thank you! I'm trying to round out the edges of mine so I need help from a professional lol.

Studio is definitely one of my favorites! I've spoken with the owner Curtis a few times now and he is such a nice man - if I have the littlest of concerns or problems with shipping he'll call me personally and help me reach a solution. The fragrances are top level quality and like you said free shipping after $25 is to die for in the oil world.

Their dupes of Marshmallow Fireside, Fall Festival, and Egyptian Amber are amazing!

On 2/27/2022 at 3:04 PM, TallTayl said:

I’m with you. Facebook does not seem to attract my target market. Instagram has possibilities. YouTube has been  pretty far out of my comfort zone.

 

for the little work I do on Etsy fees don’t really bother me any more.  It’s cheaper than Google ads in the long run, and much cheaper/easier than craft shows and fairs. My summer Faire required prepayment of 10% commission of a set sales figure before you could get your contract, then additional weekly commission payments once your sales exceeded that first amount. plus they demanded tens of thousands of $ investment in buildings, etc to come back if you liked having a shop there - in addition to time requirements where shop owners HAD to be there.

 

I chose big commerce over Shopify and really like it.  The SEO is comparable to what Etsy can do. BC just costs my time and effort, both of which are expensive to me. time is my most limited and valuable resource. I tend to be stingy with it these days, preferring to spend it on things I truly enjoy.
 

I definitely keep listings of my most popular items on Etsy so I show up in both places.  Etsy shops with some history legitimize our own sites. Seems to give confidence to new customers to see us on etsy with all of the related sales and reviews. Amazon would be comparable, but I want nothing to do with Amazon. 

 

Hi TallTayl, just curious what is your Etsy shop? 

Just curious question if anyone noticed: I ordered a 40lb box of 6006 one day from Aztec because it was coming up 40% off in the cart (I thought I hit 2 in the quantity but alas 🙄) I went back today to order another box and it's not coming up 40% off, wonder why?

Oh for gods sake...they have made this SO HARD to continue with them.

Thank you guys! Trying to elevate my candles to the next level.

Guess no one has suggestions.

Hi guys,

I saw a candlemaker online posting these - I'm very intrigued by this and want to recreate. Does anyone know how you would add a separate smear of color like this to the side of a container?  Can you just paint dye on the side of your candle like that?

Hope someone can help

Looking for something very odd and specific lol.

A real murky water smell, almost like a swamp. Does anyone have any suggestions? 

Hi guys!

I finally got my candles out in the Etsy world and what do you know, the jars I've perfected are on backorder BIG TIME (Candlescience is having major supply chain issues, according to their email).

Does anyone out there know a similar container to this? 

https://www.candlescience.com/containers/3-wick-tumbler/

Whatever you can help with is much appreciated! 

This should be fun and informative:

what are your least favorite wicks to work with?

2 hours ago, Cathydiamond said:

Thankyou for the replies. Bahama Fizz, Volcano and Black Raspberry Vanilla 

 Bahama Fizz extremely weak. I use paraffin wax and make wax melts. I generally use Just Scent FO and have not had this issue.

 

 

 

 

Hmm, I know citrus is hard to wick in most forms - that may be the issue with these. I'd personally look at wick sizing to be an issue.

I've been testing with ECO1s and even they burn incredibly hot.

18 hours ago, BusyBee said:

Every owners of copyrighted and trademarks images or logos have different rule, and it is very complicated matter that no one would be able to provide simple answer to your question.

 

When you Google "free clipart", many will come out.  But you are going to find that no images are free after all.  I used a lot of copyrighted images from ShutterStock and BigStock when I first started by paying small fee per year.  

 

If it is movie images, then the chances are that you will have to get permission from the owner.  Some are almost impossible to get license, some will ask expensive guaranteed royalty, some are asking for attractive royalty, some are free of royalty but still require you to be licensed, and some can be used without any restrictions.  Toyota was asking for big royalty but Nissan was asking for "$0" royalty for the trademark license.  If you cannot track down what they require, then my advise is not to use it without consulting with professional copyright and trademark lawyer.

