ISO Dropshippers

[caryfh]

Hi. I am currently looking to expand the line of candles, candlemaking supplies, candle accessories, and gift items that are offered on my website www.westroadcandles.com . My site is relatively new as most of the candles I have made are for fundraising and wholesale purposes (to TheKnot.com).

I am seeking anyone in this forum who might be interested in letting me offer your products on my website and are willing to drop-ship the items. What I would like to do is to have you quote me prices for your items and I would then mark them up to cover my costs. Shipping costs would naturally be covered as well.

I primarily am looking for natural products... meaning I would prefer soy candles over paraffin ones. And would prefer a more rustic look to any gift items. Anyway, please contact me if you might be interested in this, either thru this post or you can email me directly at candlemakers@westroadcandles.com

Thanks so much.

Cary

[CareBear]

I don't think anyone here could compete with your weight loss candles, and many will take exception to your description of soy vs paraffin candles (even soy candle makers)

[southern.scents]

:tiptoe:

[caryfh]

I don't think anyone here could compete with your weight loss candles, and many will take exception to your description of soy vs paraffin candles (even soy candle makers)

Oh, I don't want to have bad information listed on my site. What in particular did I describe incorrectly about the soy vs. paraffin wax candles? I want to correct it asap. Thanks.

[MissMary]

http://www.cormarcompany.com/debate.php

Have a read, I did MY research before making oblivious statements.

Additionally - you are making incorrect (and quite backwards) medical claims and could be investigated by several agencies for making these claims.

Smelling something does NOT trigger a feeling of not wanting it. Quite the opposite.

And one last thing - for a site that's as poorly designed as yours, I wouldn't come near it with a 10 foot wick. If you want to represent other people, you can't do it with words hanging off a non-scrolling page.

And I just have to laugh at this:

Why does my wick seem to mushroom after burning for a while?

The mushrooming effect of the wick can be a result of strongly scented candles. So the mushroom effect ensures that the candle is highly scented. Simply trim the wick before each use.

[sharig]

And I just have to laugh at this:

Why does my wick seem to mushroom after burning for a while?

The mushrooming effect of the wick can be a result of strongly scented candles. So the mushroom effect ensures that the candle is highly scented. Simply trim the wick before each use.

Miss Mary,

I thought after the last couple years of making candles and testing and testing some more....I thought I was missing something.

Let me tell you, I did a search on the above statement and you would not believe how many candle websites (trying to sell candles) make the same claims! When you have time, google it....it's good if you need a good chuckle! LOL!

Shari

[MissMary]

Miss Mary,

I thought after the last couple years of making candles and testing and testing some more....I thought I was missing something.

Let me tell you, I did a search on the above statement and you would not believe how many candle websites (trying to sell candles) make the same claims! When you have time, google it....it's good if you need a good chuckle! LOL!

Shari

OMG - you're right... this is hilarious.

I think the classic has to be:

"This mushroom cap is unburnt fragrance and wax that has been "wicked up" to the top of the wick, and has cooled before being completely burned off."

If it's unburnt, then it sure as heck ain't being used by the consumer, right? :laugh2:

Some of this stuff, I wouldn't have even fallen for before I came here and knew anything about candles.

[sharig]

OMG - you're right... this is hilarious.

I think the classic has to be:

"This mushroom cap is unburnt fragrance and wax that has been "wicked up" to the top of the wick, and has cooled before being completely burned off."

If it's unburnt, then it sure as heck ain't being used by the consumer, right? :laugh2:

Some of this stuff, I wouldn't have even fallen for before I came here and knew anything about candles.

I feel stupid! All these years I look back at the 8 oz masons I started with and see that big ol mushroom that a LX 24 left when I burned that bad boy. Man o man! All this time, I could've just sold my candles to these ding bats and they wouldn't have known any better. They would have thought it was a good thing! Well, untill one of those suckers blew up!

People crack me up, I'll tell ya!

[Krafty Kandles]

Weight loss candles? If that was true I think all of us would be size 2's from sniffing our candles every day. :rolleyes2

Where is your medical documentation to confirm this fact?

[MissMary]

shariq, ain't that the truth - what a waste of testing and product eh? To think, we could have been turning a profit off all those crappy candles...

Weight loss candles? If that was true I think all of us would be size 2's from sniffing our candles every day. :rolleyes2

Where is your medical documentation to confirm this fact?

If only, eh? :D If it was all about candles... shoot, then I wouldn't have to do portion control and working out to lose the dress sizes I did. From 22 after birth, to 18... woo! (And still going.) All I had to do was sit down and sniff candles! Think I'll try that this week! Any bets on how much weight I'll lose?

[caryfh]

There is a center in the brain that senses satisfaction. Not all satisfaction is done with your tongue or your stomach. This is why you can begin to feel satisfied just by eating warm foods - because the aroma begins to satisfy you before you have even taken one bite. The purpose of the weight loss candle is to satisfy small hunger pangs that occur between meals, because it is this type of snacking/grazing that is a huge contributor to weight gain. It's not as if the scent is something like chocolate brownies. Actually, it is a unique combination of scents, each of which has been shown in studies to help satisfy that center of the brain. And encouraging someone to smell something when they are feeling hungry between meals also makes them more conscious of their actions and can additionally aide with the weight loss. Just because you haven't seen at in the tabloids at the supermarket check-out doesn't mean it isn't valid.

