redraider

I also carry Drake warmers which are beautiful and some form JKL.

I have always had good luck with them, they call me before my order ships and let me know what my freight is going to be. I did have problems at first if they would be out of a product. They would sub another product in its place which didn't really bother me too bad but then out of the blue I would get a shipment of the products that I was shorted. By that point I had already moved on and didn't need the product any more. I called my sales rep and he explained to me that my account was set up to fill "back orders" as they become available. Once we got that changed to not ship back orders I have had no problem.

I went with the 4570. I ordered it from Amazon and it was cheaper than all the office places. Including shipping it still came in under what office max, depot, best buy etc we selling it for. I had to order anyway because no one stocked it locally.

Got my Brother laser up and running this morning and printed about 60 pages of labels. So far very impressed. There are a couple labels that I like better on my old inkjet but overall the labels look so much better. I can always use my mom's inkjet(she lives next door) to print the couple of labels that I like better on ink.

I can't get over how much faster the laser is. Best part is I got it set up wireless so I can send items to print from my laptop from anywhere in the house or out in the candle barn and I don't have to kick my kids off the desktop computer. Never putting another printer in the candle barn!!!! No more critters, well except for my cat who is completely enthralled with the new item on my desk.

Palm Island, Pomegranate Lemonade and Lavender for the spa that has started carrying our candles.

Cinnamon Vanilla, Lovespell, Bird of Paradise, Jamaica Me Crazy, Birthday Cake for a fundraiser

An assortment of scents for stock just to be ready for my sales girls if they need more inventory.

Gonna be a long weekend I think.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I really want one I can print black labels with that look black, not gray. I have a new customer who owns a spa and she is wanting black labels with gold lettering.

$14.99 for print cartridges sounds like a deal. I have order a brother laser that I am going to keep in the house so away from the critters that lurk in the barn. I think I will get an less expensive all in one to put in the candle room and beg my father to make me a hard box to put over it for when I am not out there using it to keep things from crawling in.

My HP photosmart premium printer died today and I need a new one. I don't dare try to get it cleaned and fixed. Mouse got in it over the winter and left presents and the moth infestation here in Texas the last two weeks finished it off for me.

What printer can you all suggest. I liked my HP but really wanted some feedback. I haven't even had this printer 2 years but realize the breakdown was not due to the printer itself but to critters in the candle barn.

Laser or Ink?

Brand

Mac friendly

My top 3 sellers year round are Cinnamon Vanilla, Bird of Paradise and Butt Naked. Mostly of our business is fundraisers. When we offer Butt Naked I let the group decide what name they want. You be surprised at the "church" groups that keep the original name. When we need to we change it to California Girls and it sells just as well either way. Butt Naked it the scent that the Scentsy people cheat on themselves and buy from me so when I sell at shows and retail we stick with the original name.

Also for almost all my customers I deliver the candles or meet them half way. Maybe that is just a Texas thing. Its nothing to drive 8 hours in a day for us. I have shipped some on a pallet to South Dakota before but the others I just deliver. One of the 1000 candle customers is a 4 hour 1 way drive but it is much cheaper for me to deliver than to ship those some other way. Plus I get to meet them face to face and helps secure the business for next year. Customer Service is part of why my customers use me.

They would just send you the $5 per candle plus whatever you charge them for shipping. they keep their profits.

I have 2 customers that have fundraisers that sell about 1000 candles/each during the fall which as you know is the busy season. One of them only offers one fragrance to sell so she will send me enough money for m 500 candles in advance. That allows me to order the jars, wax, and fragrances in bulk and also lets us get a head start on making the candles. She decides on her fragrance in August so we can get a jump start. Once they have sold over 500 she let me know each time they get order for 100 until it is done.

The other customer that sells 1000 faxes orders to me as they come in. Theirs if for harvest festival queen so there is always a big push the last week(They sell for about 5 weeks) They send money every 2 weeks to keep us going.

All the other funraisers I do(90 % of our business) are generally 300 candles or less. I tell everyone to allow 2 weeks for delivery. Since I live in Texas and alot of the oils I get are from Ohio etc it can take a week for some of the oils to get here. I refuse to pay extra freight to get here in 2 days unless I make a calculation mistake. Usually I have their candles ready in 1 week unless they sell alot of something that I don't keep alot of stock of.

My standard is money up front. If it is a school or group that we work with every year, sometimes twice a year, I will just wait and collect when. However if it is a new group I request the money up front and have never had anyone blink an eye. They already have their money so why shouldn't we get ours. Also this helps if the check bounces. That way you know before hand and they can provide a cashiers check to replace.

