sockmonkey

Your insurance agent is who you should rely on to tell you how much insurance you need. Nobody here knows what kind of dwelling you have, how much inventory you have, or what kind of sales you're capable of producing, so those are all things to discuss with your agent.

153 sales sounds fantastic! Yes Dolphin, Etsy is like any other site--if you just let it sit there and do nothing to promote it, you're not too likely to have much success at it. The more items you list, the greater your chances are that you will make a sale--provided you're making a decent product. I belong to another forum and there's a poor lady there who is trying to promote her Etsy site and sell her crafts among members. Naturally, everyone takes a look--only to see what she's making looks like garbage, and she only has about two items listed at any given time.

I think one thing that is a tremendous help in getting your products noticed on Etsy is if you join a team. I would guess that the majority of traffic (and sales) on Etsy is generated by conversations people have about it on numerous forums. The Dish established their own team. If there's enough interest, we could do the same--even if you belong to that one, joining another one could only increase your odds of exposure.

Another possibility is putting a large piece of PVC pipe down in the leg of the boot to keep it's shape.

This isn't what you were asking about, but I thought you might like it... http://www.stellarglass.com/cowboybootctop.htm If you can't find what you need maybe you can go to thrift stores and wrangle up all the cowboy boots you can find, then take them home and paint them and apply a coat of glaze on top to make them ultra shiny and look like ceramic. Inside the boot you can hide a glass filled with water to hold your flowers. See the last picture on the bottom of the page in the link below for an idea of what it would look like... http://www.chilipepperoutpost.com/boots.html

That just seems too hard up letting them litter places like trash. I guess sometimes it's possible to get lucky doing it that way, but I would hate the thought that anyone would think I was so desperate I had to resort to dropping them off in restrooms. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to make a buck I guess.

Just make sure you label it properly (which includes a street address as well as ingredients). If it's really a lot you might sign up for a craft show to get rid of it, list it on Craiglist or sell it on ebay.

If you want to upcharge for "exclusivity" you should offer private labeling instead. As a retailer I would NEVER agree to an "upcharge" for exclusivity rights--especially from an unknown vendor. Not only that, but the term exclusivity implies that NOBODY else can sell them. If they agree to private label, then you can sell the other candles up and down the same street if you want. The norm in retail is to offer a "protected territory" not "exclusivity rights" if the buyer purchases a certain dollar amount within an established time period. If quotas aren't met, you can sell to their nextdoor neighbor if you want. Telling a buyer that in order to get exclusive rights she must have an opening order of $500 and has to pay $2 for something that normally wholesales for $1.50 isn't likely to go over too well. Tacking on the upcharge means the she can buy less inventory than if there was no upcharge--meaning you possibly sell less product, which is contrary to your goal. Instead, if you tell the buyer she has a minimum buy in of $500 and must purchase a total of $1500 per year, then they are guaranteed a protected territory of a 5 mile radius. First of all, before committing yourself, you should figure out if a protected territory is something you want to do, and you need to get more details about the business if you decide it is. How long have they been in business? What other candle lines to they carry? When wholesalers offer protected territories, they usually like to know that their products are a good fit with the merchandise the store carries, so that the line is likely to be successful there. It also lets them know if there is dangerous competition within the store--Yankee candles, etc. Next, look at the map. How many stores are within a particular radius? If there are 50 stores within 5 miles and you have a $100 minimum buy in, that's potentially $5000. Of course all 50 stores aren't likely to carry the same candles, so let's say that without protected territory, 4 stores out of 50 agree to buy the candles. That means you would make $400. With that in mind, you should charge at least that amount as a minimum buy-in for a 5 mile protected territory. You also need to consider the annual purchases each of those 4 store would make. Using $100 as minimum re-order amount, if a store turns their inventory over 4 times a year (an average in the industry), that would mean an additional $400 per store, which would equal an additional $1600 in sales. So, you now know that in order to offer a 5 mile protected territory you should require a $400 minimum buy-in and $1600 in annual sales to guarantee that you will not sell to other stores within a 5 mile radius. I used those numbers purely for example because people can get excited when asked about protected territories, yet don't always consider the potential loss of revenue by doing it, and may not be sure how to go about figuring it out.

I'm glad I could help, Amber. I hope you get that wholesale account!

