BLSoaps

All I know is that I am so glad I'm across the country from them and have never been tempted to order from them. I hate it when I get hooked on a wonderful FO or product, then have to suffer through crappy customer service to actually get it again down the road.

I, too, have the HP 2600n, and love it! There are a few quirks to work around, like having to feed my label paper in through the outside port (and printing on the transparency setting) for them to print clearly. But that's minor compared to the quality of printing I get. My biggest pet peeve is that the outside port doesn't pull my label sheets through perfectly straight all the time. So I have to use full sized sheets, and then trim to size. Since I've been doing this for years, it's not too big of a deal, but it would have been nice to use precut labels from some of my more frequently used sizes. Oh well... I'm pretty fast with my paper cutter these days.

I used Constant Contact for a while and really liked them. They have a free 30 or 60 day trial period. It used to also allow a free list up to 50 (or 100?) subscribers, but they just took that away. Now they charge $15.00/month up to 250 subscribers. Then they go up depending on the number of your subscriber list. My other 'issue' with them is I had to have two completely separate lists. One for my retail site, and one for my supply site. I don't mind my customers for my supply site knowing about my retail site. But I didn't want my retail site to know about my supply site. The last thing those customers need to know is that they can buy a gallon of my lotion for $20.00, the same thing they're paying $5.50 for a 4oz bottle. Yeah...not good. So I had to have two completely different accounts from them. Didn't make me real happy when they started charging for the smaller accounts. But if $15/month is okay for you (it was for me if I only had to pay it once but I had to pay $15 for one account, and whatever the next level up was for the other), then they're a good company. They have easy to use html based programs. Decent templates, good flexibility within those templates (the ability to change some visual basics). I've always preferred the newsletters that are html based, rather than simply text. Especially when selling something as visual as soaps or candles. Another company I looked into for a while was Vertical Response. You pay per e-mail you send out. So you multiply your list by how often you send out. So if you have 200 customers, and you mail twice a month, you're charged for 400 mailings. They seemed like a good company, I just wasn't as impressed with their templates. I'm trying out a new company now. Again html based e-mails. Now I need to find a link..... Express E-Mail Marketing. They're prices are much nicer Constant Contact. The templates are decent. Nothing amazing, but I haven't had any e-mail marketing set up for several months now, ever since CC jumped their prices, and I needed something back in place. Okay, I can't find a direct link to anything but my actual stuff. I'm sure you could do a search for Express EMail Marketing and have them come up. It's a service through Internet Based Moms. They'll try to pitch you on a ton of other things, but hey, that's practically expected nowadays! I'm testing it on my retail site right now. I've sent myself a test e-mail, and it seemed nice. It was easy to put together, and came to my inbox (not my junk folder like many do). I was happy with it. I'll probably install it on my supply site next week. I just need to get through my weekend first. Oh, with the higher versions, you also get survey capabilities. I'm excited about that for down the road! If you just need text (no pictures, nothing fancy), holler, and I can send you to a place that has some other companies listed. Okay, that was long enough, but hey, you asked for opinions! You definitely got them! LOL!

I'm not sure about it being at Walmart, but I know the drug stores like Walgreens carry them. They're 1 oz tubes, intended as a final use product, not an ingredient to use in something else. It's been years since I bought any this way, but back then they looked like big lip balm tubes, bright yellow. In with the lotions. (ps, thanks for the recommendations!)

I"m not sure. I kept thinking about what to recommend to put in. You don't want something that will disappear, or blend too much into the color scheme. Something that still pops, but coordinates with the color palette better than the pink did.... Unfortunately, my tired brain doesn't want to come up with any suggestions tonight.

I thought the site was beautifully done. The pictures are excellent. The layout is nice and friendly. I'd love to see a wonderful product photo displayed on the home page, but I bet you have that in the works already! I only had one thing that seemed a little off to me. All the pictures of the candles and melts were done in pink. Now I love pink! Too much! I usually have to force myself away from my Red & Pink colorants when I'm making soap, because I love making pink soaps. Anyway... I'd have loved to have seen a variety of colors used in the candle pictures. If you're wanting to stay consistent with the color, I'd recommend something that compliments the site's colors a little better. The pink, to me at least, wasn't the best color choice to blend with the site on a whole. But everything else was fabulous! I can't wait to see how it all looks when it's completely done! So be sure to let us know!

