sockmonkey

I'm making a list of fo's I want to roll out for spring and am ready to scratch this one off my list, even though it's been a best seller for me in lotions. I've been selling Pink Sugar lotions for two years now and I am so over Pink Sugar already! I don't know if it will do more harm than good to eliminate it. It's easy enough to bring it back though. I'm trying to decide on my spring scents and want something different. I'm tired of Lemon Sugar and Lemon Meringue too. For some reason, I'm thinking of going in the direction of mint. Maybe just for January through March, and by February I'll have new spring scents finalized. Any ideas on what scents you'll be using for spring?

How large is his store? It seems to me like he might not be giving them a fair shake, since they are meant for use in cars and smaller areas. It's possible that he may think they are not strong enough or long lasting enough if he lets them sit out fully exposed in a large open area. His opinion could change completely after use inside a car vs. a retail showroom, so that would concern me. Sachets have sold well for me during the fall, but a lot of stuff moves in the fall that doesn't work well in spring. I sell my sachets for $1. Some other freshener ideas I have seen are sneaker fresheners, carpet fresheners, sink fresheners, dog fresheners, and of course, room spray and reed diffusers.

I keep a seperate set of pyrex and utensils that is only for use with soap. I just don't like the idea of chemicals in fo's sharing the same container that I measure food in, regardless of how sanitized the container is. It's not that expensive to buy an extra measuring cup and spoons.

Besides peppermint or spearmint, does anybody have any luck selling any type of mint FO's? Can you think of any good mint combinations?

It seemed like Pink Sugar FO was all the rage a couple of years ago. Is anybody still using it and having success selling it?

Nobody should have a problem with anybody who cashes a check upon receipt. What was wrong with him cashing a check as soon as you gave it to him? Freelance designers face the same problems as any other business--clients who don't pay on time, and clients who pay with bad checks. I see nothing wrong with him demanding cash payment. It's a little unusual these days, but maybe he's gotten burned by someone else with a bad check and he's not taking anymore chances, and I wouldn't blame him for that. The other possibility is that he could be taking cash only as a way to hide his income and avoid taxes or making child support, or other court ordered payments. Are you having him create a different website for you, or did he not finish the other one that cost you $1800 a year ago? It wasn't clear in your post that you are unhappy with his work, only that you don't want to pay him in cash.

I got a message from Craft Lobby not too long ago saying they were going through some changes and would have a new bigger and better website. I've bought a some things from them before, but not tons of stuff. Now I get another email from them with them operating as Big River Wholesale with this link: http://www.bigriverwholesale.com/zencart2/ VAGINAL CREAM BED BUG KILLER ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I can't imagine this helping their sales. I never heard of Big River before. Has anyone ever done business with them?

On Friday I tried to use it and it gave a message that my Paypal card was declined. Ok, it was a brand new card that I only activated a few days earlier and hadn't used anywhere yet, and I thought no big whoop. So, I use a different business Visa card with no balance on it whatsoever and it said that card was declined. At that point I thought WTF, so I just took the stupid packages to the post office and wound up paying more in shipping costs than I should have had to. There's probably a postal worker somewhere hacking into the system and stealing account numbers. How can the US Post Office have that function not working and not have a message on their site stating it is a temporary problem or something. Think about the budget they have and this is the service we get. That blows.

Also, if you sign up they have your email address and can send you emails or sell your address to others (not saying they do that, but it's possible unless they state othewise). It could also be a marketing tool they use to state that they have x amount of subscribers, so that vendors will see the potential audience they have for their message and will pay to advertise with them.

Based on all the raves about her here I ordered four different oils and was disappointed in everyone of them. I found the strength to be very weak compared to other supplier's oils I use.

I think I would use a fancy designer cologne dupe and color it blue, yellow, or even pink depending who you are wanting to market it to.

I see that NG has Black Linen & Amber and I thought it was funny--they show a picture of silky black fabric, not black linen. Personally, when I see the name black linen, it doesn't strike up a nice image in my head. For some reason, I think of coal miners. If black doesn't work in your area, I would give it a different name (Midnight Amber?) or just make it a golden color and call it Amber & Black Linen. I would avoid grey all together.

I love it!

Here are some examples of displays. I'm sure you can google and find plenty more. If you or your husband are handy with tools you might even consider making them yourself, or seek out a local woodworker to recreate some of the ones you see here. Don't sweat it if you don't think it's something you can do. Displays aren't a necessity, but a nicety. I've bought from Green Oak Antiques before and their stuff is really sturdy and a good value for the money, and you don't see it everywhere, so that's a plus. http://greenoakantiques.com/workshopcupboards.htm (Retail prices shown--you can buy them cheaper) http://www.sawdustcityllc.com/Catalog.pdf (See Page #3) http://www.specwood.com/shelfdisplays.htm $170 Regarding the jar sizes, having different minimums for different sizes is fine. As an example, for packing purposes, Yankee requires that you order in multiples of 6 for both the large and medium jars (but they let you mix and match scents), but you have to order in multiples of 3 of the same scent for the small jars. To pay through Paypal, won't they have to open a Paypal account?

