candleguy

Is May when the changes go in effect?

Yes..the feedback change is supposed to happen in May. The fees were already increased and BestMatch is already in place. My March eBay store sales (non-candle) were down over 80%.

eBay is a wasteland and the new CEO, Donahoe, doesn't want small sellers cluttering up his site. He wants the new eBay to be a 'strip mall'. Even if eBay buyers were willing to pay the price for quality products the recent rule changes have made eBay a hostile environment for small sellers. Some of the more recent changes include:

- Sellers can't leave negative feedback for buyers..only positive. Buyers may continue to leave negative feedback for sellers.

- Best Match search is a dismal failure and no one can actually find what they are looking for. Best Match ties your visibility on the site to your feedback and DSR performance. DSR are anonymous 'stars' that buyers rate you with.

- eBay.au is restricting all sales to PayPal only for all sellers. No checks, no money orders..you can't even use your own merchant account. They have admitted in the press that if they can pull it off overseas the US is next.

- fee increases and promises from eBay management that fee increases will no longer be annual but can & will come whenever they want.

Thousands of small & large sellers will be leaving in May. There are many, many alternative venues available. Check out Etsy, iOffer, eCrater, ePier, onlineauction, etc.

Just got a case from Lonestar a few weeks ago and noticed the same thing.

I thought it was from the Texas heat and humidity. Haven't noticed any burn difference yet.

I got excellent dark colors with solid dye blocks from At Wix End.

(http://www.atwixend.com/category.php?coloring)

Using C3 wax. Good reds, blues and greens.

The only problem I encountered was color mottling after 6 months which was cured by remelting.

http://www.papermart.com/templates/41-0-50.htm

http://www.usbox.com/Box/pack-it_color_gift_box.html

Also Uline has some basic Black, White & Gold boxes:

http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_5602.asp?desc=Gift+Boxes

Uline has a nice line of gift boxes:

http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_5602.asp?desc=Gift+Boxes

I've used US Box also but their customer service was AWFUL.

Not sure what Fo you are putting in the c-3 but it throws like hotcakes for me.........

Same here with c-3. Some FO's are duds but the majority of our FO's tested throw you right out of the room.

Candleguy- back to your dilemma.

What temperature did you have these candles stored in and how was the humidity?

These two factors can greatly dimish the life of your colors and texture in a short time with 415.

A/C keeps the room where they were stored between 74 & 78. Humidity not so high, a bit on the dry side.

Thanks for all of your responses. I've decided to drop the dye for now and just go with the natural C-3 wax color. Although.. one of my testers said she thought the frosting was cool and thought I did it on purpose.

A side thought..would storing them in cellophane bags be a factor?

Does Cargill C3 have a shelf life? I have a 7 month old test batch in votive glass that have completely discolored. At first I thought it was just the dyed candles but found out that it also affects the no-dye batches as well. It seems to only happen after 4-6 months of being stored in closed storage containers in a dark, cool room. They still burn OK and give good to excellent cold & hot throws but cosmetically look gross. I'm pretty sure I'm going to drop the dyes for now but even with the natural color it still has the halo effect. Is that unacceptable to the soy candle consumer?

I used both liquid dye from Lonestar and solid dye blocks from At Wix End.

FO's were mostly from Daystar though it's happened with Lonestar FO too.

Easier to show pictures than to describe the look so here's some photos.

Pink Sugar, Kitchen Spice, Wood Coffee, Nut type and Cut Grass pictured.

Thanks! Getting closer but those would only work with that jar line. I'll order some with my next order with them just to be sure.

I believe they're called 'plastic dust cover lid for candles' though that's not bringing up much in Google.

Here's a pic of one on a container:

And here's someone looking for the same thing:

http://tinyurl.com/8bm2g

Fern-Marie,

Stock would be fine if I can find them. Seems nothing, from boxes to bags, in a stock size, fits my containers.

At the Bitter Creek WI site the closest thing I found was :

pDisc - Clear Plastic Smelly Jelly Jar Disc

http://tinyurl.com/crtj4

The type of cap I'm looking is an actual unthreaded cap that's about 1/4 inch deep.I've seen them on cheap votive glasses in WalMart and higher end tumbler candles from Root.

I've checked dozens of vendors and can't even come close to this item. They're on all kinds of manufactured candles. Light weight plastic, sometimes with a punched hole for fragrance sampling.

Can anyone point me to a supplier or a plastics vendor that can custom make them?