southern.scents Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Hello Everyone.Im having troubles. Wax is constantly going up. When i first began I could make an 8 OZ Soy Candle in a metal tin and charge 6$( I charged this price because this is what my competitor charges for her 8) and make 1.75. Now, Im lucky if i can make .75 cents. I have to go up on my price but if i do, they will flock to her candle which is cheaper. Anyways, my question is, has your wax gone up? If so, how much? I am currently paying 55$ for 50 pounds of EcoSoya CB Advanced. Has anyone seen it cheaper? Is there a soy wax that will compare for a cheaper price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I think your better finding a supplier close by than to look to save $1 or 2 on wax...shipping is killing all of us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southern.scents Posted June 14, 2007 Author Share Posted June 14, 2007 Yeah, tried that one. Theres no one in the state that carries candle making supplies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Rising costs are getting all of us. I'd have to think if you're only getting 75 cents for an 8oz tin that your costs gotta be off somewhere. Are you getting FO as economically as you can? What about the tins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakalex Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Rising costs are getting all of us. I'd have to think if you're only getting 75 cents for an 8oz tin that your costs gotta be off somewhere. Are you getting FO as economically as you can? What about the tins?I agree. It costs me roughly $2.25 to make an 8 oz tin (which holds 6 oz of wax). That cost fluctuates up or down depending on the FO.I do not pay shipping on my wax or tins but I calculated if I did it still would only cost around $2.50 for an 8 oz tin. Even if you were paying outrageous shipping charges I would not think that it would cost you over $3.00 a candle.Someone correct me if I am wrong please! Especially since I am one of the lucky ones who has a supplier near me. I really could not imagine having to pay the high shipping charges that many of you do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle Kitty Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 I actually have an IGI distributor not more than an hour and a half from me and I made the mistake of having my latest wax shipped to me from Lone Star. My next case I'll go to Springfield to get, even if gas prices are high, my car gets good gas mileage.We had a thread about this not too long ago, we have no choice but to raise our prices and that really does stink because it's not fair to anyone, especially the customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 My 8 oz tins cost me right around $2.00 including shipping charges...when I pick up wax...a little less. Tins easily sell for $5-8 depending on size around here...can't imagine only making 75 cents...think I would only be making candles for myself and my family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lsbennis Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Well...just to keep things in perspective I was at Cracker Barrel today and they had 3oz soy tins...(it was definitly a blend, tops were way to smooth)...they want $7.99 for 3oz...:rolleyes2 They sure are proud of them...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire and Ice Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Well I know that in the past year shipping has been outragous. When I started, I got most if not all of my supplies locally but I have a great supplier and they have great scents at a reasonale price and they all worked well in my soy wax. But I have since really spread my wings and now have 6 different suppliers of my scents. What is odd is that the ones IN STATE have the highest shiiping costs. The further away I travel, the better the shipping costs. I have tried keeping my prices well within my customers range and have always explained a price increase well before I do it. It looks like I'll have to increase the price again next year as my wax, jars, scents, labels and wicks all went way up! But the major price increase has also caused some of the hobbiest to close so there is a little less compitition. Fire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southern.scents Posted June 15, 2007 Author Share Posted June 15, 2007 Well, i refigured my cost today and its costing me 4.10 just for the supplies and shipping. Then you add in electricity, water, gas, what the store charges me per month for my display, it gets up to around 5.20 . I think im gonna have to go to 7.00. I should truly be at 8.00 but thats really outrageous. I think im gonna try a new type of soy wax. Its around 15 dollars cheaper but if the quality is bad then i would just rather have the one thats 15 dollars more.Is EZ soy a good brand? Its the one thats 15.00 cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty0317 Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Ez-Soy gives you a really good cold and hot throw. However, you need to really work with it so you won't get ugly tops or frosting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle Man Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Is EZ soy a good brand? Its the one thats 15.00 cheaper.It is a good wax, but not on it's own. It frosts and has ugly tops, if you use it 100%. If you are stuck on 100% soy then that's what you will have to deal with.If you blend it, with another wax, you can get rid of all of that and still have a great cold & hot throw, in some cases even better throw with the right blend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShelleyBean Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 It is a good wax, but not on it's own. It frosts and has ugly tops, if you use it 100%. If you are stuck on 100% soy then that's what you will have to deal with.If you blend it, with another wax, you can get rid of all of that and still have a great cold & hot throw, in some cases even better throw with the right blend.I know it wasn't my question, but could I ask what you would suggest mixing it with? I have a box of soy just sitting right now because I dont like the frosting/ugly top results I get from using it alone, and I would love to have some suggestions of what to mix it with so it's not collecting dust. In my turkey fryer I keep 4630 and love that wax, hence the reason the soy got put to the side. Anyone mixed EZ soy and 4630 by chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alajane Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Since you're located in Mississippi, I immediately wondered how far it would be for you to drive to Alabaster in Alabama, but when I checked MapQuest it looks like it would be about a 4-hour drive. That's about how far I am from Alabaster, but it's well worth the drive for me because whenever I go, I pick up a truckload of supplies that would cost over $500 to ship. Their prices are pretty reasonable if you need enough to make it worth the drive for you.HTH,Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southern.scents Posted June 15, 2007 Author Share Posted June 15, 2007 I think im gonna try the Ez soy