Jillsthings

Even though Candlewic is only a few hours away, I rarely order from them because their shipping is so high. If I ordered in the quantity of Mountain there, I'd make the trip, but for the little bit that I would buy from them, I'd spend more in gas than the shipping anyway, so it's not worth it. CS is so much more reasonable in their shipping prices for me.

She actually did mention that if they don't sell well, we can try again during the holiday season. She was very friendly and understanding of the fluctuation of sales during certain times in the year. :-)

Thanks! Our trial will be 3 months, see if it goes well, then we'll talk wholesale. The biggest thing she is worried about is that she doesn't have a whole lot of foot traffic. Most orders are placed over the phone. I understand that, and my main reason for wanting my candles in a shop is so that when people ask where they can get them, I can tell them to go here, rather than me having to meet them somewhere that's convenient for both of us, as I don't want complete strangers coming to my house. :-) Now my head is hurting from all the research I've done, figuring out who remits the sales tax to the state, do I need to get a copy of her sales tax license for when I pay my quarterly taxes...so much to research and get together within the next couple of days. I'm hoping to have everything ready to go over next week and set up. I've already got tons of candles and melts made up from the craft shows I've done this year, so I'm good for now on that, lol. :-)

Okay, I am very leery about consignment after reading the forums, but I agreed. Her idea is to do consignment for a couple of months, see how they sell, and then we'll switch to wholesale. We haven't written anything up or signed anything yet, just a verbal agreement. We'll get all that figured before I get everything together and actually do my display.

Anyhow, it's at a local florist. In fact, it's the florist my husband has been using for the past 11 years, so I'm extremely excited that she is willing to have my candles in her shop. She's never done consignment before either, so this is a whole new venture for us both. My prices are low to begin with, so my wholesale prices are about a 30% discount (which puts me at or just below double my cost). I'm thinking for consignment, I don't want to give more than 20%. I plan to offer 15% first, see if she'll take that, then go to 20% if needed. Does this sound reasonable?

She already has a paper with my wholesale prices, so she is aware of those, along with the percentages, so I'm sure she'll understand if I don't want to do 25% because then what's the incentive to go wholesale? The only other option is to raise my prices, which isn't really doable in this area and with the economy what it is.

Any advice or info for me? Thanks!

I've had people tell me that my tarts smell better and longer than Scentsy. I've also heard that Scentsy tend to smell waxy after an hour or two, where mine don't. I use 100% PB. :-)

Candybee, that's why I didn't say anything. I thought it would just look like I was a jealous candle maker, trying to make her look bad so people would buy my candles over hers....

Thanks, guys! I know it's none of my business, and I didn't say anything. :-) I wanted to, but I wouldn't.

I know you've already decided, and I've only done two shows myself, so I don't have the experience these other ladies have, but I have already decided for myself that I won't do an outside show if I can help it. I've been tempted by a few, but I am so fearful of my candles melting and then people going to pick them up and smell them and getting wax all over everything....I'm more comfortable inside. :-)

I'm not sure where you get your tins, but I get mine from CS and have found that a CD 10 works best in most scents at 8% in GB 464. HTH! :-)

Okay, so I need to vent about this, and who better than you guys! I've joined a lot of local Facebook groups lately to help myself sell candles. There are a few other candle makers on these sites. A new one popped up today. They've got pictures of candles that look to be poured in just random old jars they had lying around. They also state that they'll make a candle in any scent you ask for.

I'm by no means perfect, and haven't really been at this long enough to consider myself very knowledgeable, but from what I can see, there is a very, very, very slim chance that those candles have been tested, and I would be so afraid of the safety of them! I'm in half my mind to just ask her what size wick she uses... It's terrible, but I worry for her customers! What if she sells them to some elderly woman and the jar shatters!

Would you say something? And how would you go about it? I feel weird, being as I am trying to sell my candles, and I don't want future customers thinking that I'm just belittling her product to make mine look better. I know I should probably just leave it alone... I remember how I felt when I first started (which was just last year). I thought it was easy. Just mix and pour. Voilà ! You've got a candle. Now I know better, and know that it takes time and money to test. I certainly would not use random old jars to sell! Okay, time to get off my soapbox. :lipsrseal

Now I want a cupcake!

Oh, I totally agree! But I've done this show for years; always did consistent sales. But for some reason the number of attendees was down ... really lower than normal. So I was just wondering if this is just a regional abnormality or if it's happening country-wide.

Jillsthings - Good for you! You will get a feel for how much product you need to bring as time goes on. Glad you made a profit. Go get 'em!

