pinetreecandles

I just saw the US farm Report on TV while channel surfing and they were talking about soy and corn crops for this year. They mentioned that due to weather and cost to the farmers, this years crops where probably not going to meet the expected numbers. What does this mean, higher prices are still to come for both. Like FramerJill said, "It's supply and demand". Far more demand than supply this year.

How about calling "Hawaiian Breeze" - "Tropical Mist"

I would expect it to get worse before it gets better. All waxes are on the rise. Soy takes a double hit. Soy is in short supply which drives the prices up and petroleum is used in some form when they create the Soy wax. You just can't squeeze a bean and get soy wax from it . As the demand for soy goes up (used in bio fuels too I think) and the price of oil goes up, so will the price of soy.

I use the astrolite V also with Low Smoke Zinc wicks and those seem to work fine for me. I only do about 10 scents in those since they don't seem to do very well compared to containers or tarts. You can get the low smoke zinc wicks here

That makes sense. Wasn't sure how to do that, but that works. Thanks for the info.

The last two boxes of J223 I used from a batch of 5 i bought did just what your describing although the scent throw is fine and no unusual mushrooming with the wicks. I buy locally to save on shipping and they have raised their prices on that wax by $20.00 a box in the past 3 months so I have decided to go back to the tried and true, but very messy, "Comfort Blend". Not going to pay that price for wax that doesn't perform like it should.

You may want to look at this website http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp They might have something that interests you.

one more question. I have been trying to figure out how to create a template to account for R & D. I know it has to be written off as an expense, but I can't figure out how to do this in a template? You don't add it to inventory since your using it, but some how I need to deduct it from inventory. It would be a pain to have to create assemblies for R & D too. How do you do it, if you don't mind sharing?

Don't be afraid to ask questions, that is how you learn. Just don't use the words "New" and "Sell" in the same sentence and you'll be just fine:D Make sure before you sell anything with a wick, that you test the sh*t out of it before even attempting to sell it to someone. Although some of the posters could use a bit more tact, they are correct when it comes to being new and jumping right into selling. In todays world people just look for the slightest excuse to sue someone and there are lawyers only happy enough to take the case. Use family and friends to test for you only after you think it's perfect. Get a test sheet made up. (lots of examples I think on the board some place) and give it, along with your tarts or candles to a family member or friend and ask them to test it for you and fill out the test sheet. Like lots of things in business, your going to sink a bunch of money into candle making before you ever see a profit and if you do, your one of the lucky ones. Do it because you like it, not for the money cause there isn't much of that to go around :undecided Good luck though

I have done one show in the spring every year for the past 3 years and Honeysuckle, Peach, and Kiwi Raspberry have been the top sellers for me.

WOW you all are slipping. Took severals posts before the attack squad unleashed it's furry As for the eco-friendly wrappers or bags. There really aren't any if you think about it. Paper products are eco-friendly in that they decay quickly, but how many trees get cut down to make those paper products? I guess it's what you think is more important, having trees or less garbage. Sorry if off topic of best way to wrap tarts. Guess the others are rubbing off on me

lol, no you didn't confuse me. I just finished with all my assemblies. Man was that a lot of work. I just got an order for a few candles off my website so I printed out a work receipt to test things out and it looks like it's going to work fine the way I have it setup. The test will be at the end of the year when I have to inventory everything and meet with the accountant. Fun fun

Are you saying you create your assemblies from the work receipts? I created all mine ahead of time so I just need to select mine from the work order or receipt and it fills in all the information. Guess it's not saving any steps doing it either way.

I'm struggling like you through this. Try this: Setup > Accounting > Inventory On that page you can set how many decimal places you want for accuracy. By setting those to 2 decimal places I was able to put in quantities of less than 1. I too use a few Depts. and lots of categories. I have a template for every item used in the manufacture of candles. it does make things easier to do later. Now just trying to figure out how to account for R&D.

If you know nothing about HTML, PHP, or Mysql, then stay away from oSCommerce and Zen Cart. Both are excellent carts and are free. They are easy to setup if your hosting company has Cpanel, (Most do). If you want to customize it or add more functionality then you will need to know some basics of HTML. PHP, and Mysql. I have just switched from osCommerce to Zen Cart. I don't know much about programming, but I have learned enough to get by. It's free too. Only need to pay for the web hosting.

Thanks for the response. I went ahead and bought the full version also. Minus the book. I can usually figure things out by messing with it for awhile, however after looking at the manufacturing side I think I should have gotten the book. Other than that I think it will work fine. I have a part time collectibles business with my bother-in-law and this works great for that. The model for collectibles is right on.

Is there a final verdict on this software? I'm not too impressed with the demo. After I closed it I can't get back in it. Had to uninstall it and reinstall. Anyone else have that problem? I'm running windows Vista home.

Thank you very much for the replies :smiley2: I ordered a couple kits to checkout CD and ECO. Will give them a try and go from there. Thanks again.

They range from 3 - 4 inches in diameter.

I have been using Low Smoke Zincs with my J223 candles for a couple years now. I have never really had any problems and never had any complaints from customers, but they don't work as well with the heavier scents. I have several scents I can't seem to get the LSZ to work with that my customers would like me to carry. I have decided to try to find a different wick that works well with J223 and heavier scents. Anyone have a suggestion on where to start? I have already tried HTP's that those are a no go. Thanks :smiley2:

It really depends on the shopping cart software you use. Mine will add a certain amount to the actual weight of the items in the cart to make up for the packaging then give an estimate of the shipping price. It's usually not off more than 25 cents either way. I give all orders a discount on shipping anyway so the difference does not matter. Figuring all shipping manually is the only way I know of to get the correct amount to charge.

The cost of shipping anything is getting ridiculous! I just dropped a container I was using and I'm going all local for my wax and jars. It's cheaper to drive 90 miles to pick the stuff up then pay to have it shipped anymore.

Since it's so soft and sticky it's a PITA to clean up. If you can stand to clean it up then it has awesome hot and cold throw and it hardly ever had wet spots for me. I don't use it anymore, but I did like it.

I use mostly Candle Science and Bitter Creek. I have no problems with either one and all the scents I have gotten from BC have been in plastic bottles. Let us know how the Coastal Scents turn out.