savedbygrace06

Thank you all so much for all of the help. I am going to check out these sites that you all have given to me. You know, I never thought that after three plus years of making and selling candles, I would end up having to start completely over again in business. But, hopefully I'm starting over the right way this time. :highfive: Thanks again!

I am afraid that I may have been figuring wrong on my pricing calculations all these years for my container candles and was wondering how others figure their pricing. I know the rule of thumb is usually 2X cost for wholesale and 3-4X times cost for retail. The question is, how do you figure your cost? Also, do you charge double, triple or quadruple your cost on the containers that you use? And then again, do you include your shipping charges on your supplies in your cost? I used to make apothecary jar candles and but I must have been cutting myself short on them because I just can't seem to get the pricing to come out reasonably now. These types of jars are my favorites and my customers really liked them as well, however now I just can't seem to justify the price I would have to sell them at. I also want to get into wholesale more but I don't want to cut myself short on that either. Any and all help on this is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

What would you all consider to be better? Mini-muffin tarts or clamshell tarts? I am considering changing from one to the other but I would like as much feedback as possible before making my decision. Thank you!

When I first started out on the web, I went with Prim Mart (www.primmart.com). They run you $20 a month for their DIY webstores but it was worth the extra money to get the exposure since I was just starting out. Once I got going though, I then decided to go with www.WAHMShoppes.com because it was the same hosting service that Prim Mart uses but it was only $7.00 a month. You get everything you need with them, even premade website templates if you want to use them. You can also upload your own graphics.

Hello, I love Golden Brand waxes. I used EcoSoya CB before but I like my 415 and 464 the best. I've heard good things about Cargill wax also but never used it. As for fragrances, you can check out the Soy F/O listing that is at the beginning of this board for f/o that work well in soy.

For a good Cinnamon scent, I use Cinnamon Sticks and/or Red Hot Cinnamon from Millcreek and TCS, and they both work well in soy. HTH

Hello, I happen to love Spring Rain. I personally do not think that it is florally or perfumy, just a very fresh and clean scent, and people love it. Some other names that suppliers have for this scent that I have seen and used are China Rain and Morning Dew. HTH

I know that Millcreek sells it but I'm not sure what it's like. Never used it. You can also just do a google search for it and see what comes up. That's what I do ... .

I don't have a name suggestion but that sounds like quite an odd and interesting combo. It really does small good? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

The best sugar cookie that I've tried is Millcreek's Gourmet Sugar Cookie. My ex-sister in law can't get enough of it. HTH

I only ever had one guy purchase candles from me and he pretty much liked whatever I gave him. LOL I know that's not much help but I'm sure that men like variety as much as us ladies . As for my dh, after 3+ years of my candlemaking, he doesn't like much of anything anymore. I've stunk him out one too many times ... LOL

I don't color anymore but when I did, I used to use Balsam Green for anything like that. HTH

Some of my top Fall scents are: Caramel Apple Cin-Nilla (my own blend) Cinnamon Sticks French Vanilla Harvest Spice Orange Clove Pumpkin Spice Vanilla Hazelnut Mocha (or any other coffee scent)

I have heard this as well but I wouldn't know how much Crisco to add to your candles. Like twocentsworth said ... it's all a matter of testing, testing, testing. I wonder if you could add it to soy wax? I'm sure it wouldn't make much of a difference since they are both veggie waxes, right?

Amen! If we wanted to be as good as the "name brand" companies, then we would do what they do. By going above and beyond what the big guys I think shows that we care about our customers personally more than their money. We are still able to price our products competitively or below market value and we also show that we care what our customers are using in their homes and that they are getting the absolute most and best for their money!

Dawn, Thanks for the info and I agree, I can't stand doing the "party" thing with the games, etc. But I should have been more specific and I'm sorry that I wasn't, but when I say "parties", I am actually meaning Open Houses which is the same as your Boutique idea. I just set the days and hours and people can come in and look around and see what they want and buy and leave. Just like if they were shopping in a store. I have advertised Open Houses many times in my area and no one has ever showed up. It's quite frustrating. Maybe I'm just not putting enough effort into the advertising. I don't know. At any rate, I have decided to give it another go and run a Holiday Open House the first two weekends in December in my home. Only this time, I've decided to open up my home to a few crafters from the area that would be interested in setting up at no charge, in exchange for advertising the Open House to attract more prospective buyers. As I said, I am not charging them anything to set up and be there, but I do require they be present on the days that they choose to set up their table. Kind of like a vendor or craft show in my home only free (for the vendors of course ... LOL). What do you think? I would like to hold it sooner than December but unfortunately, I can't because (1) I need to get the $$$ together to get the supplies to make up my stock as I also do soaps and lotions; and (2) my daughter is expecting her first child (my frist grandchild) November 17th so I am keeping the entire month of November free just in case and I have her shower next month so I'm going to short on $$$. Therefore, the first two weekends in December seem to be the best I can come up with. Hopefully, people will be looking for last minute gifts . Let me know how your Boutique idea goes and if and when you are going to hold one. I would love to know how you made out!!! Thanks again!

Hey Missy, Thanks so much for your input. I will check out some of these places that you have mentioned. I already know about Snowtop. I also sent you a PM.

Oh, one more thing. I work in a very small office and I am the youngest girl in the office, and I am 41. LOL They know that I make candles and I've even test burned candles in here and they've given me their feedback but they've never asked to purchase any. I've even given them a brochure. Oh well. I find that older people are not much on candles. I don't know why. Maybe it's just me but seems like that is the case around here anyway. There is also something else that I could try and that is candle routes. I could take my lunch hour and go to offices in this area where I work and leave brochures and samples. However, that is out of my comfort zone but I think in order to make this a success, I'm going to have to step out of my comfort zone as someone has already stated.

