MaryAnnKacz Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 I don't sell, just make soy for myself because it is much cheaper than to buy them. But I would buy from her and save myself work and money. I buy supplies in small quantities. She is underpricing if you ask me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kforbs126 Posted December 28, 2006 Author Share Posted December 28, 2006 Your selling yourself short and making your product look cheap by having that low of a price... ever think of it that way? Yankees are 1.79 for 20% less than an ounce and the other are not far behind that so where do you find them for 50 cents or less? BruceLets see i've seen them at Michaels, target, a few other stores for like 50 to 60 cents. i don't live in a high cost area. and i don't know how you can say i'm selling a cheap product. i can't see how 1 oz candle can cause .33 cents to make, here's my break down of pricing:This is if i make 14-18 per pound: 14- 18 per pound $1.14 1 oz fragrance $1.48 color $0.10 bags $0.02 Total Cost $2.74 Each $0.15 so it's 15 to 20 depending on how many i get out of a pound. i can't understand how you can say i'm cheaping out???? I'd rather sell more at 50 to 65 cents then sell less at 1 or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceCarvesWax Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 This is if i make 14-18 per pound:14- 18 per pound $1.14 1 oz fragrance $1.48 color $0.10 bags $0.02 Total Cost $2.74 Each $0.15 so it's 15 to 20 depending on how many i get out of a pound. i can't understand how you can say i'm cheaping out???? I'd rather sell more at 50 to 65 cents then sell less at 1 or more.Maybe your packaging should be worth more than two cents? Packaging is the key to sales. You need a warning label on each bag and a label that tells your contact/business information also. You said you wanted to start with melts so I assume you want to start a business.Listen, the only reason people buy our products is because ours are better then whats out there! If they want to buy 50 cent melts they will always be able to find them but thats not our customers! Our home made quality products shouldn't be lumped in with the cheap ones is all i am saying! Make a better product and sell it for a better price. You dont have to rip people off but there are enough cheap products on the market already. What would happen if someone wanted to buy them wholesale? What price would you quote them if your retail is that low? Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kforbs126 Posted December 28, 2006 Author Share Posted December 28, 2006 Bruce i got lucky with my packaging and was able to get a bulk amount of 2x2, 1x1 and some other size zip lock like packaging at an auction down here. the came from a business that went out of business they all average about 1.5 cents so i round up at 2. i also make my own labels both warning and my info and i got these in bulk too from the auction as well which again average around 1 cent. you can say i got lucky to get the amount i did at the price i did. the 2x2 and 1x1 i use for my tarts. the others i don't really use other to store stuff. these are the same bags that thecandlesource.com has.I understand that the store ones aren't good quality, and i believe mine are better, i guess maybe i'm just doubting myself in what i can sell. i'm going to try to sell them for 65 cents and if i see that they aren't selling maybe i'll go lower. I've never done soy before but i have done plenty of paraffin container candles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 It's much easier to lower your prices than it is to raise your prices. I'd rethink your approach if I were you. Who knows if you'll get lucky again with that packaging? Your customers will not know that you got lucky with some packaging, nor if you have a good quality product will they care.But it is your business you can run it how you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceCarvesWax Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 Are you aware that your not suppose to use regular zip lock bags to package scented products in, your scent will get "sucked" out of your products by the plastic in a short amount of time. There are lots of posts on this board about that subject. Most chandlers use cello bags I like to package tarts in foil myself with a full color label on the front. Might be why one of my accounts can get 1.99 from my one ounce melts and always bugging me for more stock. I don't like them selling for that high but its their product after I wholesale it to them so not much I can do about it.I'm sure you have made a ton of candles for your friends like you have stated but business is business and if you start out wrong you could be out of business fast. I poured a thousand container candles last week, made almost 400 melts last night in a few hours and for the return on my time the 1000 containers will bring me more money than the melts in a much shorter time so I hate doing melts now. Business aways comes down to time and money in the end no matter where you start out at. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephnms Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 My tarts are my second best seller right under my jar candles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cissy Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 I don't see where you have included the cost of your business license and sales tax license in your costs for making tarts. If you don't have a license, then some competitorwill report you sooner or later. It's best to keep your butt covered and go by the rules. Are you including the sales tax you will charge customers in the 50 or 65 cents you plan to charge? If not, then you will have to absorb that loss. How about the cost of FO's plus shipping that you order and decide you don't like. If you make a lb. of tarts with every scent you get, you will find that some will not sell well and you will have wasted your wax, time, and money. It seems that you only tested for 5 days. Wow! How many different FO's could you test out to see how long they will last in only 5 days and be completely happy with them all? If you don't test them out, then yours will be no better