clane

Back to the faith thing honestly. I started making candles the old fashioned way 20 years ago. Took a hiatus and came back 2 years ago. Honestly, the way I look at it is that for 2 years I have honored every freebie asked for and right now, even though it was sparked by a freebie posting, I honestly believe even non-candle lovers can be converted, just by a blessed product arriving when it said it would. Nieve, maybe. Exercise in faith..., yeah. Gotta run with it. I truly have faith in what has happened. Gosh, I know I sound like dumby, but, not how I sense/believe in my spirit. So, for those of you of faith, all good thoughts/prayers are welcome. Those of you without faith, watch and learn lol. C.

I believe in my post I stated that I was obligated to the first 500 free and then I changed my website to a 'sign up for account' and 20 names per week will be drawn for free samples. I am not 'giving away the store' but until someone else comes up with a way to sniff through the internet, all and all, freebies are kind of cheap marketing plan. Recommended reading: http://www.seobook.com/archives/001877.shtml The gentleman mentioned wrote a book. Instead of selling it initially, he allowed folks to download it for free for 30 days. It created so much chatter about the product that when he printed it, copies sold placed it #5 on Amazon.com bestseller list. Like I said before. This was not planned. It happened. Now it is my job to parlay it into a great opportunity. For starters, sticking to our word of when it says First One's Free, we do it. Now we pray and work hard. C.

Yes, each melt has a warning label attached. Basics - remove all packaging before burning, burn only in approved candle etc etc etc... I will see if I can improve that. Good thought. C.

Power of positive thinking is what I am going with. I was a bit negative for a minute just because I was/am tired. Bottom line is, is that if samples didn't work on some level, folks would quit doing it. I have made a strategic business decision to fill the first 500 orders that came in before I changed it to a drawing (which still is not slowing 'em down) and as finances increase, I intend to fill all of the samples. Postage is the main issue and I am going to roll over orders right back into the business and pray. Thanks for the kind words. Keep us in your prayers! C.

Well, I am calmer now. I went into this venture knowing quality ingredients, excellent recipes, hard work and integrity combined with excellent customer service is/was the way to go and success is keeping the faith. I will keep everyone posted on outcome! Be blessed! C. Lane

I don't believe most people are moochers. I just would not expect crankiness at something free and sent within a week... Thanks for sharing...

Ok, just venting for a minute but, to be honest, I am so tired, I just don't know if I am thinking straight. SHORT synopsis - have a candle web site for 2 years. A week ago, it got hit hard and after 2 yrs of 10-20 orders a month, (including first one's free, a full-size sample melt), my site got posted here there and everywhere. After the first 500 new orders that rolled in within 4 hours (currently, one week later coming up on 3,700 orders) I updated the "First One's Free" to a drawing of 20 new orders per week to receive the freebie. However, after lots of prayer and advice I admire, I bit the bullet and began filling the first 500 I committed (inadvertently) to. One week later and about 2k in costs (costs $1.30 per RoomEssence Melt to mail), we have shipped nearly half of the 500. My packaging is very very classy. Each melt is wrapped in tissue paper, sealed in a cell, labeled and warning-labeled and for freebie shipping, sealed in a regular envelope. So today, first batches shipped a few days ago began hitting mailboxes and this customer writes in, "thanks for the melt, but where's the wick?? Where's the instructions? And, even though I know it was free, I might hesitate to order because it was raining today and had the envelope gotten wet, well, it may not have made it..." I will skip my first 40 thoughts... I did write the customer back and explained that instructions are on the site BEFORE the ordering options. That when orders are paid for, the cost of packaging, shipping, etc are covered and the full-size freebie melt was to give customers the opportunity to review our scent strength, quality, et. Initial thoughts? Could use them... C.

Good for you! I have been tossing around the idea of the local "flea" market which is similar to a farmer's market... I just hate the word "flea".

First and foremost, kudos for tackling zen cart right out of the gate. It is not an easy task. I also customized zen cart for my own site and the tricky part is getting into your english file and playing with your spacing. Your css may or may not be playing a part but add a few <br/><br/> (line breaks) here and there and watch your page open up. You currently have a lot of text/graphics/nav options right on top of each other. Also, under zen cart downloads there is a mod it took me a minute to find but it is awesome for adding your attributes. It is called something like advanced attribute controller but basically lets you take one name attribute and use your shift/ctrl key to add multiple values at once (vs. picking name, then one value, then enter then same name, next value, enter and so on and so forth). Best to you!

I have to ship a muffin melt to Australia and wondered if anyone has done this and if there is something I need to know...

Can you share your supplier?

I purchased my wick pins from wholesale supplies plus out of Cleveland Ohio. I seem to have two issues and just wanted to know how everyone else's experiences shake out... 1. The base of the wick pins are much more concave than I would like. I use flat round wick tabs and just don't need that much clearance; and, 2. The base circumference of my wick pins are just a hair or two smaller than the base of my votive cup and therefore, wax seeps underneath and when I remove the votive and then the pin, then more times than not a piece of the bottom rim will snap off when I remove the wick pin... Thoughts? Does anyone make 'flat' wick pins and if not, why? Does it cause removal issues? Does everyone's wick pins have that much 'play' in the base of the votive mold (metal)? TIA

Strawberry Preserves from ICS and the hot and cold throw is fantastic.

Where's this?

I have never had anything but great customer service with them. Highly recommend!