Paper Street Guy

I call WSP today and asked about formula changes (no longer any glycerin in Shea or Suspension bases). The person I spoke with was unable to address why glycerin was not listed on the Shea or Suspension bases any more and I was told to contact Debbie. Silk Amino Acids, it appears, have been removed from the Shea base for some unknown period of time, hence the name change from "Silk & Shea" to just "Shea Butter" base. However their site says that the name has changed but the formulas have not. The WSP story just gets stranger and stranger. Don't even get me started about free shipping. I just have to say that all of the changes I have seen come out of this company in the past year have helped me - the small business owner - in absolutely no way. None. I was also told that the company was losing money before the price changes, and this I gathered was the reason for the changes. One has to wonder, however - is the "free shipping" simply a way to hide a huge price increase or is WSP attempting to make even more money on their already excessive shipping costs? Are they trying to discourage people from coming into the store? I was told today that I can still come in to the showroom when I mentioned that I usually picked up my order. Of course, I live 3 1/2 hours away and the main reason I was making that lovely drive was to save the shipping cost. No point in that drive now, or in sampling their new products, as they offer no samples. Personally, I believe that when one sees a company making radical changes such as this, and making them so often, that this is a sign that the company is failing and is casting about for some change that will set it right. They certainly appear not to care for the small business owner, as none of the changes they have made benefit me in any way. And if it is indeed true that they removed glycerin from the Shea and Suspension bases, this is just utter desperation. I find that I cannot do business with them anymore, perhaps with the exception of their fragrances. I simply have lost faith in the company and their ability to provide me and my customers with a quality product, whatever the price may be. As I have been doing business with them for 3 years now, this is truly unfortinuate. And they want the industry to mirror their changes? Really!?!? I think that debbiemay.com and the Handcrafted Soap Guild and all of these other things have made this company believe they are more important than they really are. There is a lot of competition out there. I leave you with the tagline from debbiemay.com - Dedicated to Helping Small Businesses Succeed.

I call WSP today and asked about formula changes. Sue was unable to address why glycerin was not listed on the Shea or Suspension bases any more and I was told to contact Debbie. Silk Amino Acids, it appears, have been removed from the Shea base for some unknown period of time, hence the name change from "Silk & Shea" to just "Shea Butter" base. However their site says that the name has changed but the formulas have not. The WSP story just gets stranger and stranger. I was also told by Sue that the company was losing money before the price changes, and this I gathered was the reason for the changes. One has to wonder, however - is the "free shipping" simply a way to hide a huge price increase or is WSP attempting to make even more money on their already excessive shipping costs? Personally, I believe that when one sees a company making radical changes such as this, and making them so often, that this is a sign that the company is failing and is casting about for some change that will set it right. They certainly appear not to care for the small business owner, as none of the changes they have made benefit me in any way. And if it is indeed true that they removed glycerin from the Shea and Suspension bases, this is just utter desperation. I find that I cannot do business with them anymore, perhaps with the exception of their fragrances. I simply have lost faith in the company and their ability to provide me and my customers with a quality product, whatever the price may be. As I have been doing business with them for 3 years now, this is truly unfortinuate.

Hey All, I have been buying from WSP for about 3 years now and am outraged by their new "free shipping" scheme. I have yet to find one positive aspect that really helps me. So I was in the process of price shopping and noticed something. Regarding the M & P soap bases, I noticed that they changed the formulas. Did you know that the "Extra Clear Soap Base" no longer has any glycerin listed in the ingredients? Neither does the "Shea Butter Soap Base". The Shea Butter soap base doesn't have silk amino acids in it any longer either. And they made a point of saying on that page that while they changed the name, they didn't change the recipe. But it appears to me as though they have. Can anyone confirm this? Also, before glycerin was the third ingredient on the list. Now it is second to last. The third ingredient is now "water," which used to be second to last on the list. So either they really screwed up their ingredients list or they are adding less glycerin and more water to their base. Anyone have the inside scoop? As far as the new "free shipping" pricing goes, I think they just priced me out of their market. I used to drive 3 1/2 hours to get there to save on shipping but now it doesn't make any sense, as I will have to "pay for shipping" anyway. I am thinking on changing base suppliers to either SFIC or Stephenson. I like lots of lather, need a base firm enough to suspend some fine powder color additives (mica, lavender powder, etc), and am looking for something that is low water content, high glycerin content, and creates a relaitively hard bar of soap. Would anyone who has used either (or both) of these two care to offer a recommendation? I have to scramble for a new supplier now that WSP appears to be offering a much lower quality base. Thanks!