with a little coconut oil. I ve been told it works miracles and it has always helped in my EcoSoya. Never even thought about alabaster but at the moment it would cost me more to drive all the way out there for the few supplies i buy at a time( 50 pounds of wax....fragrance) for a large order that would be great. I will definately look into them further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comfortscents Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 I picked up some tins that were really cute from Michael's they had candles in them but the tins were $1.00 ea with candle. I was limited to what I could pour in these tins but I was able to find a comparable scent to refill the tins with...they cost me about $1.85 to fill and I resold for $5.00. I strongly suggest flea markets. I picked up the cutest ftd enamel handled buckets, with with blue and red confetti and white with gold and silver stars...and these were quality enamel..I paid 25 cents ea for the confetti buckets and 50 cents ea for the star buckets. If you hit a flea market on the right day there are soooo many choices of tins and glassware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherl Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Man, I wouldn't make candles for $.75 to even $2.00 profit. Just too much work for that little money. What happens when a shop wants to buy wholesale? If your customers are shopping on price alone and will go to your competitor if you raise the price then you are not doing enough to make them loyal to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southern.scents Posted June 16, 2007 Author Share Posted June 16, 2007 Well, I am a new candlemaker in the area, ive only been here for 6 months. While, i do have loyal customers, its not fair for me to raise my price after they have stuck with me since the beggining. I don't do wholesale at the current time so its not a prob but if i ever do, it will be. I am working on the price by ordering FO in larger amounts and getting a wax that is a little cheap. I have also found my wicks for about 50 cents cheaper per 100. After i get enough funds to make larger amount of candles and i can order like 300 tins, my price will go down on those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katy Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 I would really shop around. When I started doing this I did not make allot of money but, now I can make a decent amount. Allot of it has to do with shopping around for supplies. I never changed my wax just where I got it. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doris Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 You should be able to at least double your costs, otherwise, why bother? I love making stuff too, but not so much that I will make it to give away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabbledoya Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 $8.00 for a quality 8 oz container candle is nowhere near outrageous. However, I understand your dilemma of having close direct competition.I'd charge $7.75 and be done with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southern.scents Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 Thanks for everyones quality input. Im going to sell this last batch of about 100 at my 6.00$ price and when I order my next load of supplies I will work m as hard as I can to keep the price where it is. If i cant, then ill just have to go up so i can make at least my costs and a half back. Like i said, when i start ordering containers in larger amounts, my containers will only cost .89 cents each and that includes shipping. Thats a big drop from 1.16 currently. Since i am buying oil by the ounce it is costing me like 1.40 an ounce. If i bought it in 16 ounce bottles it drops to about .90 cents an ounce. I just need to get to the point where i am making enough profit(which ill never do at .75 a candle) to buy tons of supplies at once. So far i have only invested 300$ and countless hours of time into my business and I dont expect to put anymore of my money in. I want the business to fund itself. Its slowly working its way to that point. It just takes a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doris Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 The business should eventually fund itself, that is, after all, why people are in business, but if you're expecting it to happen anytime soon with a .75 "profit" per candle, it might take a while. To invest only $300 in something and expect a return on that is being pretty hopeful. It will likely take years. Why not bite the bullet and buy larger amounts of at least something right away; with an immediate drop in costs, there will be more "profit" coming in sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 That explains why your costs were higher when you listed how you were purchasing your FO and containers. I have to agree to take the bite sooner. We're to the point where we're going higher than pounds on certain FOs. Good luck to ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 After sampling and testing and deciding what we liked and what we didn't, one month, we'll buy a big order of wax. The next month, we buy a lot of larger sizes of our favorite FOs; the next month, we buy a lot of containers. It takes a few months, but you will soon be in better shape about your costs by buying in volume.I think $6 for an 8 oz candle (I am assuming that this is the amount of wax in the container and not the container size) is too little. If your container size is 8 oz with 5-6 oz of wax inside, then the price is about right, but your supply costs are way outta line. Don't worry so much about your competition! People DO buy candles for many reasons other than cheap prices.Purchase supplies as close to you as possible. I know you are in a bad spot, as am I, but places with 2 day shipping from you will save you lotsa shipping bucks! Whenever you consider cheaper prices from folks way up in the northeast or northwest, you have to allow for the extra shipping because of the distance involved and also the time it takes to get product from those sources. Heavy items such as wax, I will not purchase more than 2 days away because the shipping can easily be as much as the cost of the wax itself. JBN, Cajun, Lonestar, Houston Candle Supply, Candlescience, etc. all should be about 2 days shipping to you. To determine how many days' shipping something is to you (or from you to them), enter your zip code in the form at this UPS US Ground Maps link, and it will show you how long from ?wherever? to your place. The further a location is from you, and the heavier the package, the more it costs to ship. 60# is the limit for UPS, so if you, say, get a case of wax (50-60 lbs), NOTHING ELSE will be in that box but wax. If your order has to go in a second box, that's another shipping charge. Try to gang up your orders so that it doesn't cost as much to ship things to you. When you purchase larger sizes from many suppliers, you earn FO sample freebies. Check for Online specials and FO specials at each site. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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