I'm pretty sure her soap boxes are a new product. But most companies that carry soap boxes have a similar kind of a style. The oval cut out is only on one side. The other side of the box is mostly likely fully enclosed, allowing for a larger label to be used there. The opening on the side is to allow customers to see and smell. I've never seen anyone label this side of the box. I have seen some people create a custom stamp that stamps around the oval opening, and it was really cute, but never a label. I'd go nuts trying to cut out the ovals. I'd never do it, at least not for long! LOL! I ordered my boxes from KB, and used one of the address labels on the end flaps, the one that comes 30 to a sheet. Then I custom cut labels for the other sides. I haven't used boxes in a while though. I always found at least one dimensions is always off enough (too big) that the soap bounces around in the box. I'm a perfectionist though , and have since accepted the fact that if I ever go back to boxing my soaps (which I've seriously been debating for the last year), I'll get the boxes custom made to fit my soaps perfectly. Not to pull anyone away from Tammy's soap boxes. She's always delivered top notch products, and whenever I pass out company recommendations, she's always at the top of the list!

I've never used my log mold without a liner, but I know that my log molds are screwed together. I suspect they're also glued together, along with the screws, but you could try. You may just have to totally trash the soap to get it out. If rebatching isn't your style (it certainly isn't mine), you can always chunk it up, or confetti it and use it in a new batch. There are ALWAYS options. PS - at a quick glance, I thought your thread subject said "Soap Sucks" Oops... need more caffeine, or at least more sleep. Has anyone seen my clone? She ran off, and I really need her back. My laundry is piling up while I make soaps and lotions....

I've done a Private School Show before, and it went over very well. I'd say go for it! Just make sure you've got plenty of gift type appeal, gift baskets, things like that.

I also like the 'lumpy' tops on my bars. I keep a stash of bamboo skewers close at hand when I'm making soap just to play with my tops after I pour them. Beveled edges never looked right with these. Back when I was beveling, I usually shaved the tops off, then beveled the edges. I loved that look as well, but it produced soooo much waste. Yes, I could have confettied it for another batch of soap, but I rarely did. So between lots of excess scraps that usually ended up tossed, and the time it took away, I just took to polishing up my bars, but not beveling them.

See if this helps you price things out a little better. I've always found the double, triple your costs thing to not be quite adequate when you're getting ready to do wholesale. As for the store owner doubling what you sell it for (you sell it to him for $5.00, and he doubles it and sells it for $10), that's standard. http://www.soapersworkshop.com/store/index.php?page=Product%20Pricing%20Formula But the formula will help you show the areas in which you may want to look into cutting your costs (labor, ingredients cost, etc). Once you know what exactly is making your product price sky high, you're often able to tweak things to work on bringing those prices down a little. But NEVER undercut yourself. Make sure you're paid and paid well. You're making a quality unique product, and deserve to be paid well for it.

She also never sleeps. She IMs me about 8 or 9 am HER time, and talks about needing to finally dragging herself off to bed! LOL! Not that I can really talk right now.....

Rule of thumb when it comes to collecting sales tax. If the product is bought by someone residing in your state, you collect sales tax for those purchases. I live in Utah. If Jane in Salt Lake City buys my soaps, I will charge her sales tax. If she then refers me to her sister who lives in California, and SHE buys stuff, the sister is NOT charge sales tax. Now the exception to the state sales tax rule. If Jane in SLC owns a store, and she provides me with her tax id number, she is then exempt from being charged sales tax. I provide all my Utah suppliers with my tax id number so they waive the taxes. And again, all that said, you can have a wholesale account, and still collect tax on it. It's very very unusual, but I've got one. I've got an international account for my lip balms. But the buyer (our go between person) resides in Utah. When I approached him about taxes (I need paperwork regarding their tax id) he said he wanted to pay it. He'd rather play it safe, pay me state taxes, than risk having me get in trouble with the government. I decided not to fight him on it. So I treat him more like a regular customer who gets bulk discounts instead of a wholesale customer. Okay, I hope that all made sense. I'm going to bed now!

A big thank you to those who have supported me (and understood what I was trying to say!)! I do love this group! It's such a major addiction! Speaking of which, I REALLY need to go make this soap! My oils are just about the perfect temp now!

