doglover

I have used J50 for years (9+) and have always had to do a repour.

I get the magazine, but refuse to pay that price for the advertising. Seems like a lot of the receivers of the mag are candlemakers themselves. Guess I made a good choice on this one!

Just MHO but I would not pay that price unless you got a LOT of stuff you are not mentioning--and especially in today's market. I find that I can develop my own formulations with newer ingredients much cheaper than what some people price their businesses at. And I have been burned very badly by purchasing people's bath n body stuff AND fragrance/essential oils (even on this board!)....which has gone bad. I have purchased many businesses, and tend to stick with purchasing the equipment, only if it is a "steal"....If it is a "pricey" piece, then perhaps buying new w/ warranty would be better. I also don't buy any oils or essential oils or body items from classies or other businesses....as these items tend to be dated and can go bad (and often do when businesses "sit" for awhile.) Again just my opinion. You need to decide what works best for you and your situation. Good luck. you will know when you figure it out!

Nice letter....LOL I must regretfully say I was burned on this....and I actually checked on this person's YouTube reviews she had done on other companies/products! So now I never give out samples to "cold requests," but instead occasionally do "Customer Freebie" contests and ask for their review/testimonials either on my website or Facebook page. I have had much more success (and increased sales) using this method. Not to mention my customers like it! HTH

Since I sell online and at shows, I label everything. As far as "duds" I donate them and other items (changed fragrance, glassware, etc) to a local animal shelter resale shop.

I use a polypro bag with hang hole already in it and make my own labels to stick to the package. Works like a charm and very time and cost saving.

Every year at this time I post on my homepage my summer shipping schedule. I only ship at the beginning of a week and only UPS or USPS Priority. If the beginning of the week is too hot and they are a 4-5 day shipping zone, then they wait until the next week. I also followup with an email as well. I have not yet had a customer say "send it anyway!" I have also found that packing peanuts helps with keeping the coolness in. I shipped a bag of melts to someone which took a couple of days and when received they said they were very well intact. So just an FYI.

Shipping has become freakin' ridiculous!!! I try to pay all bills/orders online, can't see paying the stamp fee. As long as my customers will pay the shipping costs, I will continue to ship.

I sold, well hardly sold, any incense and found it not to be worth the time, etc, when my other items (wickless, melts, candles, oils) sell much better. I sell at arts & crafts venues.

...and they had misspelled words! LOL

We used to make our own ceramic warmers. Here are some that maybe you are looking for: http://www.klockit.com/depts/Sockets,Cords,Switches,Plugs/dept-276.html or here: http://www.nationalartcraft.com/categoryB.asp?gid=1&cid=1 HTH

LOL....great marketing!

Use a hair dryer on them briefly and the bloom is gone (for awhile.) Can also wipe them....but I find a hair dryer much more effective and quicker.

I make my own bags using shrink wrap film (bulk) from nationalshrinkwrap.com. I shrink wrap my soap, melts, misc. packages, etc. of all sizes. I can "seal" the wrap to whatever size I need using an impulse sealer and use heat gun to seal up tight. On the rounded items, it doesn't always seal smooth, but it works and looks nice. hth

I had an experience where my DH wanted to assist me in the dungeon. However, his sense of smell is pretty much non-existent. He topped pomegranate with peach....and who knows what else. It ended up being a great seller (once we named it) and people were asking for more. (And yes, he "glowed!") I have concocted many other fragrances which have turned out fine. One of my stinkiest ones (IMO) has turned into my BIGGEST seller. I had to remember how I came up with it, as it was purely an accident!

When selling at a busy show, keep in mind you have no control over the overall setup of the show or the aisle size. So set up your booth accordingly. We all know when there is a few people at a booth, others want to see cuz human beings are naturally nosey. So set up your booth to accommodate "a crowd" of nosey, potential shoppers. I have even purchased additional spaces at busy shows to be able to accommodate increased number of shoppers. I also bring extra workers, as people don't usually like to stand around in a line waiting....and you can lose impulse buys pretty quick if people have to wait and think. And at busy shows I don't plan to shop at all. I save that for my weekends off. HTH

Hell yes!!! The busier the better!!

We order wicks by the thousands and they come packed/shipped in a box. I cannot imagine a cost effective way to "neatly" pack wicks. We use our wicks in votives, jars, etc. and do not use wick pins. We have no problems straightening our wicks.

Just color them and mold them like you would scented ones just without adding the fragrance.

I have rescented aroma beads with no problems.

Try spraying the clamshells with some silicone spray before pouring. That helps with wax release with plastic molds, seems it would do the same for clamshells.

When it is high humidity and high temps, I don't ship. However, that is usually only one week out of the summer. I have found that packing peanuts help to insulate the candles. I have had customers tell me their candles arrived fine and intact in the hot summer months. So when I ship, I use packing peanuts and the fastest shipping method (usually USPS). HTH

I also had some OBI warmers that emitted that nasty smell. I no longer trust them. They are pretty cheaply made and poor quality IMO so I removed them from my inventory and got rid of them pronto! Good luck!

Stonehenge (BCN) is fabulous! I sell lots of it in candle form, too.

I use the liquid. I can blend my own colors that way. (And I am a klutz, too!) But as you can tell from the replies, it is a personal preference. Good luck!!