Well, you have all given me an enormous amount of information on this subject and I can't thank you enough. To answer some of your questions though, I have asked repeatedly for family and friends to have candle parties and while some will say they will, others will evade the subject like the plague. Then the ones that say they will, never follow through. It's been like that with variuos party plans that I've tried over the past 20 years. No one that I know ever wants to have parties for some odd reason. Maybe that are just not "party" people. My ex-sister in law is the only one that has had a candle party and she has also taken my products to work with her at other times and done pretty well at selling them. I've hosted my own parties and other than the very first one that I held three years ago, no one has ever really showed up. I sent out invites to every single person that I knew. Family members, friends, neighbors, you name it and still nothing. I am starting to take it personally ... LOL. I also tried advertising parties to the people in my area, even my neighbors, and still nothing. Last year at this time, I did get orders from the teachers and staff at my daughter's elementary school but no reorders. I can't believe it would be because of the product quality. I am always getting great feedback and my prices are actually below other candlemakers in the area. I also took fundraising packets to all the schools in the area and took some samples to my daughter's school and got some orders that way. I also give her teachers candles each holiday. Now when I was able to do all this, I wasn't working full time so I had time to do all that, which is another problem. I work full time now and don't have as much to devote to getting my name out there. I also had a website for a couple of years. While I did not do bad on the internet, between shipping and the amount of time that I spent getting my site noticed and thus my products, it wasn't even worth it to me. A personal tragedy a little over a year ago made the final decision for me to give up the internet and I do not want to go that route again. I don't have time to promote my site and I don't have the money to have someone else do it. As for parties, someone asked me what I offer as hostess incentives. I currently offer 20% total party sales in free merchandise plus $10 merchandise credit for each booking, with a minimum $100 show. They also get a free candle just for having a party no matter if it's $100 or not. I thought that was pretty generous. What do you think? Like I said, I tried the fundraising thing also and never got any responses. I wasted so many samples and so much time on that with no results. I may have to check into the craft shows and get more feedback on that avenue as well. I feel like I've been beating my head against the wall for the past 3+ years with this business but I can't seem to let it go. I've almost thrown in the towel so many times, but I just can't do it. I guess candlemaking is in my blood now ... LOL.

I have to put my two cents in here because I happen to use 10% f/o load myself and would feel as if I was ripping off my customers if I used less. I pay anywhere between $13 and $16 per pound for my f/o's depending, obviously, on where they are from and I am extremely picky about my candles. I am still able to keep my prices reasonable and competitive and, in fact, I think I may be lower than some competitors in my pricing. I also use GB415 and GB464 soy wax without additives or coloring. But, even when I used to make paraffin and parasoy candles, I used a 10% fragrance load. Unless I want to pay $25-$30 a pound for f/o to be able to use the standard 6% per pound, which I DON'T, I will always stick with 10% f/o load because my customers have come to expect and deserve it. I mean no offense to anyone that uses a lower f/o load in their products. It is a personal choice and my personal choice and the choice of my customers happens to be that I use 10% and nothing less. I have a booth in a county store in town and I have been told that people will buy a pack of my tarts and then come back a few hours later or the next day to get another pack because they just love the fact that one of my tarts scents almost their whole house. So will I stick with 10%, you betchya!

You mean like craft shows? I am kind of afraid to get into those because of the cost and the amount of candlemakers already there. If you are meaning something else, please let me know. Maybe you mean church bazaars or school flea markets?? I have not gotten into these. I know this might sound like a stupid question, but how would I find out about these? I've tried to hold open houses at my own home and posted at local grocery stores and put signs out, etc. but had little success.

We have a local Yahoo group for selling things. I've tried to use that to sell my products, but we have a lot of candle people in this area as well and everyone else was doing it and then it got to the point where the moderators of the group were not allowing candle posts or limiting them. It's becoming saturated in my opinion between candlemakers and now certain candle party plans and MLM companies are cropping up all over the place too. It's quite frustrating. I'm doing pretty well in my consigment shop. The owner is only allowing myself and one other candlemaker in there so as not to saturate her store and to keep it fair for us. I don't know what the problem is. I'm not a good sales person. I always feel as if I'm bugging people or pushing myself and my product on them and I know that this is because I can't stand sales people myself ... LOL ... but I have to be one and I'm having a hard time with that. LOL I have heard of candle routes and that they can be very lucrative but it's that "selling" thing again.

There are many options for both paid and free website optimization and submission. If you search for "free website submission", you will come up with a whole bunch of sites that are easy and free that will submit yourself for nothing more than a reciprocal link on your website. A good paid submission site is www.craftbizpromotion.com. There are also many more. Of course, the more traffic that you can get to your site, the better you will do in the engines as well. You can try link exchanges and top site lists as well to get your site noticed. You could also search for "website optimization and submission course" and see what comes up. I know there is a few free courses that teach you to do this yourself which of course is going to save you money. Of course, you need time to be able to devote to this. At any rate, if you choose to do submissions yourself, you will need to remember to do it often (no more than once a month though). HTH!

I can't seem to get any local customers or any one to have a candle party other than my ex-sister in law and the last one she had was three years ago. I do have a booth at a consignment store in town here and I also have a wholesale account with an exclusive Irish Celtic specialty store in another town not far from where I live. But I just can't seem to get any local retail customers and I do not want to go onto the web. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas on different ways of marketing my products, I would appreciate your input. Thanks in advance for your help.

I've had a lot of feedback from you great folks here on this board as to certain suppliers that I have asked about. But what I really want to know ... bottom line ... is what are the best KICK-BUTT, KILLER fragrances that will have a knock-your-socks-off hot and cold throw in GB415 and 464??? If you could let me know the scents and where they come from, I would be so very appreciative. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! :yay: :yay: