I will buy 1 pounders I've never tried if they are not too complex. IE: straight Lavender, vanilla, etc., figure I can always use them for blending if they are not good alone. I've also done like Jcandleattic and bought a pound if it sounds intriguing and the price was good . When I try new sample sizes I usually wait for SALES and then just load up on whatever sounds intriguing. I've probably tried almost all of candle science's when they have the .99 cent sales.