lsbennis Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 I was in Target and Walgreens today and I'm amazed at how cheap a glass jar container candle is and I'm not talking a small candle they are 16oz or better in glass lidded jars. They are selling for less then $10.00, how do they do that? Are the ingredients really that much inferior to what we all use? Actually the ones in Target were very attractive, they must be imported as I'm sure they are not hand poured. Just curious if anyone has lost sales because of this or what they do to overcome this.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapermom Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 same way dollar general sells them for 3 dollars. some are cheap, they tunnel bad and smoke like crazy or have no throw, some.. are curiously good. I don't get it either...I also think they are manufactured/mass produced somehow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 Some of Targets candles are really quite high quality - at least the FOs are. THEY charge low prices cause they have dramatically cut their suppliers' margins (which then gets pushed down the line to the manufacturers and the ingredient suppliers, etc).As for Walgreens and Dollar General, I'd say it is that they are cheap things to begin with, cheap ingredients, made somewhere with cheap labor, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 Have you tried smelling those cheap ones? Haven't tried Target cause I don't shop there often. But whenever I go into a store I always check out the other candles. The cheap ones always smell cheap to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapermom Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 Have you tried smelling those cheap ones? Haven't tried Target cause I don't shop there often. But whenever I go into a store I always check out the other candles. The cheap ones always smell cheap to me. some do, Dollar general has some candles in masons, that smell awesome, and burn great and I can't think of the "name " offhand... the rest are crap but this one brand are sadly... great, I smell them but I refuse to buy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinesShower Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Mass produced....In China....By 7 year olds....LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallbabydoll Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 I think Krinstine hit the nail on the head. Buying supplies in bulk, mass production, and importing cuts their costs tremendously. As well as bulk shipping. Their costs are cut in every way imaginable. Therefore we will never be able to sell them as cheap as they do and not take a loss. Also I've seen an improvement in the quality of the candles sold in many locations like Walmart, Pier 1, etc. The part that really burns me about this is we used to have the advantage of ours being unique using cool looking techniques. But everytime I go looking seems like they've got our techniques down too. For example I saw people here making hurricanes with cinnamon sticks or starlight candies (embeds) then I went to walmart and they had them, and they looked great and were HUGE for like $10.00Yes I think it goes without saying that sales will be lost to a less expensive competitor, and you will have people say things to you about it. At least I have. One time my ex boss told me that he could get 4 candles (a box set) from Walmart for the price of one of mine. I told him that you get what you pay for. Mine are made with top quality supplies, smell great with a great scent throw, have been throughly tested for a proper burn, etc, and that they burn for a long time. He said that since he could get 4 of them, they would still end up lasting longer, that they smell good enough to get his woman in the mood, and he could care less about the quality of the supplies. There are many people like this. You just have to know that you'll never be able to match the prices, so you'll never be able to please these type of people, so don't worry about them. Your market will be the people who do care about buying high quality candles that wont put soot on the walls and in their lungs and all the other benifits of our candles. Focus on that, and put your energy into getting those sales. Let the cheapos get their cheap candles elsewhere, who cares:wink2: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everito Bandito Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Mass produced....In China....By 7 year olds....LOLAnd let's not forget India..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountryGal Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 A lot of the candles at those stores don't seem to be fragranced all the way through either. It's like they coat the top of the candle with a fragrance so it smells nice cold but when you burn it you can't smell diddly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsDammit Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 A lot of the candles at those stores don't seem to be fragranced all the way through either. It's like they coat the top of the candle with a fragrance so it smells nice cold but when you burn it you can't smell diddly.Ain't that the truth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapermom Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 I was at big lots the other day, they huge HUGE 3 ft hurricanes, at least 12" diameter for like ,15.00. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriBeth Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 A few years back I bought a large container candle from Wal-Mart, chocolate pudding, don't remember the brand name. When I burned it, it had a plain white core, unscented. I'd heard of this but never really thought anyone did it, until I saw it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerinarkansas Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 My brother bought some 8 oz. square mason candles for a dollar each and some of them will knock your socks off throughout the whole candle. I agree they are mass production with cheap supplies. Ginger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldehearth Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 You're right Tallbabydoll. I thought I hit a market here locally for soy candles since no major stores were carrying them and I"ve been selling through craft shows, farmers market,etc. I've only been at it for over a year and during the summer the local Zellers were clearing out their candles and I thought....mmmm I wonder if they're bringing in new stock. Well guess what I went back a couple weeks later and there they were, brand new stock of soy candles in jars, votives, tealights by some cheap manufacter. The jars had embeds in them and they're priced really low. It's frustrating when you're trying to get your business off the ground and rolling but all you can do is convince people there's nothing better than 'handpoured high quality candles' not to mention the 'old fashioned' customer service that people lack in this highly mass produced goods, rushed,hectic world.Shannon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Dallas_Texas_Dean Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 All about volume...and importing, of course....and supply and demand. This is a touchy subject with me, but it extends to include far more than just our products. It is about everything. We all know the days of Mom and Pop business are becoming extinct....and it is our own fault. We all want the best bang for our buck....I understand that...but in doing so, there ARE times when we could support the local independent businesses and out of convenience or whatever, we just pick up everything at that huge super "one stop" shopping mad house. In doing so, we have crushed the life out of those wonderful, unique businesses. Mama Cassaraggi is gone and Macaroni Grill is booming. Unfortunately in many areas, there is not room for both.....where both can succeed. We did it to ourselves....and it is only getting worse, unfortunately.We are all going to support those huge major corps.....maybe if we could just think about it and TRY to "spread the wealth" to the independent boutiques/buainesses as well.I would venture to say that 99 out of 100 consumers...ages 1 to 18 would actually prefer a McDonalds hamburger to one that you or I could hand make in our own House of Burger World.Off my soapbox. sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinesShower Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Don't forget also that if they ship these things via truck and the pallet "breaks" or gets destroyed somehow, the whole pallet is no good. I used to work as a security guard and the companies would write off whole pallets just because one of the boxes were damaged or broken.Needless to say I ended up with alot of free stuff that year. Truck drivers got first pickins, then security guards, then employees - whatever was left was sent off to places like Big Lots and Dollar stores.Remember, half that stuff you see in those places are write offs for the big companies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Monkey Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Mass produced....In China....By 7 year olds....LOLLMAO - I'm betting this is true.. sad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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