Do you trash your competition?

[Willowbrook]

Now be honest? If you are doing a fair and someone walks up to you and speaks of another competitor, do you trash them? Are people that insecure about their products?

The reason I ask is this, my mother just called me from a festival in Virginia were she happened upon a man with a booth selling handmade soaps. She stopped to look since I have been dabbling in cp soap and she has been one of my testers. The man approached my mother and made small talk and when upon my mother mentioning that I also made soap that man went nuts and started trash talking and stating that nobodies soap can be as good as his and ranted on and on about his being better. My mom thought he was nuts and just walked away. She was actually going to buy some but he drove her away. She is loving the idea of handmade soap and would have spent a nice chuck of change to stock up since I'm not really making alot of it.

[BerryPatchMama]

only insecure people have to resort to that.

[Melly]

Sounds like bad business to me, I would never imagine trashing someone elses products (unless its yankee , or Colonial, havnt they ever heard of repours.)

[CSAS]

I do not trash anyone elses products. I feel I don't need to. I feel my product is of superior quality and so should my professionalism. I have only tested one other candle since making candles and it was a Yankee. I do not try others candles, so if they are real bad, I don't have the thought in my head. That man is a very poor businessman and your mother walking away probably didn't even register with him how poor he is. That's the problem, he just doesn't get it!!!

[Candle Man]

As far as candles go I use to compair myself with the name brand big boys but not anymore.

Here is what I do

I buy candles from my area name brand, dollar store & other candles in our gift shops and florist's then I burn them. Then in my store I have a display of all of them clearly marked as the name brand, from which stores they came from how much they cost & the burn time I got out of each of them. Then I display my burned candle samples/testers next to them to show how my candles will completly burn with little to no soot & longer burn time. I'm not putting down these candles or stores I just show my customers what they get if they burn other candles verses my candles. The other candles always have some problem, very little cold or hot throw, tunnling down the middle with alot of hang-up, very sooty black jars & very poor burn times.

I've even had customers bring in Home Interior candles that only burned for a few hours then they could not find the wick. They would ask if I could melt this candle down and put in a new wick. I said sure, but then show them my candles and tell them if you buy my candles you will NOT have this problem. Then they start buying from me.

Like I said I don't say anything bad about my competition I just show the results and that always makes the sale & a new and lasting customer for me.

Candle Man

[sudsnwicks]

I don't trash my competitors' products. Instead I point out the good and unique points of mine. Unfortunately there are plenty of consumers out there who will actually believe vendors who use this unscrupulous method and buy from them, making it hard for honest people like us.

[Monica]

Nope! Only to myself lol

I do often hear...oh we just bought a lotion bar over there..but yours is much creamier..(then they look disappointed) I just listen and nod. Trashing others in an attempt to sell your product makes you look very unprofessional.

[scrubzz]

I was always taught that if I had to tear someone down it meant I was too lazy to raise myself up to their level

[dzeyez]

I don't feel a need to trash talk anothers product. I believe quality speaks for itself. I do inform my customers of the pros and cons of buying homemade products versus store products. I find that in general people really don't care to here one person talk bad of another. That's why we have samples, testers and repeat customers. This poor man didn't realize while he was trashing your product he ran away a potential life long customer!!!!

[kuepie]

My husband taught me that the only reason why anyone talks bull about other people is because they are so insecure about themselves. So I would just take it with a grain of salt. You know your stuff is good.

[sharyl55]

I don't trash other hand poured competitors. I do point out when told that the Dollar Store has votives for $0.50 that they are made in China and you don't really know what was used to make it. I did have a customer ask me how to clean the soot out of the inside of a hurricane. I was so stunned I didn't say anything at 1st. Then I told him my votives wouldn't leave soot on the inside of the cane but thought he could probably use rubbing alchol or a baby wipe if he had that problem with the votives he was using.

[Fire and Ice]

No, I don't need to say anything about my competitors because they say it all when they bash me!

What infuriates them is that I've never bought any of their candles. Even when they are trying to GIVE them to me, I turn them down so that I can hostely tell a customer.

" I don't know a thing about those candles, good or bad. I can only speak for my own."

However, if a customer is looking for something other than soy container candles, I point them to the person who is selling what they're looking for. But that just makes good common sense to me.

[linda]

I love meeting other soap/candle makers..We are getting ready to have a meeting at my place...shortly...Once when I was set up at a expensive show one weekend with just soaps..probably close to a thousand bars..CP and MP.. I was out buying from other soap makers...I just couldn't help myself..Can't resist a soap stands..So, I carry my goodies back..and my husband is just shaking his head and stat's..."Don't you think you have enough of your own??? Never,can a man have two many fishing poles???Kind Regards,linda

[Scented]

Nope we don't trash the competition. We've talked about various products and tactics with others, but we don't down grade people, especially not to sell our products.

[linda]

Just got in last night from a show...Not only was one candle maker rude to the other candle dealers..She started cutting her prices..to undercut them..She also did this with other items she came with..I still sold and never changed prices..But, by the end of the show..(I got the impression***they ask her not to return to this show..)..I try to be as nice as I can even with people I can tell are out to stab you in the back..I have seen them come and go over the years..and crooks soon run out of GASSSSSSSSSSSS.Kind regards,linda

[Fairy_Light]

i think it's very immature to speak poorly about other peoples products... talk up about yours in a way that doesn't take talking down about others... he got what he deserved... HUGS

[mountainmadness]

Not at all.

It is good to learn from eachother because we all know the hard work that goes into good products. I let my products speak for themselves. I have learned that most people do shop around to see what it offered before they buy.

My two biggest thumbs down when I am shopping are 1) pushy sales people and 2) people trash talking their competition.

[KimOCandles]

Nope, in fact, a semi-local chandler and I both do occasional shows that we kinda know each others stock and if someone comes into each others booth and requests a certain scent that we know the other has, we send them to the other person's way. She carries the herbal, I am heavy into the floral (she gags when she pours floral, whereas I LOVE the florals). We compete, but scratch each others back whenever we can, AND we try to take business away from a competitor that ISN'T very nice BUT is VERY big in our area. Hey, whatever works

KimO.

[LynnS]

This guy didn't know you or what you sell.I am sure your family member thought the same.How can he say that?I bet he may have thought she was trying to find out some things but she may have brought from him and then get some from you when you start the soap.Gee if he bashed you miles away what does he do with competition close by.Not good at all.He may lose more business than he can imagine if he keeps that up.