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!

$2 for 10? That is extremely economical! I would go broke selling for that. Hats off to them!

Just to answer your questions (because I have volumes I could write that you haven't asked yet and don't want to overwhelm ya!)... Inventory and shelved candles - Very individual answers for this one. It really depends on how much storage space you have and how much cash flow. I personally do not want to pour 25 Hyacinth jars and then get an order for 24 Hyacinth votives and be low on frangrance. As for shelved inventory, depending on your particular blends, cure time could be a factor and therefore may dictate your premade stock levels. Best of blessings to you!

Most excellent list. Printing and will be posted on my frig immediately! Thanks!

I only use the Joy Wax in a soy blend for tea lights and use an htp wick. There is just too much I don't know about the Joy Wax to really trust it blindly. Plus, I really don't like the way it 'feels' when I touch it lol...

I am old school in that I started making candles back in the day that lead wick was still on the market. Too bad for the safety issues because it was a beautiful wick. Literally melted away to nothing with NO mushroom. I will not use zinc because of the mushroom. I stick with CD and HTP wicking and adjust my recipes accordingly. I can't stand a wick that has to be trimmed and with the right ingredients, these don't.

I use NG 100% pure soy flakes. It seems to work well... anyone have a life experience comparison?

Carnauba wax comes from the Tree of Life palm. Does anyone know if the palm wax so commonly referred to on this board is one-in-the-same?

I just read their volume of data and the only concern I would have is that their candle fo is a minimum 5# quantity. There are times when a 5# quantity will work for me but not often. I prefer smaller quantities to allow an expanded scent selection for my customers...

Did you ever figure out a wick size on these? Has anyone ever tried this in a votive?

I sent you a pm but if you are a do-it-yourself-er I would recommend cubecart. It is free and simple. Zen cart is what I also use but all of the options can be somewhat overwhelming, as they were to me, an experienced web developer. For some reason when it came to my own personal site I sense I am like most... more concerned about getting the product on the shelf than the nuts and bolts of the presentation... Try cubecart and if you decide to upgrade to the bells n whistles of what zen cart has to offer you will at least have a rudimentary understanding of any cart foundation. Be blessed!