barncat

hmmm..that sounds interesting, but I want to produce these on a mass scale, and not sure this would work. i wonder if I put one big one down the center and 2 small one half way down, I wonder if they would burn away or lay in the melt pool? Or maybe some kind of pan in the middle?

I have a container 7" high, 6" in diameter at the top and 3" at the bottom. How do I even begin wicking this? TIA

Our chamber sucked, but I got my money out of it with the discount on the festivals downtown. Other than that, they really didn't do much. They were a small one, the one just outside of town was huge and had a REAL office and a directory and all kinds off stuff that was useful. Haven't joined anything at my new location, but plan on just joining the visitors bureau. Heard people have already been asking about me woohoo!

Well first of all you are trying to start your business in the slowest season of the year. April/May is a proven slow period for retail stores. Stores pickup slightly in June for tourist seasons and then again in September getting ready for fall and Christmas. Then again in January filling up their store after the holidays. That was amazing that you got that many so far! Each business has their own reordering method, whether it be at trade shows, only holiday season, as needed, or when they have money. I have had several businesses see us then say, ohh I've been out of your product for months, but just didn't get time to reorder, but I'm ready to order now! Then I also have stores that only order twice a year, no exceptions. Then some that order every 6-8 weeks like clockwork. If you are looking for fundraisers besides school, how about red cross, relay for life, churches.

I just make sure they recieve them by the end of the week. We do not ship on fridays in the summer and if it can't get there by friday, it waits to ship on Monday. Its usually sitting in the warehouse over the weekend that may causes problems. Just give them lots of insulation(newspaper, pack peantuts, etc).

I don't think you quite understand what the others are saying. Being a newbie and jumping in how wonderful they are on your first post is a red flag to everyone. The board is here for everyone to work together to make a a good quality candle and to help them succeed in any way they need to be. This has happened on other boards to, so we are all just looking out for the best of information. The flag popped up when I read your email. Your just overwelmingly supporting them. I too have had good expeiences with them as welll, and bad also. however when a supplier and customer has an issue that cannot be resolved together and they feel taken advantage of, that why we are here for advice.

ISO Cranberry & Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, also their peonies & peaches and pears & berries. Got these from C&S and would like something as close to theirs as possible. TIA

Usually they pay for the diaplay and you offset it with free merchandise. Most find local woodcrafters to make it for them. Go to craft show or something and find someone who makes furniture.

Are you sure you didn't get those from the bakery?? Better put on the label not for human consumption. Looks yummy.

Check with your state bsuienss deparmetn. In Pa, if you Call it Smith's Candles, you don;t need a license. If you call it Mary's Candles you do. You can get in trouble if you don't register here in PA.

How do you package them and and what price? THinking maybe 12 in a pack or so. Tried them out at the cabin this weekend and they worked fabulous! A rolling campfire in 5 minutes.

Your sales tax id is your business license unless your town requires it. I required a license at my new location, but didn't in the old one. Basically your Dba and sales Tax id is all you need. Call you local twp or city office to find out if you require anything else, mainly that is only required if the general public may be coming into your place of business on aregular basis, like business hours. That's about it.

#1 reason for having a business plan is gaining financing. if you are jsut doing this as a hobby, I see no need to. A real business plan has very complex and detail oriented and averages around 30-50 pages. If you are serous abou this being your 'job' Contact your local SBDC or SBA office, there are free or low cost business plan classes offered through major universities.

Just ahppened to me 2 weeks ago, 1 of 2 was delivered to a cusomter last week and she called abou tthe other, and here the other was deliverred to someone else. Fedex got it back though. 3 weeks is a while to wait if she knew it was shipped, If you have insurance ion it, I say file a claim. Maybe it was stolen off her porch. My old maillday, says she would deliver packages once a week to my neighbor and 1 out of 4 she would claim she didn't get, even though she did.

Thinking about going back into fundraisers for our slow months. This is kind of where we started, so I think it is a great way to make money and for them to make money. before I gave them a flat cost and they add the markup. THis time I think I will set the price and give them like 40% profit. I figure this may end up being a good chunk of change especially with my 2 new lines coming. Right now its 95% wholesale 5% retail..thinking it may go to 75% wholesale, 17% fundraisers, 8% retail for this year. How are your fundraisers going?

I've always had problems in the summer months, I get 1/3 less production, and the reverse effect in the winter. It just has to do with the humidity. Hasn't quite hit it here yet, but is supposed to be quite warm next week.

I prefer Candlewic 141, I started with the 4625, but prefered a creamier blend. i had a lot of issues with topping off with the 4625. Just usually 1 top off witht the 141.

Well when you get a big order for a certain scnet or just happened to run out of a certain scent and you need just 1lb, that kind of sucks. I've ordered twice a week several times, I didn't care abou tht eshipping(as long as its a fair price) but, to change something like that hurts. I have a commercail location, so I don't get the res surcharges, which are high. If they want everyone to buy $150 off them everytime, then they need to set their minimum at that.

15% IS STANDARD, do not go any higher!!, the big companies don't and neither should you. What quantifies an account? $100 order or a $1000 order. Don't forget your c/c processing charges too, so add that and your up to about 3%, because mail order is a higher rate. A good rep should be able to get you 6 accounts in a month. You should prabably at least visit a few accountant sna dtell them that you are interviewing them(ao they don't charge you) and find one that works best for you and cost wise. My account costs me about $6,000 a year, but does a lot for me. But you should find one for under $300 for just a basic one

Hey, Post It So We Can All See!

A Ltitle pissed when I went to the website to order wicks. $10 min shipping charge?? WTH? So it costs me $10 to ship a 1 lb box 200 miles? I think not. I called and complained and said my shipping has alwyas been $5-6, they said sorry that is there new policy. Well, the just lost me as a customer and I ordered thousands of $ off them last year. I very unsavy business move!

I got a letter today from media corp saying they think our product would be a successful "as seen on tv" product. Not sure how to take this. Scam or legit? heard of some people been approched by QVC and their demands were to much. Course, then don't want to see my stuff in wal-mart with theat stupid label on it. Not sure if i should be flattered or irritated.

Do use wick up or dowm, or stay the same? How are they to burn, just like a reg jar candle? i'm going to try some more this afternoon.

Anyone done these? i'm talking about the ones that are whipped up and have topping on them like berries and even have them layered in the middle. I've been experimenting, but would love some more advice.

Just a piece of advice. Always take what you need and increase it by at least 50%, if not more. So in other words, look for at least a 30lb melter. The reason I say this is because what you think you need is never enough. I assumed by 70lb melter would be more than enough when i first bought it. Well, it only took one month to realize I was way off track. I now have 4 melters, and somedays that still isn't enough. and if you look at it, what you are paying for in th elong rum for a larger melter is much cheaper than buying yet another new one. Have you looked at the 2 part melters????? Maybe that is what could be more efficient.