David Fields

Gotta agree with Georgia. We sell lots of them. Several customers come back and buy them for gifts and for family. We have used them in our bathrooms for over four months, and the smell is great. Almost overpowering. We don't flip the reeds but every 2-3 weeks. So, don't know what to tell you.

Yes, but you will severely clog your wick and make your candles almost unburnable.

Holly, we made labels on our inkjets for years and then tried labels printed by pros and we've never looked back. The chunk of cash you have to pay upfront is stiff but worth it for the professional look. Plus, if you actually figure all of your costs (except time) the nice, professional labels are cheaper. Again, it's the big initial outlay. You might look into it with several printers to get bids.

I agree with everything 2centsworth said. That has been our experience as well. We've been making candles for 10 years. First sold at craft shows, online, etc. We built our base and opened a strip-center store; had it for a year then moved to a larger one in a larger town. Ran than one almost four years; about three years into it opened an in-line store in a mall. The mall store does great. Closed the first store after four years. Barely profitable. The mall store plus lots of wholesale customers gives us a very nice income. But lots and lots of work. My wife and I are both retired from regular business and now work 60-70 hours a week. smile. Retail is tough. Without lots of capital you cannot make it. Our warehouse and small factory are huge just to support the wholesale and retail sales. Employees are generally terrible. They don't have a love for and understanding of candles and how to sell them. Bottom line is - our business runs us, we don't run it. But we would not give it up. Still lots of fun. Oh, the intial outlay just to open the doors of a retail store are huge. Signage, display equipment.Everything must look pro. HTH

ditto with Candle Man's response.

Boy, reading the posts brings back memories. You want more sales, but more sales requires more production time. You reach a point where you physically cannot make more, so, you increase production space/equipment to make better use of the time you have. Everything is OK for a while, but you now have more $ invested in equipment/production space/storage, so, you start finding ways to increase sales to justify the outlay to increase production capacity. Christmas rolls around with all of the new sales orders - back to a crunch in time. It is a never ending cycle. But fun.

We use direct heat melters and absolutely love them. We use the 65 pound, 110 voltage. Takes about two to 2 1/2 hours to melt container wax and about 3 to 3 1/2 to melt pillar/votive. Ours has two heating elements if we want the wax melted any quicker. They are over five years old and work great.

We carry only general liability insurance. Our insurance agent said that product liability insurance would be nice to have but is prohibitively expensive. And before an insurere will underwrite your products there is an extensive study of your products by the company. General liability insurance will cover someone falling on your property, your travel to/from shows and stuff like that. If you have a retail site, the landlord will require general liability insurance. The premium depends a lot on your yearly sales. We pay $850/yr for 2M in coverage. Go through your local independent insurance agent who will research the best deals.

We have used a FO mfg for a number of years and got a tour of their facility once. Fascinating! We did not know that there was a profession called "perfumers"; the best are trained in France. They concoct scents from scratch. Much/most/all of the ingredients are essential oils (depends or several factors). At the time we toured hurricanes had wiped out Florida's grapefruit crop which made the cost of grapefruit EO's skyrocket. The company was scrambling to find alternatives to keep costs down. They have a 25 pound minimum. The first price break is at 55 gallons and the next is a pig (don't recall how large an amount a pig is). So, candle companies buy from mfg's and rebottle in smaller amounts. A bargain if you cannot afford or use 25 pounds.

Tizi, again, you are absolutely correct. You have to be very large to make much money. It always amuses us to see posts from people wanting to start making candles and make a living at it, or at least subsidize the family income so mom can stay home with the kids. Good luck! Unfortunately, it seems most people do not set down and do exactly what you did - figure the costs involved and the potential revenue. We have met many couples who borrowed 20-25K to set up their candle business and then were out of business within the year. bummer. We actually do make a living from our candles (after 10 years) but had lots of help from God.

My blood boils reading the posts. The same thing happened to us a couple of years ago. Fortunately we checked the bank account the morning the charge showed up and went straight to the bank. We had to provide a copy of the letter showing we had cancelled the contract and something else (I forget), but they bounced the charge back that afternoon. We never heard from the credit card processing company again. FYI.... We have used a number of processing companies in the past and finally found a great one. All of the previous ones came to us and "promised" that they could save us lots of money if we switched. NEVER HAPPENED. It always cost us as much or more, plus the hassle of switching. We have since found the secret. Never sign with a company that is not a primary processor; there are only six, if memory serves. All of the hundreds of others have to go through a primary. They all, primary or secondary, have to pay the same fee to MC, VISA, etc. The primaries charge the secondaries a fee, which they pass on plus more to us.We have never been disappointed with our current processor. HTH

