GermantownCandles

Hey guys, I just got my new and improved website pretty much finished. There are a few things I still need to do to make it 100%, but I would say its about 90% done right now. I did it all myself. The design, logo, and product pics were all done by me! What do you guys think? Especially my product pics, do you think they look good? And also, I have my shipping estimator set up for USPS, if you guys want to try that out too and make sure it works ok for you, I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much everyone!! :rolleyes2 I look forward to your feedback!!

I was thinking of offering somewhere in the range of 35-50%. The reason I would do such a high percentage is that fact that at those percentages, not only would it attract people to the affiliate program, but it would be pretty close to my wholesale revenue for me, so I wouldn't see it any different than just selling to a wholeseller. It would open my business to a broader range of customers, and I would make the same thing on each sale as I would having my candles sitting in someone's retail store front. Any thoughts on this?

Yeah, I feel the exact same way. It does seem like a win win situation to me. I have been doing a lot of research online lately, and I have been revamping my website to look much more professional in order to attract more people interested in affiliate sales. I'm hoping to have my new website up and running by the end of the week, and maybe a few affiliate sales by the end of the year? Anyone here ever sold anything as an affiliate?

As for the presto pot, I don't have a spout either... An old coffee cup works wonders :smiley2: Good luck!

In all honesty, when I first started making candles, I used my thermometer religiously... I would check, double check, and check again before I poured to make sure I was at the right temp. Then one day, I dropped my thermometer and it broke. I use a presto pot, so I can make my temp stay pretty close to the same every time, but I never check my temps anymore and my candles and tarts always turn out great. I never have any complaints or problems with any of my products. I use 6006 for my containers, and a soy wax for my tarts which has an awesome finish, they look really good. As for my 6006 specs, it has a melt point ~130 and a pour temp ~165 Hope this helps!

What state do you live in? I have info for Ohio if by chance you live here?

Anyone here have any experience with candle affiliate sales? Either recruiting affiliates, or being a candle affiliate themselves? I was thinnking about starting an affiliate program and was wondering what everyone's thought were on the subject. Thanks!

Here is the reply I received from dreamstime.com about using their pictures as labels. It looks like, as long as they are not used for the logo, then they are ok to use on your labels. _________________________________________________________ Hello Joe, Thank you for contacting Dreamstime. If the images are used simply to enhance the labels visually and they are not used as logo, then you can download the files under the standard Royalty free license: http://www.dreamstime.com/terms#royaltyfree Best regards, Carmen Pietraru Quality Assurance and Support - Dreamstime ------------------------------------------ http://www.dreamstime.com Ph: +1 615 771 5611 (US) Email: carmen@dreamstime.com Comments: I would like a little bit of guidance on which license I need to purchase. I would like to purchase a couple of pictures to use on my candle labels. Which license would I need to be in compliance. Thank you very much. Joe Stratton The Germantown Candle Company

Anyone have any experience using a supplier who has a MAP? From what I understand after reading a little bit about MAP, is that it is only the required advertised price. So as long as I don't advertised a lower than MAP price I am ok? Say MAP is 15.99, can I sell an item at 15.99 and offer 10% in store sale and still be ok? Or would this be a breach of contract? Or can I have an end of season 50% off sale on certain items that have a MAP? I don't want to sell at the lower than map prices all the time, but I do want the option to get rid of some old inventory that has been sitting for a while, and obviously the MAP price just isn't working. I am doing a craft show in a couple of weeks and I just would like to offer a couple things at discount so I get git rid of them. Sorry for the long post, and thanks again for everyone's help!!!

Jill, that's where I get a little confused myself. I thought I had read somehwere that you could use them after paying just a couple of dollars, but after I started reading the different license descriptions on their websites, I became really confused as to which license I had to purchase in order to use it on my candles. I am going to email them, and if they respond I'll post what they have to say. Thanks for your replies!

I did try amazon, I can only find the one that I linked to (the cajun injector turkey fryer) on amazon, but not the Masterbuilt Turk & Surf. I even tried ebay, but I just can't find it. Has it been discontinued? I can't even find it on masterbuilt's website. If anyone could get me a link, I would appreciate it. Thanks again!

Ok... I have 3 presto pots that I use right now. My volume of orders has slowly increased over the last 2 1/2 years of business and I think it's time to make the next move. I have searched the forum, and most people say the next step, shy of a commercial melter, is a turkey roaster. It seems that the turk and surf by masterbuit is pretty much the one to choose. The problem that I am finding is, where are these sold? Just about every link I click on, the page is either not there or they are no longer in stock? Most of the posts on here are a couple of years old, so is there a newer roaster that you guys use? I am looking for a fairly quick melter also. I found a link to another roaster that looks similar in design http://www.brucefoods.com/mystOre/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=154 would this work the same as the turk and surf? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Thank you for your help, I appreciate it greatly!

