Pricing Dipped Pinecone

[gingerinarkansas]

I have some pinecones...4-6" across bottom and 6-8" tall(maybe bigger). How do you price something like this? Pinecones are free to me....just weigh dry and then again after dipped and go from there? Do you sell them separately or package them 3-5 in a bag for a set price? I know someone out there has done this before....need your advice. Ginger

[Donita]

Hi Ginger...I am curious too....where I live now I have access to the sugar pines....the cones are HUGE......I mean HUGE....they would look so cool dipped and scented....also they would make one heck of a firestarter.

Donita

[michelleB]

I tried these last year and though they were a huge hit...I was disappointed at their appearance after drying. I layed mine out on wax paper to dry and they got lots of flat spots and 'goobers' in places. How do you guys/gals dry yours? Should I try hanging them up like dipped rag-balls? I just don't have a lot of hanging room, but I'll do whatever works. :-)

Ginger, as for pricing and bundling, I sold by the half-dozen and dozen and priced according to "after" weight of the added scented wax. (just figure up your cost per oz of wax & fo, and add your other costs like packaging etc. Determine your sell price from there) They're very inexpensive to make, so they literally fly outta here due to the low price. And yes they make wonderful fire-starters! I finally got me a fireplace where I can use em myself and I'm totally hooked!

[Georgia]

I could have sworn there were more topics...maybe they are on the new board. I searched the archives and found this...amazing!

http://www.candletech.com/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=gallery;action=display;num=1104985980;start=17#17

[marika]

cupcake tins work great for drying;)

Mari

[BruceCarvesWax]

Extremely bad idea to use these as fireplace starters. Many posts about this and most agree not to use as a firestarter. Too much sap for one. These things can pop and jump right out of a fireplace. Most people stay away from burning pine in a fireplace anyway because of the build up it can cause.

I dip them but only do it about twice to give them a real nice shine (clear wax). I have used scented wax and liked the results.

I only used them to decorate my booth, but have been collecting some nice cones from the local high school that me and the 4 year old pick up during our halftime walk. I might have to see if I can sell a couple of them. I would base it on wax used but if your pine cones are huge they can be worth good money just by themselves. We picked up some in Texas that were huge ... not sure they will even fit in my dip tank! LOL

They say to put them in a warm oven on low for a while...(i forget how long) maybe an hour or so to dry them and to get them to open up and let the seeds all drop out.

Bruce

HTH

[Donita]

Thanks for the tips Bruce....really appreciate it. I looked for the large pine cones yesterday but to no avail....I will ask the locals when I should look. I actually drove through Sugar Pine Forrest...but the cones there were just normal size.....I am on a mission now. Donita

[Judette]

I have a friend ship me boxes from Texas. I think everything grows bigger in Texas. I dip mine three times in scented wax. Final time is right B4 wax turns slushy. I like them to look like they are loaded with ice/snow. So wax wise I use quite a bit of wax. I have three or four of my girlfriends help me out when I dip these. It is like an assembly line. Kind of messy though. The last person holds with a pair of needlenose pliers and lets drip till mostly dry-no flat spots. They look like they just came off the tree after an ice storm. I then lightly sprinkle with cosmetic grade glitter. Very pretty. The base product was free but with scent, wax and glitter cost goes up. I figure final product weight plus scent - I use more scent than in candle- to determine total cost. So I don't sell them cheap even though they were picked up free. Usually package about six to package. Hope this helps. Also I strain any leftover wax with a paint strainer because there will some debris in the wax.

[Sherl]

I got my cones for the labor picking them up. I dipped a bunch and kept track of how much wax I used and the FO. I packaged 12 to a bag and then figured my costs for x number of bagged cones in each FO. It worked out to 2 bags/24 cones per pound of wax for me. Then marked up accordingly.

[Tess]

I use mine in my fireplace all the time. I throw them in after the fire is started for a little flare up and a nice slight scent. Maybe it depends on the type of cone? I have never had any of mine "pop" or "jump". They make a popping sound, but so do the logs in the fireplace. Mine are oicked early in the season and allowed to dry in storage. With the heat around here dryng is a snap. I dip mine white then n the colored and scented wax. I think I sold mine 3 for 5 bucks last year. They are pretty big. As far as pricing, pric them like you would anything else.

[ladysj]

I am curious as to how you put a wick on these. Do you just kind of entwine the wick around it and then dip it in the wax? I have seen them in cupcake shapes with a wick in them.

[gingerinarkansas]

I guess I'll try my luck at dipping some today. I've never made firestarters...I would kind of be afraid to try this...using a wick to light them. Someone could try to use them for a candle...people try some really stupid things anymore. Ginger

[mbrown]

I am curious as to how you put a wick on these. Do you just kind of entwine the wick around it and then dip it in the wax? I have seen them in cupcake shapes with a wick in them.

I would like to know the answer to this also. I have been researching on how to make these and that is the one thing I still have questions about.

Thanks for asking

[Judette]

I guess I'll try my luck at dipping some today. I've never made firestarters...I would kind of be afraid to try this...using a wick to light them. Someone could try to use them for a candle...people try some really stupid things anymore. Ginger

Agreed Ginger. I wouldn't wick them either. People would use them for a candle even if warned that they are not. I do put a warning label on mine stating for decoration only.

[ladysj]

lol I never thought about that one. I forget there are people out that do follow warnings so I'll just leave them unwicked.

[Sherl]

The dipped pinecones are more for decoration but can be used to help start a fire or burned after the fire is going to release fragrance. After they pass their useful time as decorations it is nice that there is further use for them when you dispose of them. Wicks are not needed and as they have already discussed, some one will try to burn as a candle. They are easy to light at the top where you hold to dip... mine don't get wax on this part because of my fingers.

For actually helping to start a fire the firestarters made in the muffin cups with scrap wax and wood shavings are great. I used 2, one on each side, in my kindling and below a larger log... they burned about 20 min. and caught the kindling on fire. The wax did drip but on the kindling and was burned up with them. We use them to start brush piles and burn barrels too.

When I lived in Tx I sometimes used pinecones to start a fire in the fireplace. I never had one jump out and did not use a lot of them. I also used some small branches that were pine.. they burn hot and quick! Pine is not the best in a fireplace because the she sap can mess up the chimney over time, at least that is what I've heard. I would not use pine logs. I had a fireman tell me that a fire in a pine forest was a nightmare. Those trees do explode when the sap gets hot so might do same in a fireplace.

[gingerinarkansas]

Anymore, you need to think of the WORST thing that someone could do with your product and see what the outcome would be. People don't use good sense anymore...they try to see how they can misuse something. Ginger

[gmp]

For what it is worth I saw at Target selling for $19.99 a firestarter gift basket. In it were two waxed pine cones, a very small bundle of fat wood, and two small slices of white birch. It was in a flimsy wicker basket.

[amyp]

Last year Sam's sold them in a basket they were red and green. They had about 12 normal size cones and the basket was shrink wrapped. They were selling for 19.99. I sell my sugar pine cones dipped for around $15.00 I get them for free, so it is just the cost of wax.