At this time, with the economy in the shape it's in, I think $100 minimum looks better than $150 to a small business owner who is being very cautious with spending right now. I think you need to give yourself an edge over the next candlemaker, and if someone else is charging $250 minimum, you could be a shoe-in at $100. But, if you need to get $150 to make the minimum profit you require, then that's what you should do. What will you charge for re-orders? Some wholesalers don't have minimums on reorders, but others may require $50, or $75 (half of what the minimum opening order amount is). Will it be worth it to you to drive up to 60 miles round trip to deliver a $50 order? Be careful on the free delivery offer. A lot of people have gotten burned on that before. Another thing to consider in allowing scent selection is how much trouble will it be for you if a customer orders two of 8 scents and 1 each of the remaining two scents you offer. It's common to require a minimum quantity per scent, usually between two to six. Will you be able to offer any type of display? Sometimes a display can be key in landing an account. What about credit cards--are you looking into options for that? If you're doing wholesale, businesses will expect to pay by credit card.

Here are my thoughts on some of your questions-- 10 Scents are fine to start out with. You will be much better off limiting the choices to 10 scents than to offer 100 scents and have 80 or 90 oils get stale on you. If you're not comfortable making pillars then you absolutely should not attempt to sell them. In my experience, jar candles far out sell pillars anyway. I think you've already figured out most of the usual places people hit up to land wholesale accounts; but before you approach them, have you already determined what your wholesale policy will be? If not, you're not ready for wholesale. Craft shows will be a good source of research for you. Sales at a show can help you discover what your best scents are and will also provide you with a good opportunity to engage in coversation with shoppers to get feedback on your products, and learn what customers are really looking for. The information you gain from craft shows should assist you in promoting and suggesting your top selling products to wholesale accounts. There is a lot of competition out there and if you want to be seen as a legitimate business, it's important to create good marketing pieces, such as a brochure or business card that you leave behind. Image is everything.

WSP has them. http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/ProductDetail.aspx?CatalogID=3&GroupID=742&CategoryID=1854&ProductID=3875&ProductName=+12+oz+Smooth+Sided+Jelly+Jar+-+70%2f450

Read through the submissions. You'll find Beijing Himense Technology on the list. http://blog.anta.net/2007/12/11/chinese-domain-name-warnings-still-making-the-rounds/

Yeah, maybe I misunderstood. I hope I'm mistaken about it anyway.

If my math is right, it looks like you'll have to buy 85 fragrances to fulfill the orders. Do you get them all from the same place? Even if you're just buying sample sizes, that's going to cost a fortune, isn't it? I hope you don't wind up losing money on the deal.

Why not buy one of hers and test it? It would be easier than wasting your wax.

I don't think typing in brand names would do you a bit of good. If people are looking for Yankee Candle or another name brand, it's highly unlikely that they will buy yours instead. It would probably serve as a source of irritation that your site would pop up without any relation to Yankee or other brands they are looking for.

I wouldn't waste my time with her. Apparently she must not have been much of a big-time customer, otherwise the person she USED to get them from would still be making them for her. Reduce your prices? Get real. One 0.8oz Yankee tart costs $1.99. Did she give you a reason why she thinks you should drop the price for her? Delivery? That's totally out of the question. You have made an investment in renting a space so that people have easy access to your products.

Does the same person who is doing the repetitive bidding ever win? If they don't, then I would agree that shill bidding is a possibility, but if they are the high bidder time after time, then I wouldn't be so sure.

I agree Dave, it is important to check with other shop owners about the amount (and kind) of traffic they get. Just because you see a shop on a busy street it is no guarantee that anyone will stop to walk through your doors. I don't know what you had in mind to sell, MM, but to me it seems like it would be very difficult to make a store successful carrying only handmade items such as soap and candles when you have no name recognition. I think in order to make it work, you will have to get out in the public eye to market your products. Of course you will feel comfortable trying to sell products in your own store--but you've got to get them there first, and that is not easy if you don't have a large advertising budget and marketing plan in place, and even if you do, there's no guarantee that it will work! I know a lady with a gift shop who does numerous festivals a year. She drags some of her merchandise to the county fair every year and participates in other community shows just to bring awareness to her store. Her store is in a rural, small town, but she sells name brand items such as Vera Bradley and Willow Tree and has to take the store on the road so to speak, just to get her name out there and give people a reason to come to town to visit her store. It works great for her. Keep that in mind. Just because you have a store and put an ad in the paper, it doesn't mean that people will magically show up.