Obviously my first thread wasn't read with anywhere near the intent I intended it, and I apologize. In sharing my experience I was empathizing with Inez. We ALL have run across customers that make us want to pull our hair out. Whether we're selling the final products (like most on here), or selling the ingredients or bases to make those products, we still have customers, and sometimes we get customers that make us want to scream. That will ALWAYS be the case. If I had named names or any kind of identifying details, I would agree that would have been inappropriate, but I didn't. To answer some of the questions that have come through since that post, yes I am a registered supplier on CT. My ID was listed as a supplier until I added an avatar, and then, for some reason unbeknownst to me, my thingie changed to say "Enigma". I never really worried about it, and I've always done my best to follow all the rules set down for suppliers on this board. About 99% of my customers are angels. I love them. And I'm guessing this is how it is for just about everyone here. But if you're in business long enough, you'll have a customer that comes along that asks for everything under the sun and more, and they expect you to provide it, even if you don't. Years ago, before I was a supplier, it usually was a request for a specific scent in a lotion. And I'd often go out, order in a 1 or 2 oz bottle of FO, pay shipping on it, make a bottle of lotion for the customer, and then the FO will sit on the shelf and sometimes never be touched again. In those cases, I actually LOST money. Sometimes the customer came back, and ordered more stuff in the scent, and I was able to recoup the money I'd sunk into the new FO, but not always. And I did things like this for years. I'd spend more money to fill a special request than I made on the actual sale. When I sell a $5.00 bottle of lotion, but spend $3.00 for the FO, and $4-6 on the shipping, well, anyone can see that's not good business practice. I've grown a lot in my business practices, and in my postings in this thread, I simply wanted to pass on a little of what I've learned, and hope that someone else could learn from some of my mistakes. As for 'ranting about customers', I didn't honestly intend what I said as a rant. My experience with that customer is long past, but I shared the small details that I did so that I could explain the changes in my business that we decided to implement (ie, limiting the number of special requests that we take on). My empathizing with Inez, and trying to offer some advice, well, it was construed as ranting about this customer (and customers in general). That was never my intent, and I apologize if it came off with that impression. But I will say this.... if you're in business, and you have never felt the desire to rant about a customer, then I envy you, and I hope your good luck holds. I imagine most of us here have had at least one customer that we could complain about. I do hope the hostility will end. I never intended any hostility to ever come forth from any of this, and I hope I haven't contributed to any of it either. If anyone feels the need to continue any of this, please PM me and take it off list.

Don't worry about the things Sliver says. I'm used to her going off on all kinds of uncalled for rants. If she had read my post a little more carefully (which I'm used to her not doing), she would have taken it in the vein it was intended. I love my customers and treat them very well, which MANY MANY MANY people on this board can vouch for. But there are always customers which will push as many boundaries as they possibly can, like the customer that this thread was originally started over. As small business owners, we are often taken advantage of by customers like this because we allow it. We often bend over backwards for them, doing things we normally never would do, simply because we didn't want to turn any business at all away. I simply stated, well, maybe not so simply, that if we want to stay sane in our business, and run our businesses well (rather than let our businesses run us), we all need to learn to say no. Sliver, if you have not ever needed to say 'no' to a customer, then either you don't have a lot of business, or your business is running you. I'm approached constantly with requests that are outside what I normally offer. Organic Bases, Preservative Free Lotions, Goats Milk Lotions. At the beginning, other than the preservative free requests (I never have and never will ever budge on this for lotions), I still took on these requests. And every time I did, the stress was overwhelming. I had to order specialty ingredients in, which made my turn around times sometimes unusually long. I constantly had my customers asking where there orders were. Sometimes I had to wait on other suppliers being late on getting ingredients to me. It was a mess. My stress levels were through the roof. After the incident with my one especially trying customer, which also unfortunately coordinated with our move, and several other personal issues that were adding to my stress, we debated closing down both our businesses. I was so stressed out that I no longer was enjoying what I was doing. And I LOVE making lotion, soap, and other B&B stuff. But at that moment, I hated it. My business was running me, not me running my business. So when I sat down with my husband, we completely re-evaluated everything in our businesses, and figured out exactly where we had gone wrong. And very simply, it was taking on requests that were outside of what we normally offered as a company. Like the Organic Bases and Goats Milk Lotion. We grandfather claused in all previous customers. If they had ordered one of these bases from us before, we would keep making it for them. But new requests would be turned down, and they would be referred to other companies that we trusted would be able to take care of them better than I could. Very simply, I learned the power of saying no. I do not have to accept every possible bit of business that drifted my way. Sometimes, I am not the best company to provide what my 'customers' are looking for. By doing this, limiting my scope of products to what I'm best at, I know I'm giving my customers the best product possible. And I'm saving my own sanity at the same time. Do customers drive me crazy? Every once in a while, yeah, they do. But nowadays it's a very good crazy, because the products that I've decided to limit myself to, and specialize in, well, they're selling so fast that I'm going crazy to keep up. That's a good kind of crazy. And I'll take that kind of crazy any day. I love my customers, and I go above and beyond to give them the best service possible. WITH THE THINGS THAT I SPECIALIZE IN. If it's outside what I offer, unless it's something we're planning on adding soon (like an order for an emulsified scrub base recently, which we're hoping to add after she does some testing with her own customer base), I thank them for their interest, politely turn them down, and direct them to someone who can hopefully be a better fit for them than I am. I will never be a supplier for everyone, and I don't want to be. I like the niche I'm in. If you still think I'm being rude to my customers, I'm sorry that you're completely misinterpreting what I've said here today.