On a second note, I thought this forum was put in place to help out each other. I don't feel like some of the comments I have received were meant to be helpful, quite the opposite. I did not realize that by posting something in here, I would just be making myself a target for unconstructive criticism. Thank you to those of you who did make helpful suggestions, but to those who did not, I feel badly for anyone who posts questions here that doesn't have tough skin.

[southern.scents]

Okay, here is how most see it. If you spent over a thousand dollars to have your site built and spend $50 per month to keep it running (as the link at the bottom of your page suggests) then you should have the knowledge and the know how to go lookup answers to all of these questions. NO ONE here should have to do that for you. Also, if the is indeed documentation to prove that those candles DO cause you to lose weight then you need to add that documentation to your website. If not, you need to place a note on your website that no documentation of weight loss has been made. I'm gonna shut up now.....

There is a center in the brain that senses satisfaction. Not all satisfaction is done with your tongue or your stomach. This is why you can begin to feel satisfied just by eating warm foods - because the aroma begins to satisfy you before you have even taken one bite. The purpose of the weight loss candle is to satisfy small hunger pangs that occur between meals, because it is this type of snacking/grazing that is a huge contributor to weight gain. It's not as if the scent is something like chocolate brownies. Actually, it is a unique combination of scents, each of which has been shown in studies to help satisfy that center of the brain. And encouraging someone to smell something when they are feeling hungry between meals also makes them more conscious of their actions and can additionally aide with the weight loss. Just because you haven't seen at in the tabloids at the supermarket check-out doesn't mean it isn't valid.

On a second note, I thought this forum was put in place to help out each other. I don't feel like some of the comments I have received were meant to be helpful, quite the opposite. I did not realize that by posting something in here, I would just be making myself a target for unconstructive criticism. Thank you to those of you who did make helpful suggestions, but to those who did not, I feel badly for anyone who posts questions here that doesn't have tough skin.

[MissMary]

Okay, here is how most see it. If you spent over a thousand dollars to have your site built and spend $50 per month to keep it running (as the link at the bottom of your page suggests) then you should have the knowledge and the know how to go lookup answers to all of these questions. NO ONE here should have to do that for you. Also, if the is indeed documentation to prove that those candles DO cause you to lose weight then you need to add that documentation to your website. If not, you need to place a note on your website that no documentation of weight loss has been made. I'm gonna shut up now.....

Amen. Very well stated southern.

You came here with all this and a site that is very poorly done wanting to represent other people. Not only that, but you want to represent people, but bash the rest of us here. Not too many of us - soy chandlers included care for the tactics people use to sell soy.

The same thing would happen to anyone who comes on here - making false claims (by the way the sense you are looking for is the OLFACTORY scent).

Given what you've stated about your "weight loss" candles - you don't have a clue on what or how it works.

It has nothing to do with warm foods, or smelling something in between. It's only within aromatherapy candles, that use EO's and EO blends with items like true vanilla that studies have shown thought reduce the sensation. HOWEVER, because you neither use EO's, nor can cite case studies NOR present your own testing and approval (weight loss is a medicinal claim and as such is regulated by the appropriate authorities), you are subjecting your customers to the WRONG information - throughout that site, and tens of thousands of dollars in fines and damages.

I researched this in my thoughts on starting EO's and EO blends, but wasn't ready to deal with the appropriate wording as a selling point.

Essentially, you are coming here asking us to dropship for you to put our quality products on what we would view as a scheming site, that dupes customers into selling products. I personally don't mind to do dropshipping, but only with the right representation, with a quality site that can sell without having to result to incorrect and improper information - especially ones that resort to the way you've presented soy and mushrooming. I don't want my products associated with a dangerous candle.

[caryfh]

I have removed the informatoin about the soy candles from my site. I did look into it when I originally posted it on the site, and I thought it was coming from a reputable source, but apparently it must have just been another site that was using the info to try to sell their products, and not passing along accurate facts. My appologies. As for the claims with the weight loss candles, I did conduct research regarding this. I will dig thru my files to find the exact periodical where a study was conducted using nasal sprays and then amounts of food consumed following the use of the different sprays was recorded. It was found that there were certain scents which when sprayed into the nose prior to eating a meal, did curb the individual's appetite and caused them to consume less at the meal. The example of warm foods is not the only example, but warm foods do emit more of an aroma than cold foods, and thus have been shown to be more satisfying with a smaller portion than cold foods. It is also with this in mind that I have recommended colder foods to those with nausea who are trying to prevent weight loss, because the lack of aroma can sometimes allow them to eat a bit more. When I find the article, I will post a link for it so that you can all read it if that is of interest to you. I can understand that you would think that it was incorrect information since the info I had received regarding the soy candles was incorrect and both were posted on the website - however, there is a lot of validity to the hunger satisfying effects of certain smells. In fact there is a company that is getting ready to launch a nasal spray product that is for weight loss purposes.