When I first started I would by 6 inch pretabbed wicks, cut those in half and then crimp the other end with a tab myself. I found I could do about 100 ok but after that my hand would get tired and I would think they were crimped but then would find out I didn't get it done good enough and they would pull out. My husband would help me in a pinch but he finally said BS. I discovered the custom wick builder at candle wic and now every time they have the 50% off I order enough to last 6 months. You may save money out of your pocket putting your own tabs on but the time you spend doing it does not justify the savings, at least for me. Wicks are pennies each whether you make them or someone else. Why ruin your hands and believe me over time it will. The though of hand crimping 40,000 wicks a year makes me cry and would be time well spent testing new products, building my website or relaxing.

I second the Blueberry Cobbler, it has been a good seller for us this year. Their Leather is wonderful, and so is the Hawaiian Breeze.

I use glass pyrex pour pots. I keep a little broiler oven on the counter and just stick them in there for a few minutes. That gets everything melted off the side. I poor the remants in a 5 gallon bucket and then wipe clean with those blue shop towels. Pretty quick and easy.

They do it at casino's in Vegas as well. I have a hard time hanging out at the Flamingo in Vegas because it smells like coconut oil. I know they started doing that when they opened Margaritaville there. I love to go to Margaritaville and look around but I can no longer stay at the Flamingo.

Exactly. My husband was so mad at me for spending money on a Shark and then sitting it aside. He says "Jill, you need to figure out how to make a candle that smells like Pinesol" My hand was broke at the time and he was doing all the mopping. Ok, I will admit, a year later and he still does 95% of the mopping cause I am always out in the barn playing with candle stuff!!

LOL omg that's exactly what I thought ... and did, when I got my Shark ! lol it was ODD because the house had ALL wood or tile floors, and I'd work like a dog and it didnt have that cleaner smell we're so used to , that in our heads signified it was "cleaned"...lol how funny !

I actually love the smell of pine sol. That is the only way I think my house is clean.. I bought one of those Shark steam mops a couple of years ago but refuse to use it because the house doesn't smell right. Now I can use the steam mop and then get the smell from a candle.

I guess every company is different. Lonestar offers discount on 200# or more shipped via UPS. I don't hardly ever order from Candlesource but they use FedEx ground I believe. Probably different criteria for fedex and UPS. Your freight savings discount from Lonestar might justify checking out there wax but theirs. However Lonestar's are slabs of wax instead of the pellets. I have actually been thinking of trying the wax from Candlesource just to see if it is easier to load into the melter to save my back and hands but at those freight prices I probably will just have to stay with what I currently use.

Probably correct. I know that LS has a freight discount if you order 200 lbs or more so you might think about that. Also whenever I always try to time my need for wax for the same time I need containers. That way I can get them on a pallet and shipped LTL instead of by the box. That way I can still ad on some wicks, fragrance oils, dyes etc and basically I get the freight free on them because the pallet rate is fairly flat.

Shouldn't that be the name of a drink?

Jamaica Me Naked

I am testing burning a Red Delicous Apple for NG right now that smells pretty good. It must be strong because I have a sinus infection and really can't smell anything.

I use a different wax but the Butt Naked from NG is always one of my top sellers in the spring and summer. The funny thing is every person who sniffs them has a different take on the fragrance. I classify it as a clean scent but it can crossover to tropical or a little fruity. No perfume or floral smell at all. This is the scent that scentsy reps cheat on themselves and by from me.

I would like to see my husband try to limit me on what I order, lol. He doesn't have a clue. He ain't even on the checking account for the candle business. Now when I had to use his american express card last fall to stock on and supplies for Holiday Happening and a fundraiser that sold 1000 candles he was a somewhat concerned when I "owed" him $4000. But thankly I paid him off before his bill even come in.

I love Peaks Vanilla Mint, Strawberry Kiwi and if you need a good rose their Rose Boquet is really strong.

I currently use 4630 container wax but hate loading those slabs. Summer too greasy winter too hard. I would love to change to the pellets but would I have to retest everything?

Thanks Lynn. I actually ordered Monday from Agilex. This is a custom blend so in order to meet their minimum $amount I order 50# at a time. I just wish I had done it before the end of 2011 for tax purposes. good news is I should have enough to get me through this summer. I am going to sample the Cinnamon Vanilla from Candlemakers Store because I really need something else to get from them so I can order more often.

RedRaider,The Candlemaker Store has Cinnamon Vanilla.I need to order it today.You may have a place closer to you.The Candlemaker Store is close to me.

Lynn Smith