I USED to bevel. As a user of the soaps, I prefer the beveled edges. The first few times in the shower, those edges can be a little rough. But they smooth out quickly enough. I now do NOT bevel. For me, it was a time factor issue. We're trying to wholesale our soaps more than retail, and the labor time it added was astronomical. So we cut it out of our soap making process. I still bevel my dad's soaps, cuz he asked me to though!

I have two sites... Supply Site (and how most of you know me) http://www.soapersworkshop.com/ Retail Site http://www.blsoaps.com/ I think I'm able to make them secret pal friendly, but I haven't had a chance to look into that.... Sharon?

Oh! I can so totally feel for you! I had a customer like this earlier this year. After cutting them loose after a very nasty ending, my husband sat me down, and we had a very long chat about how I did business. I was so determined to bend over backwards for every single customer, and with every single totally out there request, that I was killing myself. My stress levels were through the roof, I was falling behind because this one overbearing customer was taking up so much of my time. It was just ugly. But offering custom lotion bases, I felt like I had to. Well, now I offer superior customer service, but I do limit the special requests. I have a list of ingredients that can be chosen from when creating a custom lotion. I now stick to that list. With this previous customer, by the time they were done 'creating' their lotion, I don't think I had a single oil that normally was offered through my site. Yeah, talk about stress. There are some customers that will just walk all over you if you let them. While my overall experience with my customer was difficult, what I learned from it was priceless, and therefore worth it to me as a business person. I've felt more comfortable telling potential customers 'no, I don't work with those ingredients', and pass them along to someone who does. I may be loosing out on small quantities of business, but my stress levels are so much more manageable. I'm running two businesses by myself, both of them fairly busy, and still running all the normal life stuff (kids, house cleaning, etc) as well. Basically, I learned to fight for my products (which are damn good, if I say so myself! LOL!), to stand up for them when people try to push me and my business around. We may not be the biggest company out there, but that doesn't mean people can take advantage of us. By the way, good for you for giving him a deadline! It's not your fault he can't get his act together. But most of all, I learned I can say no. Sometimes things/projects simply aren't right for me at a certain time. I don't have to take every little bit of business along the way. Some simply are out of my specialty (like GM lotion. It scares the crap out of me! LOL!), and those projects are better for other people. Okay, I'm done with my own little rant! LOL! I think you've been incredibly understanding with him. Good for you for putting your foot down with a deadline. If he doesn't make it, it's his own fault, not yours.

That is so exciting! I love it when good things happen to one of us!!! We so deserve it!!! Doing a happy dance for you!!! *super banana*

Woo Hoo! :whoohoo: THANK YOU BOTH!!! I'm excited! I've got something possibly huge on this group along with another member (wink wink, you know who you are!), and this is definitely a tool we'll need to keep us sane! *super banana*:party::highfive: (I'm just a little happy and excited.... can you tell? )

I was watching Iron Chef with my husband the other night, and their surprise ingredient was citrus. I kept watching and thinking of all kinds of fun things I could borrow for soap making. I really want some blood oranges now. Those things were COOL!

I actually use my pomegranate flavor oil in all kinds of B&B products! My sister in law LOVES it in lotion! So while lip balm flavor oils can be used in B&B applications, that doesn't mean that Fragrance Oils can be used for lip balms. Different requirements. Basically, they need to be edible, very low irritating, things like that. And not all flavor oils hold up in B&B. I lost my supplier for the most fabulous Vanilla FO a while ago. And in my attempts to find a replacement, I tried out my Vanilla Flavor Oil in soap. Bad idea. Seized horribly. Shows they're not all made alike, but for very specific applications.

I went to his Etsy page to see if I could find an e-mail. I don't know if I'm just missing it, but I was hoping to find a way of contacting him without needing to do this! Hey TOG Man! (Paul, isn't it???) I'm hoping to get some quotes on some cutters, one will be a custom order. Please feel free to PM me or e-mail me at lindsay@soapersworkshop.com. THANKS!!!

I did notice, but I was being discreet (or at least trying to be.... the powers that be get picky about self promotion!). I'm glad they're doing so well for you though! I love the labels. I like the simple elegant labels, but I also love color. Getting a good balance of both can be difficult. I'm probably going to have Jadryga play around with some things as part of a trade. She's done some gorgeous things. I love my logos, but I'm not always the best and transferring them into labels.