Crowded House Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 Anybody have any problems with their shipments melting in the summer heat? I shipped an order to the southwest US a couple of weeks ago and it occurred to me that it is already summer down there!I didn't hear anything bad from the customer but it's just going to get hotter for the next few months. Any tips or tricks to keep those soy candle orders cool, or is it usually okay to ship them in summer as you would in winter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xverion Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 I don't know about the candles making it down south, but I can tell you from working in a warehouse and going inside UPS trucks in the summer, that it can get very hot in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 The candle business has a lot of complications that people don't think of off the bat. This is one of them and it's absolutely a concern. The answer depends on what wax you're using and the conditions you expect the candles to be subjected to.Ideally you'd want to do a temperature controlled flow test with your candles sideways or upside down, but this is pretty hard to rig unless you're a wax company or a big candle company or just happen to have a garage or shed with suitable conditions. It would tell you what extremes the product can withstand.You might get some idea from the specifications and reputation of the wax. For instance, if you use EcoSoya CBA you're pretty much screwed.Some people suspend shipments at the worst times. Many people time shipments so that they won't sit in a warehouse over the weekend. That has never sounded like a good solution to me unless you look up the transit time of every shipment, never ship coast to coast, and ignore the fact that the candles may spend a hot Texas afternoon in a truck on delivery day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowded House Posted May 28, 2006 Author Share Posted May 28, 2006 You might get some idea from the specifications and reputation of the wax. For instance, if you use EcoSoya CBA you're pretty much screwed.Some people suspend shipments at the worst times. Many people time shipments so that they won't sit in a warehouse over the weekend. That has never sounded like a good solution to me unless you look up the transit time of every shipment, never ship coast to coast, and ignore the fact that the candles may spend a hot Texas afternoon in a truck on delivery day. It's Mill Creek's 125. I haven't got a clue as to how it performs as a candle in a hot truck but it seems to do okay as plain ol' wax when it's shipped to me (although that's only a 2-3 day shipping time, but it does arrive in late afternoon after being on the truck all day).I really hesitate to suspend shipping (doesn't seem like a good business practice overall). Timing a Monday-Wednesday ship is still a possibility at this point as I'm in the middle of the country and most US destinations are 2-3 business days out from me.I looked into gel packs but man, the cost!! Yipes. Not to mention that they only last about 20 hours tops without the accompanying styrofoam cooler.Too bad there aren't climate controlled point to point shippers out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystical_angel1219 Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 Your going to have issues with 415 Soy in the summer months if those candles sit in a hub for a weekend. I ship year round- two of my biggest wholesale are in CA. I do use a proprietary soy formulation~ but still proceed with caution. Because I know the boxes are going to sit in a hub in BFE. I only ship on Mondays unless they are getting Fed Ex 2 Day Air. My other accounts go on Tuesday.I just shipped tins Fed Ex 2 Day Air to TX (this locale was 100 degrees) and I placed them all right side up with tons of bubble wrap and those air packages in between the tins. They arrived perfectly- even without dents which surprised me. This was a first time I ever shipped tins to a wholesale account. I alway fear them being dented or the tops coming off and wax melting all over the inside of the box. Now I know... LOL!If you are centrally located- use the box in box method and ship the first two days of the week. The candles should be okay as long as they are right side up in the original boxe the containers came in- placed into a another larger box surrounded by packing materials.I personally would do this- I did it and it works for testing. Send two candles- under the worst circumstances and farthest distance. A friend or relative, perhaps. Then have them send the candle back to you. Pick people that live the farthest, the hottest climate and use ground shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creativecandles Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 Where do you get your boxes from for shipping this way? (box in box) I have been mostly using USPS priority and it alway sgets to its destination in 2 days. BUT, it will be tricky shipping the other way, i will have to figure out a different way to ship. I had a huge box to ship the other day and it was over 30.oo priority, so we just put it in two flat rates and it was only 16.20. You just cannot beat how great the cost is that way, but this is of course retail. Thanks for the input!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystical_angel1219 Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 Where do you get your boxes from for shipping this way? (box in box) I have been mostly using USPS priority and it alway sgets to its destination in 2 days. BUT, it will be tricky shipping the other way, i will have to figure out a different way to ship. I had a huge box to ship the other day and it was over 30.oo priority, so we just put it in two flat rates and it was only 16.20. You just cannot beat how great the cost is that way, but this is of course retail. Thanks for the input!!You can get boxes in virtually any size from www.uline.com You can open online accounts with UPS, DHL and Fed Ex, that way you can click and ship just like USPS. Very easy and will save you time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudsnwicks Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 The candle business has a lot of complications that people don't think of off the bat. This is one of them and it's absolutely a concern. How true! This was something I didn't think of at first i.e. how to ship without breakage or meltage. Some days I wish I were shipping T-shirts or some other non-breakable or meltable item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowded House Posted May 28, 2006 Author Share Posted May 28, 2006 Thanks for the tips. I'm definitely going to do the box-in-box and Monday-Tuesday shipping. Great ideas!Has anyone tried climate-controlling their boxes (ie refrigerating the product before shipment, or freezing the packing material or putting in cold packs)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelaVA Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 Someone once mentioned freezing the packing peanuts. I have never tried it and don't know if it works, but it may be worth doing a search through the old threads to see what others have done. This problem comes up every summer, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystical_angel1219 Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 Thanks for the tips. I'm definitely going to do the box-in-box and Monday-Tuesday shipping. Great ideas!Has anyone tried climate-controlling their boxes (ie refrigerating the product before shipment, or freezing the packing material or putting in cold packs)?I've used these for shipping my whipped Shea butter in the summer.http://www.packagingprice.com/forms/product_detail.cfm?categoryID=10185&productID=5176 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelaVA Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 I've used these for shipping my whipped Shea butter in the summer.http://www.packagingprice.com/forms/product_detail.cfm?categoryID=10185&productID=5176That's not a bad price for those. Thanks for the link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystical_angel1219 Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 That's not a bad price for those. Thanks for the link Your welcome, my pleasure.I am all about cost effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.