TallTayl

I would probably stock up on a&b boxes til they’re gone. They will be calculated as dimensional boxes after the switch. You can still schedule pickups through usps.com without purchasing labels there if I recall? just checked shippo and you can easily schedule a pickup in their system. Phew!

Freedom was 464 from what I recall

that needs to be embroidered on a pillow.

I think some of the success of this trick depends on your particular post office. I've had them reject things with some postal reps but not others. It's worth a shot if you have a good relationship with your local PO! As long as the bag is sturdy enough to not get ripped off in the machines along the way it sounds like an interesting application of their rules. I rely on Etsy and Shippo, which will both see the elimination of some classes of service, and re-zoning rates. It will be a hit but it seems they're working with those "temporary rate increases" from the holiday season. We got no relief last year, so the pennies this year look good by comparison =D

My thoughts.: While I will miss the convenience of Regional Rate A & B boxes, usps had already worked the cost of the “free” boxes into the postage prices in recent years. The total cost to ship was very nearly to the penny the cost of the cubic rates for typical purchased boxes of the same size. Ebay and PackagingPrice.com had many sizes to choose from which gave us lots to fully test. I’m thrilled with some that are available as they can really elevate a brand with little effort. - Published “counter rates” are always shocking. Using services like Pirate Ship and Go Shippo have saves many of us small businesses enough to remain strong and competitive. - UPS rates through pirate ship and go shippo were surprisingly competitive in 2022 for parcels over 1 lb, giving a nice option to customers. - FedEx prices soared in 2022, causing many of us to choose other services to keep overall costs to customers affordable. I wonder how FedEx will respond to the new usps and ups changes in 2023? Some things that helped save a little more shipping $ in 2022 included testing light weight folding type boxes. Many ECT 32 and similar thinner material folding boxes weigh less than typical corrugated “heavy” wall and provide enough protection for my typical shipments. The overlapping folds really added to the structure for smaller items. On average the shipping savings more than covered the cost of the box for items weighing < 16oz that qualified for first class rates. That savings increased profitability of individual transactions noticeably. changing dimensions of my products allows for more flexible shipping boxes. I continually evaluate molds and packaging to pack more efficiently. Clam shells, for instance, take a considerable amount of space in shipping cartons. Changing from clams to something smaller makes shipping much simpler. Ditching plastic clams also got me one step closer to packaging independence while reducing single use plastic. Since I don’t have a physical shop to worry about, the hanging portion of the clam was not needed anyway which gave so much more flexibility. does the shipping news change anything you will do in 2023?

https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2022/1110-usps-announces-new-competitive-prices-for-2023.htm https://goshippo.com/blog/how-the-2023-usps-shipping-rates-will-affect-your-e-commerce-business/ Highlights: 1) Retirement of Regional rate services 2) new shipping rates 3) Change to shipping zones (which may increase shipping rates) Retirement of Regional Rate: This is part of a larger effort to simplify the Priority Mail rate structure and eliminate any redundancy between Regional Rate Boxes (RRB) and Priority Mail Cubic (PMC) shipments. PMC has proven to be the more popular option, offers the lowest possible rates for USPS shipping, and serves the same needs as RRBs. The only difference is that Regional Rate Boxes were free while cubic boxes are not. The Postal Service does not expect this to impact any shippers negatively. Furthermore, you can continue to use your Regional Rate Boxes until you run out. New Rates: No price increase for Parcel Select Ground which, coupled with our recently improved service standard to 2-5 days from 2-8 days, offers a reliable and economical option for shippers No price increase for USPS Connect Local, which gives businesses of all sizes the ability to reach local customers at affordable rates Reduced pricing for some Retail Priority Mail Flat-Rate products below the temporary price currently in place Priority Mail Commercial rate to increase by 3.6 percent, well below the rate of inflation Changes to Shipping Zones: Splitting Local, Zone 1, and Zone 2 into Three Different Zones In the past, the USPS has lumped all three of these shipping zones into a single column and has charged the same rate for each. Zone 1 is a 50-mile radius from the point of origin of a package being delivered, and Zone 2 stretches as far as a 51-150 mile radius. Because of this, you may see a particularly notable difference in shipping cost for packages that have to travel to Zone 2.

Here is a link to another ASTM/UL temp discussion

I know a lot of folks at the ren Faire that would pay that and more all day long for a pickle candle! They missed their market, lol.

Bold part is another candle myth actually. That is a limit versus a goal for appropriate waxes. Try to burn a coconut wax like that and you’ll miss out on some awesome throw. Burn a palm like that and you will have a 250*F+ mess. Burn beeswax like that and expect glass to shatter. I look at a 1/2” deep melt pool as a fail in my candles. I give a side eye at 1/4”. Soy type waxes form a clear melt pool that tops a layer of sludge. The deeper/hotter the melt pool, the quicker that sludge teeters to the clear point and begins to burn too hot, too dirty or otherwise overwhelms the wick especially in the last half of the candle’s life. The sludgy wax pool is also prone to tippy wicks leaning off center and potentially getting too close to the glass possibly leading to shatter. Flat & coreless wicks (CD, CDN, HTP, LX, BLSQ and many others) need more support to keep from leaning. I have seen some begin to sag in a melt pool, collapsing onto themselves. It was eye opening. it seems that melt pool myth started when fragrances started not performing well - back in th 2015/2016 time frame. Many of us oldies had it easy when pretty much every FO worked perfectly at 6% or less in just about any wax. We could wick to powerburn all the live long day without ever needing to worry about high temps. Those were the days, lol.

