Judy, USMC

No trouble! I think this was a legit question that will help a lot of others. If you are physically selling in a state you need to register for a sales/resale tax ID in each state ... and report the sales in that state to their tax dept. It's VERY important that you be sure to keep up with the reporting requirements and report $0 if you had no sales. If you fail to report a $0 they can assume that you failed to report which could lead to them assessing a tax on estimated sales and penalty. It's easy to turn in your tax ID if your circumstances change and you have no plans on selling in the state for a year.

One issue that you need to address is who will pay the shipping cost from FL to PA. Once you get to FL be sure to look at the Regional Flat Rate boxes. I'd come up with a minimum resupply (in order to make sure the box was full) and then figure out how much per item the shipping cost would be. Then add that to the cost of the item. OR have her pay the cost of shipping which is the way many wholesalers do it. Usually consignors pay their own shipping costs. Hope that makes sense...

Naturally, since it is larger it does take just a bit longer to melt the wax. I usually will start off with an empty pot and add about 5# of wax. As that melts I add more. My soy flakes seem to melt faster when added to the already melted wax rather than dumping all the flakes in at one time. I think it depends more on the style of pouring you are used to. I pour several batches of different scents at a time. I'll pour 12 clamshells and 24 1oz ellipso souffles in one aroma at a time (a little less than 4# per FO.) I normally have the space to do 6 FOs at a time and that gets the pot fairly well drained but still leaves enough hot wax to add more flakes. So I will pour the FO in sequence and usually by the time I've finished pouring the last FO the first-poured FO containers are ready to be closed or covered and the labels put on. By the time I get them all done (closed and labeled) the turkey fryer wax is hot enough for round 2. I can usually get 18 aromas comfortably poured in one day (labels pre-made of course.) HTH

I have the larger round turkey fryer and there are some differences. First the one above uses less oil - 2 galons vice the 3-5 gallons that the round one will hold/melt. The round one has the drain facing forward ... and the heating element temperature guage also faces forward. With this one the element/guage faces forward but the drain is on a back corner. I got 1 used from a friend which prompted me to get 2 more. I don't see them on their site anymore as a new item. Found this page with images of the round ones I have. Love them! Larger capacity than a presto and not as expensive as a specifically made water jacket 40# wax melter. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=masterbuilt+electric+turkey+fryers&id=4260E4D006794388ACEA2863C6C685454509AF88&FORM=IQFRBA

Mine hold 3.2oz and I charge $3.75 - $3.95 depending on FO used.

More & more frequently I've been getting the question "Will these work in a $centsy warmer?" Since I do hand-made craft fairs I can't sell the commercially made warmers and welcome the fact that more & more people have gotten their warmers either from $centsy or WalMart. Last fair there were 3 of us selling our melts. Although you can consider us competitors we aren't really - we independently select our FO's and didn't seem to duplicate aromas. Some do clamshells, or mini cups, or baggies of molded melts. It's obvious to buyers who comparison shop that their cost is always less when dealing with a manufacturer than the price charged by a direct seller/market rep. And it's a real plus for them when they get a higher quality melt for less. The real kicker comes from the fact that 2 local $centsy reps regularly get their melts from me. I just hate to see the company over-saturate an area with their reps ... somehow it seems unfair to the reps who are just trying to make a little money.

Try adding a tablespoon or so of beeswax (per pound) to the hot 464. It stiffens it up a good deal. HTH

What wax are you using? I usually use 4786 which is a 2-pour container wax. Found that if I do the initial pour cool it tends to shrink less. Hot pours really pull away from the container sides. Don't know if that will help. Another thought - something I've seen done by another chandler. They only do the second pour to the bottom of the pillar; before it would overflow the candle into the mold and then level it off. Hope that can help some.

I decided to go with CS Golden Rose. This smells like the fresh Peace Roses in my garden.

ditto!

Good for you! Glad you did so well ... it really does pay to do some research and take the time to make up a proper display. So many crafters I've seen set up their displays like they were at a flea market rather than at a fair. Congrats!

Looking good! I can almost see the chunkin' going on at the side of the blue one. Were these 4630?