than the ones sold at stores in this price range. I've had customers tell me they will not even waste their money buying a cheap one (not because they want to pay more) but because their common sense tells them they can't be very strong and last very long, especially when there are middlemen involved in the pricing that have to get their share of the profits, also. We should all want to have a better product than anything shipped from Thailand. It would be a much less costly business if we liked every FO we ordered...then there would be no need to try 1 oz samples first, then pay shipping again to order larger bottles. As said before, when the zip-lock bags (which as Bruce said are not a good idea)...run out, you will probably need to order better more expensive bags & pay shipping for them (less profit).I still don't think you are thinking this through thoroughly. If you are selling to anyone, even on a small scale, I can't see how it will be worth paying the cost of business licenses and other expenses you did not include in you calculation. Please don't let me dampen your enthusiasm. Just think it through more thoroughly, make better quality tarts than sold at stores, and have more confidence in your product. You will have more confidence when you know by testing, that yours are better. Don't be happy making tarts that you don't know without a doubt are not much better than the cheap ones from stores. If they are not way better, what's going to keep a customer from buying the cheap scented ones from stores as quickly as they will buy yours? As already mentioned, packaging is so very important. It shows you take pride in your product. If you just stick them in a zip lockbag, then I suppose you can't expect first time customers to be impressed with the quality or be interested in paying much anyway. Even the cheap store ones are packaged better than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beesweet Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 You've also made an error in your cost calculation:Assuming 16 tarts in 16 zip baggies, the bag cost is $.32, not .02, raising your cost to $3.04 divided by 16 = $.19Also, there is no allowance for labels for each tart, though I did see mention of a label costing only .01. I just can't believe the cost of label stock and ink averages only .01 per label. Even if that's possible, what happens when your costs for baggies and labels jumps tenfold or more when stock is gone?Definitely not thinking for the long haul here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris77 Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I have to agree with everyone else....I charge $1.00 for a 1 oz melt....one lady would rather pay a buck to me than a buck to the store for 2 reasons...she knows me, and the key reason is that she likes the smell of mine more than the other brands. I think $1 for a 1 oz tart is very reasonable. If you want to charge less, sell 1 for a buck, and then sell a package deal of 4-6 at a special rate that would be less than a buck and ounce. I don't want to come down on you, but you do need to maximize your profits if you want to be a successful business.That being said, on the flipside...if you are just doing it for fun and really don't care about making a huge profit....then sell them for whatever you want if you are happy with it and don't pay attention to what any of us say....(no sarcasm intented). You have to be happy with what you are doing and if this is strictly for fun and as a hobby, then knock yourself out!Have a good one.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elle110 Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 I purchase mine wholesale from a CT member, because I do Soap and B&B, I sell them for $1.50 for 1 or 5 for $6.50, they are a little over an ounce. They are far better than anything you can get in a store, they are not just plain tarts they look more like food. Now, I don't have a store, just my site and shows but if I did I would sell them for more to defray my overhead.Tarts are big sellers for me, I sell the warmers and tarts, I always include a free tart with the purchase of a warmer.Everything that has been said is true, you should reconsider recalculating your cost etc because even if it is a hobby you could actually end up losing $$$ and what will your customers say when you have to raise your prices by 25-50% after you are already in the ballgame? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creeksidecandles Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Just a note.....we all price our products to hopefully make a profit. We also judge what other similar products in our area costs as well. BRUCE mentioned Yank** tarts sell for $1.79 in his area...well in my area they are only $1.40 at a local Hallmark store.....we sell ours for 2/$1.25. At $.67.5 cents per we are still making a profit. Wax at $1.10/lb /16 = .068 When I factor in FO and packaging ($.02 per bag), my cost doesn't come anywhere near $.33 per. As far as another member posted regarding sales tax license and business license being accounted for....our sales tax license here in PA is free.....our business license is $35. We made that back in the first order we ever sold.Not trying to rub anybody here the wrong way...just adding my $.02 cents worth. My whole point here is, we all live in different areas of the country, and our pricing usually reflects that. I lived in Canada for 42 years...trust me...pricing is very important, but we must remember the economy of the area we live in as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creeksidecandles Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 After further checking with my 3 local Hallmark stores, I did find that the regular price for Yank** tarts is indeed $1.79, and that the $1.40 I previously quoted was a sale price. My apologies to other members for any confusion. However, my point still remains that we price our products to reflect the economy of our area. I lived in Canada for 42 years, (having moved to PA to marry my wife whom is 20 years my junior), however, because of exchange rates there etc. it is not uncommon to see Yank** tarts sell there for $2.25 or more. JMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceCarvesWax Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 And on the other end I have seen some outrageous prices being put on theclam shell melt packages everywhere. Some of them only hold 2 ounces and retail for 3.99 and up per package (mostly up). Yes the package costs more but they look nice and thats a big selling point so you can get the price if the quality is there and they look like they are worth the price you have on them.Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kforbs126 Posted December 30, 2006 Author Share Posted December 30, 2006 Well i've decided to go with the .65 a tart...after i'm done testing in a little bit i believe i can sell them...i've told the people i work with the prices and they said ok...i already have a bunch of orders to take once everything is tested and going..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoOneSpecial Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Well i've decided to go with the .65 a tart...after i'm done testing in a little bit i believe i can sell them...i've told the people i work with the prices and they said ok...i already have a bunch of orders to take once everything is tested and going.....I hope you are letting them know that is just your introductory rate, or will you keep it that price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justrightcandles Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 I have to agree with everyone else....I charge $1.00 for a 1 oz melt....one lady would rather pay a buck to me than a buck to the store for 2 reasons...she knows me, and the key reason is that she likes the smell of mine more than the other brands. I think $1 for a 1 oz tart is very reasonable. If you want to charge less, sell 1 for a buck, and then sell a package deal of 4-6 at a special rate that would be less than a buck and ounce. I don't want to come down on you, but you do need to maximize your profits if you want to be a successful business.That being said, on the flipside...if you are just doing it for fun and really don't care about making a huge profit....then sell them for whatever you want if you are happy with it and don't pay attention to what any of us say....(no sarcasm intented). You have to be happy with what you are doing and if this is strictly for fun and as a hobby, then knock yourself out!Have a good one....That is what i am going to charge min. 1$ an oz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherl Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 My tarts, packaging and all, cost me about .11 - .15 each. I can't see charging a $1 for that. Plus I use them as a way to get people into my booth. They are in stacked crates on both sides of my cash stand. Customers have to come into the booth to shop for them and because I do not sell them for much, there is always activity as people are buying them. That activity generates a buying excitement that draws others in. The loss of a greater profit on them is worth it to me. Many have bought a few then come back and placed large candle orders when they were comfortable with my product. Others just buy tons of tarts. I view them as an impulse item. People will drop a dollar or two without much thought. And, if they never get more, I still got something. I also got other candlemakers in the area selling for that price so don't want to miss the market. They are too easy to make and even shrinkwrapping them takes me about 3 minutes for 16. I have my son cut the shrink tube for me or do it when I have not much else going on. I have other products that I can make really good profits on.. don't have to make a killing on everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceCarvesWax Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 My tarts, packaging and all, cost me about .11 - .15 each. I use .13 of a pound of oil (just over 2 ounces) in my one ounce tarts per 24 tarts. The oils I use with shipping average 20.00 a pound. .13 X 20.00= $2.60 So... $2.60 Divided by 24 melts is right at .11 cents. So Im spending as much on just my oils as you do for your whole melt with packaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justrightcandles Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Sherl,How much fo do you use per lb of wax? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justrightcandles Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Bruce,Is there much of a noticable difference between using 2 oz of FO per lb and 1 1/2 FO per lb in a tart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceCarvesWax Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Bruce,Is there much of a noticable difference between using 2 oz of FO per lb and 1 1/2 FO per lb in a tart?Its 2 ounce in 1.5 lbs of wax. that gives me 24 melts at just over an ounce each. Little dab of vybar to keep the scent bound and Im set.Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherl Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Wax 55 pounds/880 oz. Say wax is $65 a case then the wax is .07 an ounce. I keep my fo average below $16/pound. But lets go with that.. $16 pound/$1 ounce so 1/16 ounce per tart. Thats .06. I buy the shrink by 1500 ft rolls and my labels in bulk and print my own. Add a few cents and you get .15 each. Yes, I could sell for more and should.. but I use them to generat traffic in my booth. Like a loss leader at Walmart. I'm not loosing money and I'm establishing a client base. Because they are inexpensive they are given away to family and friends and I get phone calls for orders, not just for tarts but candles as well. They are serving the purpose I am using them for. Other products, like my tub tabs have a huge profit and I sell lots of them too. Would I wholesale tarts for .25? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom lady Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 When selling tarts,how long it will last? I want to sellpecan and egg tarts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 7 hours ago, Phantom lady said: When selling tarts,how long it will last? I want to sellpecan and egg tarts. It all depends on the wax, fragrance, methods, packaging used, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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