SoapDiva

Lil from Lyndenhouse.net is in Edmonton, she has a bazillion scents. I was just there and smelled a few apple berry/apple scents that were very true to my nose. I think that her prices are comparable when you factor in exchange and shipping.

Also, I've gotten a few of Canwax's scents (I was in Toronto in January) and I found all of them to be awesome. Not that it helps you on your quest.

Wow. You know what, I JUST got an order here, and I looked at their shipping cost on the invoice. 29 bucks, but I PAID 42.

Now I'm mad.

Honey has water in it, it dosen't play well with oils.

I experimented with using honey in some massage bars and it was a mess. It settled out. I tried liquid and clover.

As for the body butter, I would be adding more preservative, because again the water thing.

I could be wrong though. It's been known to happen.

Thanks for your reply Janette.

The people who have approached me do not have a physical store, they are planning on taking samples of my product to home parties that they hold for their other business (making jewelry) and will place orders with me as they make sales. They have little in the way of overhead and do not plan on keeping any sort of stock. They are also local, so shipping is not an issue for them. Therefore I am not offering them a wholesale option, but a large discount (like Tupperware consultants get etc).

I have a comprehensive wholesale agreement now (thanks to this board!) with tabled minimums etc, however I am stuck with this situation because their request is so odd.

I want them to be motivated to sell my products, but I don't want them to be placing 20 dollar orders here, and 10 dollar orders there, all while getting a large discount. To me that isn't worth offering the discount to them, and after a while I'll start wondering if people are doin a little personal shopping. KWIM?

Hey all!

Thanks again for all the great advice. I've been mulling over in my head about what to offer these people who approached me, and I decided to offer them a rather deep discount instead of offering wholesale pricing.

My question to you, is minimums.

Should I ask them to meet a minimum order for their first order? I'm thinking yes. Mainly because then "anyone" could come to me and say "Hey, I wanna take some of your samples to home parties, and then place orders after the fact" and just buy for their own use, or for friends. I actually know someone who already did this to me. Acted as the middle man to sell some of my product, marked up my product, then hiked the price again to a retailer. Without my permission.

What about follow up orders? Should I put a minimum on those? Or what about a time limit?

Ideas are most welcome! I meet with them tomorrow, an I'm very nervous.

When people threw money at me and badgered me into beleiving I make some awesome stuff.

It took a long time, even after I started selling to realize that yes, I do indeed make some awesome stuff.

I have a follow up question on this, that I cannot find the answer on.

I *thought* that if you are using (for instance) Pink Sugar, then you must call it Pink Sugar because it is a trademarked fragrance.

I came across a company selling their stuff at a hair salon I went to, and they named it something else. But, the fragrance was distinctively Pink Sugar.

I don't really care what they are doing, because I'm not responsible for them, but I would like to know if *I* can change the name then?

Awesome work! Isn't it a relief to get it finished?

Does it loose potency over time?

I think I may know why all the bubble bars I made suck. Even though I'm told that the recipie should give me mucho bubbles.

I'm using bubble flake that is about 2 years old, if not a bit older.

Guess I get to try the new stuff I bought eh?

Thank you guys so much, I don't feel so much like I'm wandering around in the dark!

That is so wonderful!

I keep taking over more and more of the basement. I used to be a food squirrel, stocking up on food. Now, I'm purging that to make room for my much healthier obsession.

Thanks Jennifer,

That was the first recipe I tried, but again same problem, I don't seem to get a plethora of bubbles. Maybe I expect too much?

Oops! I meant a retailers discount quote.

Can you explain how this would work? Would you offer tiered discounts? $100 in sales 10% off, 200, 15% etc?? (to make it more motivating to sell?)

Ok, makes sense then, if I were to suggest perhaps minimums. $ 200 to open an account, and 100 min for each order to get the wholesale pricing....

In the case of these ladies, they have no overhead. They operate their business from their home. They are doing home parties and want to extend their line to include B&B stuff.

IF they did have a storefront, and were going to have a large permanent display of my things, then I could see doing that then because they are putting forth more effort.

I just balk at handing over twice what I make to these ladies outright.

Ok, am I insane, or does the forumula seem a little odd?

From what I understant, you would take your "cost", double it to get your wholesale, then double it again for retail. You can assume that the retailer will be doubling the wholesale price as well eh?

Here is where I get stuck:

Lets say my item costs me 1.50 to make, I wholesale it for $3.00, and I sell it retail for 6. I can also assume that the wholesaler will retail it for 6 as well.

I made 1.50 on it, but the retailer makes $3.00.

IMO, this is not a fair arrangement.

My husband suggests that I deduct my "cost" from my retail price. So, I would wholesale it for $4.50.

For this particular group I am looking at, they do not have a storefront, they have no overhead. So, personally I feel that I should offer a discount instead.

Any advice would be appreciated!

I wondered if that was the issue. Like antibiotics eh? One for each icky. LOL!

Thanks!

I've been experimenting with bubble bars, and I've found a simple recipe, but it still dosen't seem to give me a ton of bubbles.

We have soft water, so this shouldn't be a problem. I get longevity from the bubbles, which I am very happy with (as in, it can survive a bath with a three year old for close to an hour). However, I kinda expect a TON of bubbles. I get about half a bathtub full.

Here is the recipe:

1/2 teaspoon liquid glycerin

2 teaspoons propylene glycol

1/2 cup (60 grams) Bubble Bath Flake (sodium laurel sulfoacetate)

Suggestions? Ideas?

Why do some lotion base makers use several preservatives?

I've been researching the ingredients in the base I use (KY Candles) and noticed that they use three.

Why?

I was advised to store mine in the freezer as they can go "off" on you. However I do not know the shelf life.

40/42 holds the best in CP soap.

I think for me its the "what can I do with it and how will it smell" factor.

My husband dosen't know it yet, but I have 5 more FOs coming in the mail.

I love you.

I like that I'm not crazy either.

I DID do a search on here.

No, it wasn't that long ago. I remember reading it and thinking I should copy it onto my drive. But then, I have a 9 month old that gets up twice a night, so I could have drempt it all. LOL!

I could have SWORN that there was a thread on here stickied with wholesale tips on it.

I've searched and searched. Honestly!

Today I got a phone call by a small, local business who makes and sells beaded jewelry (home based). They want to extend their business to include b&b products.

They want to take samplers of my products to parties and place orders from me. Wholesale.

Most of the money that I make comes from home parties, it can be very lucrative, however that is one thing I HATE doing (especially the phone calls, like I'm begging them to have a party....ack!). I'd frankly rather be at home making the stuff.

Scratch that, I do love craft shows and farmers markets, I love to talk to people about my stuff, what I do not like is the going into peoples homes and "expecting them to buy it". Out here, there is a mentality of "I'll go to your party if you come to mine". So, for me this is very uncomfortable. I've garnered the reputation where people hunt me down for my goodies.

Advice? Point me in the direction of that damn thread if it indeed exists beyond my sleep deprived imaginings.