Thanks for the feedback on the brochure! I really do appreciate it!!

I guess it really depends on how coputer savvy you are. If you are good with computers, I would highly reccomend Photoshop. Since you would only be making labels, you can purchase one of the older versions and it would work great. I use Photoshop 7.0 and I design all of my own labels, and label templates, once you learn how to do it, you will never want to use another program.

I have looked into drop shipped products in the past, and most places do pretty much what you are saying. They would normally wholesale a product for $6, but they would then charge a "drop ship fee" of $2 per item, so yes, they would then charge $8 for what they normally sell for $6. And don't forget about shipping charges, they can sometimes price you out of the market that you're competing.

How would being tax exempt, as compared to not tax exempt, differ in my gross sales total other than having to charge sales tax to the non exempt group? It would still be considered $1500 in gross sales?

Does any one use websites such as dreamstime or istockphoto for pics to put on their labels? I was checking out these websites for some new labels after reading about them here on the forum. After reading the description for the license for the photos, it looks like you need more than just a royalty free license in order to put them on a product that you intend to sell. It looks like you would need to purchase a Print Usage Extended License? These are much more expensive than just the RF license. Can anyone help clarify this? Thanks!

I have a couple of stores interested in private label candles. What information am I legally required to put on my label? I put on all the basic info i.e. warning label, net weight, fragrance... What about the manufactured info? Do I put "Manufactured for Gift Shop" Instead of "Manufactured by The Germantown Candle Co." and not put any of my business contact info on there? And do I put their contact info in place of my own? This website has been a life saver! Thanks everyone!

I just have a few questions to those of you who do fundraisers. When an organization sells candles for a fund raiser for say $15 each, and if you were splitting with them 50/50, when the fund raiser is over, say they sold 100 candles. Would I claim $1500 in gross sales? Or do I claim just the $750 on my side of the deal? Also, what do you feel is the best way to market yourself to bring in more groups for fundraisers? I thought about putting together a few candles, and mailing them off to local churches and schools with all of my fund raiser information. I have also attached a copy of my fund raiser brochure I put together, it's pretty tentative so it's subject to change, but I would like some feedback on it as well. Thanks so much! I look forward to your input!

Well... I think I will jump on the bandwagon too May I have a copy also? germantowncandles@yahoo.com Thanks!

I have a couple of old coffee mugs that I use to ladel it out into my pouring pots. It works great, and you don't have to go out and buy a ladel. I have 3 presto pots, 2 for my 50/50 mix wax and 1 for my soy only. They work great, I really like the turkey roaster idea, I may have to take a trip to Walmart today! Using the presto pots, I turn out quite a few candles in a pretty short amount of time, you won't regret buying it.

Yeah I save money. If I ever need to change my labels, I never have to pay anyone for design work or anything. I have a pretty nice laser printer too, which saves a lot compared to my old inkjet that I used to use. Also, I do some private label work for smaller stores, and it helps doing my own work. Im not really strict in minimum orders, so if a small store only wants 10 or 20 candles, it's really no big deal for me to do it. As for my web site, I save tons doing it myself, I looked into someone designing it for me, but that was definitely out of the question. I really enjoy my design work, it's kinda relaxing to sit back and work on everything. Photoshop over the last few years has definitely become my friend! Thanks for all of your input! I really appreciate it!

Hey guys, I've been lurking for a while and just recently started posting, but I really liek this website. It's full of great info! Here are some pics of my current candle line. I've been making candles for a few years now, I do everything myself, design, printing, website design. It saves me tons of money, let me know what you think! Also, my website is about 90% done, I am not the best at web design, but I think it looks pretty good for a newbie. I still have a few things to add to but do you guys like the layout? Thanks again!! www.germantowncandles.com

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum so I wanted to say hello before I got started. So, hello! I have been making candles for about 4-5 years now, and my actual business is about 2 years old. The images that I usually use for my labels come from public image archives that allow for commercial use. The problem I sometimes run into is that the image I want is not available. So I look at sites like istockphoto, I can purchase a small pic for about 5 credits which isn't bad. But since I am putting the picture on my label and selling the candle, do I have to purchase the "Items for Resale" license? If I am reading correctly, the standard license doesn't allow for the image to be used on items that are going to be sold. The Image for Resale license is 125 credits, so do I have to spend around $150 just for one picture to use on my label? Thanks for the help!