We tried Consignment....No more...we have found..if the People that are selling your Candles do NOT have any $$$'s invested....they could care less if they sell....50% or NOT. They are going to push the items that they have their own money invested in. I would try my best to just figure your costs and go with the Wholesale aspect. One of the stores that had our Consignment stuff...set them in the window area where they got bleached out...then some got broken..and it was JUST our loss!! Not to be a downer on the whole thing, but Consignment just did NOT work for us!! If you decide to do it...we wish you luck. David & Joyce

We do wedding Candles all the Time...with the Tulle...just Cut into squares....wrap around the Candle...and tie up with a cute ribbon.Cut off as much of the top portion that you want...makes it look like you used the tulle circles! ..and then I hot-glue a rose..or whatever kind of flower the Bride is having in her Wedding...(the very small ones of course)...I also put a verse on the Candle with the Clear Mylar Labels Example Thanks for sharing in our Day (Bride & Groom Name) (Date)

Again, from years of experience, to get good mail service you must complain loudly - and not to your local carrier or the local postmaster. The Post Office operates on the squeaky wheel principle.There are thousands of excellent postal workers who care and try to do the best they can for us, but the opposite is true. Call your local postmaster once if a problem occurs and never again. All subsequent problems fill out the Consumer Service Card; get stacks of them. For a faster approach ask for the name and phone number of the postmaster's boss and work your way up the ladder. Trust me. It is the only way to correct your problems.

I retired from the PO after 31 years as a mid-level manager. Sara, your postal carrier is required to deliver your packages to your door, not hang them on the mail box. Go to your post office and ask for Consumer Service Cards. Ask for a handful. Everytime your carrier does something you think is wrong (and it probably is) fill out one of the cards and send it to the Postmaster General in DC, not to your locak Postmaster. The card is tracked and must be answered by your local Postmaster. Too many cards for a local area triggers someone making a visit to find out why. Your Postmaster WILL correct your carrier. BTW, carriers are required to pick up parcels unless they cannot physically carry them or they are too heavy and a few more ifs.

Did you use FO and additives?

Ten years as a chandler. We pour 10-12 tons of paraffin wax a year. And other than all of my grandchildren being born with two heads, no problems. Seriously, you are an advertiser's dream. Buy this, don't buy that, this causes cancer (this year), next year it's the secret to longevity. Quit believing what others say. Check it out yourself. BTW, that is NOT the story about paraffin from the EPA. The quotes are blown into untruths. Check it out. I won't bother telling you what the truth is. And if you check out the facts about soy and health issues, you will find they are very similar. Of course I haven't checked with "The National Enquirer" lately;so, those facts could have changed. We experimented with soy and blends for two years and definitely will stick with paraffin and with our two-headed grandchildren.

There are different UV compounds. We used one like you have, and as I recall, the melting temp of the UV is too high to add directly to your melted wax. The crystals will not melt. You have to melt the UV in a separate pot and then quickly add the wax or add it to the wax and stir, stir stir. The melt point is above 210 but will blend when liquid. Don't heat the crystals too hot though. fire.

Texas Rose, my wife and I could not agree with you more. But integrity in business goes farther than treating your customers and employees right and fairly. What about cheating the government? We have been selling candles for ten years and have yet to meet a fellow chandler or ANY self-employed person who reports all sales (that is CASH sales). When the subject was broached, everyone admitted that they don't report cash sales, which cheats the IRS (us) and the state (sales tax); and BTW we are from Texas also. We hear all kinds of excuses and rationalization. We report every penny. To us, if we start cheating on the pennies, what's next? Once our souls are tainted with that little, minor sin, the next one is easier. So, thanks for the post; it's refreshing to hear from someone who thinks Honor and Integrity are worth something.

again,as in previous posts, depending on the size of the pillars, we use flat or square braided cotton wicks. Paraffin wax.

I personally LOVE the colors...Nice and Fallish!! I say KEEP them Joyce HeavenscentsCandles

OK....the Name of Ginger's Co. is never mentioned...could you post it?? Thanks, Joyce HeavenScents Candles

These are Georgeous...You do a GREAT Job. We have been making Pillars for years..and don't get these!! You go!! Joyce HeavenScents Candles

When we did Candle Parties....we would give the Hostess 20% of our total Sales IN CANDLES of course....(before Tax)... Always made sure to do it early, so everyone got to see how much FREE stuff she got!! We always played a couple of Games as well...and gave prizes for those as well! Parties are FUN...and a good way to get your Product out there!! Joyce (David's wife) Heaven Scents Candles THE CANDLE BOX

Ditto, don't fret. And you might check with an independent insurance agent (assuming yours is from a particular company). Ask if they write commercial policies. They will ask lots of questions about your business - sales, products, etc. Ask the difference between product liability insurance and a general commercial policy. Big difference in price. hth