As for the website, I guess I did not realize that it was so poorly put together, and I am now planning to make strides to correct this. Web design certainly is not my forte so I will need to look for outside assistance. Once I have assumed a more professional look, I will then look into acquiring companies who would be willing to drop-ship.

[Vicky_CO]

Cary I do think you would get a lot more interest in people willing to drop ship for you if the web site was better designed I drop ship but I have to approve the web site my candles are going on. I do not want my candle on a web site that is poorly constructed or that has inaccurate information.

[caryfh]

Is there a list of somewhat inexpensive web-designers in this forum somewhere? I've never been particularly happy with the set-up of my website, but since the majority of my sales were for fundraising and wholesale with already established relationships, I guess I never gave it too much thought, and never applied too much capital $$ in that direction. The web design we have right now is just a stock template, because that was all we could afford when we acquired the domain name. Any suggestions you have for ways to make it look better or more user friendly would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Vicky_CO]

Here is a list

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31343&highlight=web+designers

[CareBear]

I believe you have read information supporting your weight loss candles but this does not change the fact that you are making a claim which, by law, MUST BE SUPPORTED IN YOUR PRODUCT. And trust me, clinical studies are very very expensive. Did I say very enough times? Because by making that claim you are essentially citing that your candles act as a drug... And while you are welcome to make whatever claims you like on your site, I myself wouldn't want to be associated with it. And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

And listen to Southern - we've given him an exceedingly hard time and he's risen to the challenge and I'm very impressed with his capacity to accept, learn, and apply.

We are harsh, but some of the things your site brings up are real hot topics (which if you spend a few afternoons reading through old posts you will see for yourself) and we feel very strongly about them - and react thusly. (Ugh, did I say "thusly?").

But as Southern discovered, despite our reaction and our harshness at times we are actually a tremendously supportive community. And I personally hope you can fix things up and be a huge success. So I can sell you lots and lots of soaps.

[caryfh]

I do appreciate the input, I guess I was just feeling a bit like a target on that one day - which had a lot to do with outside circumstances as well. I can take it, though.

I went thru and added some information to the weight loss candles/disks, just to make it clear to those ordering that there are no guarantees - actually in case anyone out there is trying to weed out the bad weight loss products, the ones with guarantees are typically not effective (which seems backwards doesn't it).

Anyway, I also did go thru an revamp some parts of the website. My current set-up only allows me to change between their stock templates, and since I don't currently have the capital $$ to buy a specially built one, that's my only option at this point. This presents many frustrations - one of which would be the fact that I can't seem to get the logo off the corner of the page, and replace it with a picture. I must have spent a good hour attempting to do this, before I gave up and left a message for tech support.

Anyway, since most of my work thus far had been with fundraising and wholesaling, I just didn't devote much time to improvements on the website. My next step, I think, will be to improve the pictures of my products. Does anyone have any other particular problems I might want to look at?

[MissMary]

Oh hun, that whole site is atrocious. (I'm not being condescending, I'm blunt.)

First, because you are a small site, remove SKU viewing, looks messy and takes away from the product name. Second, invest in a lightbox or a brighter flash if you have the option. Try to remove scrolling - it's not needed and most people won't see you have other pages. If you don't know how or can't fix it, create new categories so all products are on 1 page. Your March of Dimes candle, because it's a continuing product, you need to show affiliation or approval with the company. Otherwise, you are using their name to promote your profits. Same with Santa Fund.

ETA: Some more I missed to say - the wedding favors section, add pictures into the link popups. Your scents are already there, and they are already under colors - why have a pop up with the same information and color?

Remove the enlarging of text when hovering over it in the menu bar. It goes off the box and becomes unreadable. Highlight instead, or reduce the hover image size.

Move your discounted candles into the sales section instead of the regular section - will reduce pages to get to the end of your products, and give more traffic to those items in the first place.

As for wording with the Weight Loss Candle - you are still calling it that.

Introducing our NEW weight loss candles!! These candles are designed to satisfy your hunger and to promote weight loss. You can choose from a variety of sizes of candle tins or choose the candle disk. No need have a lit candle, this disk fits perfectly into your pocket or purse. Anytime you are feeling hungry between meals or wish to curb your appetite before a big meal, simple smell the scented wax and your appetite will be diminished. By controlling your appetite, you will be less likely to overeat, and thus weight loss should occur.

You are still selling them as promoting weight loss. You cannot CALL them weight loss candles, you cannot SELL them as weight loss candles. You are straight out saying weight loss WILL OCCUR. You cannot allude to weight loss in the product name. You can try a play on wording like "delay dinner" or "hunger sniffs" candles or something like that, and then in the description say "certain aromas are THOUGHT to reduce hunger pangs". This is the same wording EO users should be following when promoting aromatherapy products. It is in the description, even without the claims that you should link to a site with the proper case studies. Though, since you don't list any scents, I am doubtful that many sales could be generated. I mean - smelling puke will probably control my appetite for a while, but who wants to do that?