And anoter bit of spam reported.

spam reported

Just like in years past where people wanted samples to possibly order a greater quantity, now they are representing themselves has a company. I hope there is some way of contacting the company to verify they have this person employed by them. Usually the scammer will give their personal contact information using the excuse that they are "personally" handling it. I would feel a little better about it if the address the sample/mock-up is actually the addy for the company. But I really, really hope this is true and a great opportunity for you.

I believe this is the 3rd generation. 2nd generation was Candle Tech if I remember correctly. There was a Star Supporter program at one time where we could donate to keep the forum running. After all, there are fees involved with hosting a forum like this. Not to mention the time to attend to housekeeping and dealing with those ^%(* spammers. Since we've become Craft Server, however, I haven't found that feature works. It was only like $10 a year and purely optional. So this is coming out of somebody's pocket and I believe it's either Alan's or his company's. Alan, if you read this please know that I appreciate everything you and the Mods do. And I would also like to see the star supporter program available again!

If you had an unused building on your property it would be great ... but monthly rent and possible added building insurance and utilities would actually drive the cost up if it exceeded the savings on buying bulk. Just wondering if things like electric, water (for those of you who wash your jars) and gasoline (for those of you who pick up) have been figured into your costs.

Spammer reported! This one was quite prolific with 33 posts this morning ...

There are dozens of manufacturers that carry thousands of already formulated oils. The lowest minimum quantity I've seen is 25# and prices that I've found that test well in soy & paraffin range from $8 per pound up to $25+ and does not include shipping. Of course you may be able to find some less expensive - around $6 if I remember correctly. The price depends on the price of the raw oils used in the formulation. So at a minimum a line of say 24 FOs (@ $8pp) would run $4,800. if you could find them at $8. Then add shipping on 600 pounds. And then there will be web design and all that mess after you decide on a business name that isn't taken. And don't forget to include the cost of all the bottles you would have to repour in to plus the labeling and shipping materials. And if you wanted to make sure they would throw well in wax you would need to invest in testing the samples they can send you. Some manufacturers will only send 1/2 to 1 ounce so there won't be enough to test in all the waxes available. And they may limit you to the number of FOs they will send at any one time. Your best bet is to visit a manufacturer to see what is available. For example if you want a Vanilla they may have 20 variations and all you will have to base a decision on is OOB. All I can say is it is a dedicated effort in both time and finances. HTH & Good luck ...

Thanks Beth ~ that's the link !

This is the link to everything you need to know about candle labeling that the feds require - 500.4 through 500.7 apply. Unfortunately I've seen little to no enforcement because there are just too many small candlemakers who fly under the radar. I know - too much information - but when there are regulations I like to follow them; most professionals do!

Any possibility of her just packing them up and shipping them to you? Cheaper than driving ... and if you were going to pay her anyway you could spend that money on postage instead. That's the options I see. Maybe she's holding them hostage so you would come to visit ~ that's something my mom would have done!

Some people just look at it as a way to make some spare money and don't have a tax number. Their attitude is "I'm not in this as a full time business so I don't collect tax." I don't agree with this and neither would their state department of revenue; but it happens. Then there are others (I'm one) that doesn't want to take the time to figure sales tax in the middle of a busy show so I just include the tax in the marked sales price. At then end of the show I figure out what amount of tax I owe and send it in. It just appears that I'm not charging tax ...

What they may be looking for is the MSDS (Material Data Safety Sheet). It is a statement from the manufacturer listing the flash points, special handling, and other technical information. It doesn't list the actual ingredients - but basically certifies that there are no harmful chemicals in the FO. When the supplier buys from them they should have gotten the MSDS from the manufacturer and should be able to make you a copy for you to show Whole Foods/Body. Several suppliers even provide them online. Here's an example from Bitter Creek South about their BabyPowder: http://www.bittercreeksouth.com/MSDS/Fragrance/MSDSfoBabyPowder.html I hope that would satisfy the liaison's need. I don't know of any manufacturer that gives out their complete ingredients list. Hopefully your FO supplier will be able to work with you on this because you will probably need her to be your liaison with the FO manufacturer to try to get the ingredients if it is definitely needed. If your current supplier doesn't want to do it you may need to search for a supplier who will be on your team. HTH

Just to clarify, did you use the amount of dye recommended for 2 pounds of wax in only a 1 pound batch? If that's so the wick is porbably clogging.