1. It can be very worth the time, depending on how well you are able to market/sell your products yourself. The thing to consider is whether you can sell more at wholesale than you can at retail. Although you will be making less per unit wholesale than you would at retail, you ought to be able to sell more in volume vs. one or two here and there, ultimately making more money for you. Wouldn't you rather sell 100 units to one person than 100 units to 100 different people? 2. Many people discover that they are selling their products for too little when they analyze costs in order to sell at wholesale. To determine wholesale calculate all of the costs involved in producing your product--the ingredients, containers, labels, fragrance, dyes, etc. Some people also add labor costs in, but you need to be realistic about it. Think you're gonna pay yourself $20 per hour and factor it into your price--probably not at this point and be very succesful in your sales. That would equate to .$33 per minute that you spend making candles. If you allow 15 minutes per candle that adds $4.95 to the cost of each candle. But, if you pay yourself $8 per hour it's only $.13 per minute and adds on $1.99--much easier to tack on to the price of a candle. The secret is to buy your supplies in bulk to save on costs, and you can shift the cost of a candle toward your salary. In the end, everything you make goes back to you, so unless you want to go strictly by the book as some business advisors would suggest or your accountant requires it, you don't really need to pay yourself a salary in the beginning. Ok, back to the original question...for wholesale as it has been said, you should be able to get at least 2 times the cost, and then retail would be double that. This doesn't hold true for everyone, because markets can vary widely, but it's a good rule of thumb to go by. Another thing is that you can command way more than your costs if you buy supplies at low enough prices. But, in order to offer discounts, what you should do is charge MORE than double your costs--just adding on an extra $.50 allows you to offer discounted pricing tiers (in $.25 increments) based on quantity, without affecting your ability to still get 2 times the cost as long as you never discount more than $.50 per unit. 3. Minimum purchase amounts are good for a couple of reasons. One is that it saves time by making one large batch vs. several small batches. Two is that it weeds out people just looking to buy for their own person use. If your candles are very inexpensive (wholesale), then 10 per scent is not unreasonable, but depending on the retailer you're selling them to, 10 of any one scent might be a lot to try to sell. If your wholesale cost is $10 per jar, and they had to buy 10 per scent, then that means just to meet your minimum they could only buy 2 different scents, and I don't think too many retailers would be down with that.

Amber, I can't say which would be better for you because I don't know your pricing structure. It's pretty standard to offer 50% off retail for your wholesale prices, but there are companies that only offer 40% off retail and they still do good business. If cost x 2 gets you more money, then I wonder if you're selling your candles for as much as you should be. You should sell them by whatever method makes more money for you. If you think it will be an issue by selling them at cost x 2, rather than 50% off retail, something to point out to potential wholesalers is that you sell them at a lower price than retailers would because you are the manufacturer, so just because you sell the candle for $5 at retail doesn't mean she can't sell the same candle for $8 or more. When people buy at retail direct from the manufactuer they expect lower prices from them than they would if they found the same candle in a department store.

Don't take checks. Take plenty of change and guard it with your life.

I couldn't tell you if it smells like VS or not, but I have some from Aztec that I think smells very nice. Didn't you want to clobber that lady? That's why I never call any finished product I sell a dupe of anything (well, that plus the trademark issue)--it makes people become too critical of something that can smell wonderful on its own.

I buy them just to see if I like the scent, then I'll buy a pound of it. Sometimes I use the samples, but most of the time I don't--since I use pre-made bases the scent of the oil pretty much stays the same. If it's weak in the bottle, it will be weak in the product. One ounce sample sizes are good enough for using in light bulb rings, body sprays, room sprays, sachets, potpourri, or scenting silk flowers.

I ran across this site and though you all might find it interesting and useful. I sure did. It's full of tips for creating crafts and handy household hints. Hope you like it! http://tipnut.com/

Yes, you have to have a certificate on file for anybody you're wholesaling to within your state. My understanding is that you do not have to collect sales tax on merchandise purchased for resale by customers from out of state (to be sold out of state). Most wholesalers will request a copy of the tax exempt certificate from all companies they are doing business with, whether in-state or not, to verify that they are legitimate businesses and not just a casual customer looking for a price break.

WOW! Jkmribbon has quite a selection.

http://www.bagsandbowsonline.com//product/dept.asp?dept%5Fid=2520&DeptPath%5Fid=2520&mscssid=SFRRL5NNN1GA8LKEKHL93H41RMBUB9ED

Yes, you will need a copy of their tax exempt certificate for your records; the reason is, if you are audited and show sales but no certificate you will be assessed tax on that sale, and on top of that, they can even fine you for not paying taxes on time.

The soap kettles retail for about $30 each, so they apparently sell them only in units of 2 for $15 each. You can usually find them on sale or even on clearance at Joann's or Michaels for about wholesale price.

Big Pine Soap & Candle Co. Oregon Coast Soap & Candle Factory Coastal Aromatics Bath Sundries by Patricia They don't sound very "upscale" to me, but I'm working on it...

Sorry, I don't have a suggestion for you, other than I wouldn't use "Scentual"--it's been done to death.

Your products look very nice. I agree with the suggestion of the organza bags--they would look more upscale and feminine and better suited to your products in my opinion. Other than that, how about a vinyl bag? http://www.usbox.com/newpouches/drawstring_bags.html (check out their outlet and clearance items too)

Since you can't get custom molded pieces to fit your products for shipping, the next option is to go with a flat basket--no handle, and shrink wrap it. Place the items flat (on its back), not upright and secure with Glue dots, and firmly pack all spaces with shredded paper, then with a layer of shrink wrap over top it keeps things in place. Wood serving trays also make a nice option. A lot of times you can pick them us just as cheaply as you can baskets, and they can look a lot higher end. The thing that I like about using flat baskets, besides that they are easier to pack, is that your products are what is highlighted, not the basket. The only way I would even think about keeping those items in place as they are would be to use wire, criss-cross over each item, attached to the bottom of the basket, which wouldn't be very attractive.

That could be. Does your version at least have a "ruler" option? If so, you can create a box or draw 2 lines, one horizontal and one vertical that measures 1.5". Then you will be able to use your re-sizing tool to shrink the label down to fit within those dimensions. Also, check your pm's.