Yep. Midwest soy is comparable to GB 415. Millenium is comparable to GB464.

A powerburn is a very long, full day+ burn as if a customer lit and forgot it was lit. It can be performed when perfectly trimming, and should also consider imperfectly trimmed wicks. Customers will never trim perfectly even if they promise they will. max temp for containers according to the UL testing range in the US I have researched state 125*F for metal and 140-145*F for glass. You can Google candle tests for various recognized resellers, like Disney, Home Goods, etc and see the test results in PDF format. It is a very good set of tests to learn to perform. The Tests also reference ASTM, which has been discussed many times here and on many presentation type slide decks easily googleable. somewhere, some time ago, someone started a discussion that ASTM limits container temps to 175*F. I purchased the ASTM standards doc for candles, and have directly contacted ASTM to ascertain the temp and learned there is not one stated by them as claimed. This does not mean there is none in your country, it is just not ASTM standard. UL in the US is the referred to source. Related topic: I encourage anyone burning and selling candles to learn the ASTM standards. If anything happens to a candle while someone burns it, the best defense is to follow the published standards.

Wick up=next bigger size. wick down= next smaller size. may need to wick up/down several sizes for different fragrance oils (and/or dyes) in the same wax/container.

Close. The next size up from TVR 33/18. I’m not familiar with your wick series to recommend a size.

In my experience, HT comes from two things: Quality fragrance that is compatible with the wax and the right wick for the job. quality fragrance is the best start. Not all are compatible with soy waxes on a chemical level. No amount of heat temp, cool temp tricks can fix a fragrance that just isn’t ideal for soy waxes. Fragrance labs that supply retailers use different aroma chemicals, different diluents and different concentrations of the aroma chemicals. Some fragrances will do ok, but won’t ever be like your favorite commercially made candle made by companies that have their fragrances custom made. A quality candle fragrance will withstand wax temps hot enough to fully melt the wax with no noticeable loss of potency. Many on this board use palm waxes, and waxes where palm and similar components require temps of 200*F+ to fully melt. We use the same fragrances in lower temp waxes with no issues. You will find lots of wives tales as you search for clues to make wonderful candles. wick series all burn differently in different candle systems. Some reach ideal combustion rates and temperatures for specific wax and fragrance combos better than others. I often need to cycle through many wick series and sizes in different fragrances/containers to find the right one for the job. There’s a sweet spot in wax/fragrance/container combos to coax out the best throw,

How fun! Candle making is a giant rabbit hole. that one looks slightly under wicked. You can pull that wick, smooth the surface to level if needed, and stuff a wick into the old hole to dial in your size for that container/wax/dye/fragrance combo. Every combo is a unique “system” that you will want to take good notes for. The next combo may be similar or very different. enjoy your new obsession 😊

Play around with waxes, some may be too easy to burn compared to what you’re starting with. Palm, IME can be a pretty reliable one to slow and contain that last bit of burn depending on your choice of wick. Good luck!

Do Be aware, most people don’t perfectly trim wicks before lighting. The average person doesn’t trim at all, and expects the candle to just ”work”. Nobody in my own family trims a wick before lighting despite instructing thousands of people to do so over the past decade and a half of selling candles. If you wick for a burn based on a perfect trim you may be getting yourself into a pickle. Cd24 is a pretty big wick. Make sure to powerburn and take temps as you burn the candles. The container temps will often rise sharply during the last half. Tunneling will be the least of your problems on that case. Each fragrance may need a different sized wick also, depending on the aromachemicals and diluents in the fragrance. It’s rarely a one size fits all with soy.

AHRE had a green pumpkin that was not as intense but my sample bottle smelled like a raw pumpkin.

I have maybe 10 lbs if it. Let me know if you want a sniffy. I use it as an incredibly low % - this will last me for many years.

Kabocha from WSP (it may be discontinued) is a pure raw pumpkin… like cut a pumpkin and that’s how it smells. It’s powerfully strong, and quickly takes over any blend tenaciously at tiny %. are you looking for raw or cooked?

Premier behave similarly to cdn in coconut types from what I have experienced. I went up to 777/780 in 3” tin in c3 heavy blends with some fragrances. It kinda topped out as far as decent performance single wicked with heavy soy in bigger containers. (Not unlike cd 😜)

It depends on the wax IME. I’d start about 750/755

Room temp can change a burn by a wick size or more. My house is kept about 66-68 in winter. Others 72-78. That 10 degrees can throw things way off. Wicking a candle hotter can get you into hot water without thorough testing over several seasons. If a soy wax, it could be as simple as normal curing of your wax. Or something altogether different. make sure your normal testing includes a candle burned imperfectly. Don’t trim. Burn longer. Power burn. All will tell you where your limits are. what exactly do you mean by tunneling? A little extra hang up?

Typical labeling accepts “type” for dupes.

Here is a link to one that you can use to get to the other videos of sink tests. Wow! That was a decade ago!