Thanks Judy! And I can tell you, the craft show I just did was slow compared to previous years. I'm normally just a customer at it, and I talked to a few other vendors who have been doing it for years and it was definitely slower this year than previous years. :-(

Oh, I totally agree! But I've done this show for years; always did consistent sales. But for some reason the number of attendees was down ... really lower than normal. So I was just wondering if this is just a regional abnormality or if it's happening country-wide.

Jillsthings - Good for you! You will get a feel for how much product you need to bring as time goes on. Glad you made a profit. Go get 'em!

Thanks Judy! And I can tell you, the craft show I just did was slow compared to previous years. I'm normally just a customer at it, and I talked to a few other vendors who have been doing it for years and it was definitely slower this year than previous years. :-(

For me, most FO's, wax and my tins, I get from CS. I find they are the cheapest for me all around and I just love the little feet on the tins! I get my wicks and a couple FO's from Lonestar, as well. CW, even though they are only about 2 hours from me (I'd spend just as much in gas), their shipping charges are much more than CS, otherwise I would buy from them.

I did my very first craft show two weekends ago at the local high school. I was hoping to do a little better than I did for the amount of work, especially the lugging stuff in and out. I had no idea what to take, so I took it all! I had about 150 candle tins and about 150 tarts (clamshell and cup). I ended up doing about $150 in profit, so I'm not too bummed with it being my first show and all. I've got another one later this month, though I'm not taking everything to this one, lol. The bright side is, both that craft show and the one later this month are within 5 minutes of my house. :-) And I've already been asked to do another in August.

CS Honeysuckle Jasmine is one of my best sellers! Also, CS Blueberry Cobbler, CS Strudel & Spice, CW Snickerdoodle, CS Banana Nut Bread. They all throw great in GB 464 at 8% using CD wicks in tins. They also all sold really well at my craft show, in candle and tart form. :-) (tarts made in Ecosoya PB)

I just did my first craft show about two weeks ago. My tarts were selling like hot cakes! I sell the scalloped ones (approximately 1 ounce each) for $1, but none of them sold at the craft show. The cup tarts (approximately 1.5 ounces of wax) sold great at $1.50 and the clamshell tarts (approximately 3 ounces of wax) sold great at $3.00. Sc*ntsy is really, really big around here right now. I've had so many customers come back for more of my tarts because they are cheaper, last longer and smell better than that other one. :-) That makes me happy to hear!

I hear ya, Stella. I'm thinking I'll leave this FO for tarts and find a different one for candles. I'm going to try one last test, pouring it without the wick and then just trying a couple different wicks that way, see if I can find one that works that way. Otherwise, I'm giving up on it. Thanks for all the replies! :-)

Okay, so I am getting really frustrated with this FO. I am testing in a 6 oz tin. I started out at 8% FO (which is usually where I always start out) and I tested it with a CD 8 (which most FO's do well with in this tin), tunneled badly, so I wicked up two to a CD 12, still tunneled...tried a CD 14, same thing. Not to mention that with all three wicks, the flame was so, so tiny! Okay, so I tried lowering the FO to 6%. Started with a CD 12. The flame was decent for the first hour or so, but then same thing as before. Ugh! So frustrating.

My next step is to wick down to the CD 10 with 6% FO, see if maybe it's just overwicked.... I'd really like to figure this out. I don't think I'm going to be able to get a wick big enough for my 16 oz tin at this rate, lol. I'm just testing the 6 oz tin first, for scent throw and to give me an idea of where to start wick testing in the bigger tins.

Any ideas on what else to try?

That's why I switched to tins. I don't have to worry about wet spots, and if I get frosting on the top, I just heat gun it. :-)

But I NEVER remove the tags that say

"Do Not Remove Under Penalty of Law"...:laugh2:

I grew up thinking I would get in trouble for that, thanks to my two older brothers. If one of those tags accidentally came off, they told me the cops were going to come and take me away. They were so mean, lol. :-)

They look great!

I keep considering buying some palm wax so I can make some pretty pillars....some day, maybe.

I guess it depends on how much savings are in the coupon book, and if they are coupons you'd actually use.

I had a nasal sprayer that said ''remove sprayer from nostril after spraying''...........duh!!

Wait....you're supposed to remove those things? No wonder I've been getting such weird looks. :-p

Well also along the line of stupid warnings. A 10 ft tall plush teddy sitting on a chair outside of a store, with a warning label that stated.....

"Do not machine wash" Don't know about you guys, but our washing machine sure wouldn't fit it in.....LOL

Richard

If I did, maybe I could get caught up on laundry....yeah, probably not. :-)