This thread has been immensely helpful and informative, but it got me to thinking. I am realtively new to making candles for sale (still largely for friends and family right now as I work out technique and process and what my niche will be, but I do have a boutique lined up and can't wait till I star celling to the public!). But a couple of things come to mind in addition to whether the candle is produced with the right wax and/or soy blend with additives and proper wick size etc.; whoever believes that Americans actually read instructions better go back to the alter and pray for guidance.. In addition improper wick trimming and extended burn time. but how often have you gone into someone's home or seen a lighted candle display with the candles in direct sunlight, near some sort of radiating heat source, or just a plain old hot room (90 degrees+). Then to add insult to energy, how many of these candles get burned in a draft free home? Central heat/air and window AC units will create a draft sufficent to effect candle burning qualities even when clear acrossed the room (which can cause problems with both soot, muchrooming, blowouts (even when dipped with a higher melt point coating). We do have a responsibility to produce the best and safest candles possible, but we cannot be accountable for customers ignorance when we present the proper guidelines. I also think some of the marketing descriptions regarding the blackening of container sides or buildup mushrooms are greater marketing ploys/techniques to manage customer expectations. It does excuse poor quality by any means, but does explain would could happen do variables that are sometimes beyond our control to totally resolve. Forgive my wordiness, I just get going some times, especially when it comes to the lack of common sense exibited by our customers. We can't take ownership for that. (Kind of makes you think of the Serenity prayer!) Josh