 

Now days, I use a lot trademark logos on my labels with owners' permission.  When you know their guidelines, then you will find that many times you can use them without paying any royalty.  Example: I know how to use college logos on my candles without paying any royalty.  But I must get permission from them to use their trademark logos.  But then again, every images or logos are case by case and are very complicated.  

Here is my next question: what if you edit the image into something else? For example, editing by adding/losing something on the image? Does that still fall in the same category?

Hello all,

Just wondering if anyone has ran into a copyright issue with labeling? Obviously we all want a label that is eye catching, unique, and beautiful - but what do we do about images we find. For example. I wanted to make a candle that references a film - I wanted to add an image I found on Google that doesn't directly mention the movie or seem licensed from what I can find, what would you recommend? Are there websites that have free non-copyrighted clipart?

Thanks a bunch!

Would love to hear some experts on this.

15 hours ago, GretaB said:

Hi guys, I was getting ready to make a big order from the flaming candle for wax and fragrances, but seems their IGI 6006 is out of stock!! T_T Do you guys think I can trust candle science wax IGI6006? I only tried their GB 464 and didn't work for me very well, so now I am kinda scared.... What do you think?

I've been buying mine from Aztec and haven't had any issues with the wax (wicking it is a different story).

On 5/16/2021 at 6:05 PM, BusyBee said:

I don't know how others have come up with solution to this problem, and I haven't figured out how to correct that problem especially with 6006.

 

Wax will expand when it is melted, and it will shrink (down) when it cools.  This is the reason why the wick is sooting when we tried to re-light the candle.  Self-trimming wicks will need some time to catch up(burn off) when you re-light the candle, which will take couple minutes to burn off.  See pictures!

 

This is one of the reason why we need to keep melt pool as shallow as possible to minimize wax shrinkage.  I say about 1/8" would be close to perfection, but I was only able to get it down to 3/16" at best.  I find that even 1/4" is too deep of melt pool that it will require wick trimming every time I re-light the candle.

 

Now, 6006 is totally different beast.  Probably 6006 is the only wax that will form melt pool like this.

6006 has concave melt pool shape.  It melts down first before it melts out side ways.  It will form deeper melt pool than any other waxes, and it will shrink down more than other waxes.  6006 is the probably only wax that I cannot wick correctly.

 

My candles need wick trimming regularly, and I haven't seen any other candle that does not need wick trimming.  I would love to try one if there is any.

Thank you so much for the input - do you sell candles? Do customers ever see excessive smoke after relighting candle? 

I thought this would be a good topic to discuss, especially for new candlemakers hitting the boards. What are those notorious scents that take some genuine time to get a good HT or are impossibly hard to wick?

I've read patchouli, amber, lots of citrus type scents can be pains. I've personally tried alot of tobacco scents and haven't found a real good thrower yet.

2 hours ago, TallPineCandles said:

I have 4-5 customers that test candles for me as I am done with all the testing. Locals. I deliver a candle to them and once they are finished with the testing as per the enclosed instructions, they go to https://www.tallpinecandles.com/product-questionnaire and answer the questions. Works good for me. Found that 5-8 customers make a good average pool as to how the candle preforms.

Sounds like a good plan - do they volunteer or do you pay them?

3 hours ago, NightLight said:

You will make a test candle half full, and test wicks at that point. If your current wick smokes at half way way point it’s too big. If eco 2 is too big at that point in candle change wick series so you can wick down.

Not sure how testing a half-full candle will help with the smoke from a second burn.

Just shooting in the dark if someone out there has some suggestions:

I'm double wicking ECO2 in 6006. HT is great, but for the life of me I cannot get this wick to stop smoking. Been testing for weeks now and the first 4 hour burn is good, the second burn produces a chimney of smoke that lasts for at least a few minutes (important to note I did not trim the wicks after first use, as I would like to see what they would produce as I'm sure customers will not trim after each use). I used less dye on a second go around with the same candle and dropped from 8% to 7.5%.

If anyone has any suggestions on what wick would be best for double wicking, please say so lol.

(for reference, I have tried quite a few double wicking combinations, just looking for some seasoned suggestions).