Candlewic is bad!

[scrubzz]

Nothing to say about Candlewic one way or the other really - have ordered a couple small things from them before and had no problems that I can recall nor anything great that stands out that makes them special to me

And that was said mainly so I wouldn't be totally hijacking the thread here - what I really am posting for is to say -

Hi katinka and welcome to the board!

South Africa? It is so cool to have people from all over the world here on the board who all share this same addiction!

Looking forward to seeing your work

[Margaritamama]

Hi Katinka,

Welcome.!!!!!

Great to see another South African here on the board. I left SA in 1991, and have lived here in North Carolina ever since......

I wanted to comment on the Candlewic thing. I email them once about some wax questions, and never even received a reply. I now use mostly Candlescience as they are just an hour or two away from where I live, and shipping is much better. For FO's my preference is for Just Scents, Natures Garden and Peaks, although the few I have bought from Candlescience have been great......

[Stephanie]

I also had a, rather 3, bad experiences with Candlewic. The very first time I ordered from them I received a dented mold, after that every order was wrong. Each time customer service was less and less helpful. I wrote a letter to the owners and had no response, which I expected. Now I refuse to order from them. Candles and Supplies is located just as far from me, so I only order from them and haven't had any issues.

[Vanmala]

I have ordered from them a couple of times and shipping was very slow.

They may be doing fine at this time and think they can afford to lose customers but one day it's gonna bite 'em in the butt! They may end up filing bankruptcy on their assets if they don't learn to use common courtesy as far as PR goes!

[Fern]

I've been using Candlwic for about 3 years now. I buy wax, wicks and a few FO's from them. Customer service has, for the most part, has been good, but they did go through a period of slow shipping when they were moving their facility. Items that took 2 days to get me were taking a week to 10 days. That didn't help me meet my deadlines and I was very upset about that at the time because in my planning I had scheduled 2-3 days for delivery. I've had very few errors and no damage in my orders...oops, I take that back...I did have an order of Palm Wax that leaked all over the UPS truck and had to be sent back...but had no problem in getting it replaced promptly and it arrived intact the second time around. All this talk about their FO's being substandard are a little surprising to me. I order Awapuhi Seaberry, New Mown Hay and Lavender Silk from them and they are all very strong. Now granted, they don't have the best selection of oils but the ones that I have chosen have been of great quality...and I'm very picky when it comes to scents. One thing I do recall is, is that they never answer your emails. It's obvious they have no one monitoring it...so if I had a question about my order I always called. Sorry to all of you that have had such terrible experiences with them, but I don't think it's "the norm" with this company...they've just had some bad employees and I hope, for the owners sake, that they have gotten rid of them before they lose more business because of them.

[SheilaW]

I have been ordering from them for quite a while now. I get all my palm wax and most of my wicks and a lot of molds from them. I highly suggest e-mail rather than the phone. One of the owners have always responded promptly to any problems/questions that I have had.

[Darrin_B]

I had also had a problem with them. I had purchase some container from them and the container was so thin that they broke just by taking the lid off them or when I wash them.

I now buy my jars from the Jar Store and my wax & scent from Natures Garden Candles. Try them, I am glad that I did.

Darrin_B

[topofmurrayhill]

I just want to point out again that Candlewic is stellar when it comes to waxes. Anyone who's fond of IGI 1343 would do better to trade it in for Candlwic's 4045. They have a great selection of straight paraffins, paraffin blends, and preformulated blends to make any kind of candle under the sun. Also a great selection of natural waxes including yellow and white beeswax, bayberry wax, palm wax and soy. All these great products are less expensive than the waxes from the big companies and their shipping charges are reasonable. They even carry Astorlite.

[Tess]

Unfourtunatly I have to agree. I remember having a few issues with somethings. When I called them on like 3 different occasions, I got the feeling of either they did not care, or that I was "wasting" thier time. I even want to say when I first started ordering from them, I even got an answer like they were "really busy" or something like that. I felt it was rude and I cut my ordering list from them dramatically. OH yeah there was once they sent me zinc cored wick with out the zinc core lol!! She wanted me to send it back and pay for the return shipping lol!

All I get from them are wicks and one certain FO. IMO their FO's smell bad. MAybe its just the ones I tried but they were all fuely. When I called them I was told to add vanilla to everything :rolleyes2

[Gypsyjen]

I've never ordered from them, but from reading all the posts I can see that this supplier has a terrible track record. I'd rather pay more for a good product from a supplier I can depend on than pay less for a great product from someone who's going to let me down 50% of the time. I won't even attempt to order anything from Candlewic after reading this thread.

JMO

[dixylight]

I've never ordered from them, but from reading all the posts I can see that this supplier has a terrible track record. I'd rather pay more for a good product from a supplier I can depend on than pay less for a great product from someone who's going to let me down 50% of the time. I won't even attempt to order anything from Candlewic after reading this thread.

JMO

Ditto! There is nothing worse than poor customer service! I'm really glad I read this thread.

[Donita]

I agree with Top....they do have a very good selection of waxes. They perform the way they are supposed to. I like that!!!!!!! Sorry that so many of you seem to be having customer relations problems....I never have. I still will recommend them....hopefully they will work on their problems so it isn't a painful experience to do business with them. Their 4045 wax works for so many applications. Donita

[kate]

I just want to add another positive experience - I've been getting all my wax from Candlewic for years, and I just love it. I agree with Top, you just can't go wrong with the 4045 and I also use the 6228. The last time I placed an order I talked to them about wanting to try container wax and they sent me about 10lbs. of different waxes free to try. I know that many companies will do that, but since CS is at issue, I just wanted to note that they were very helpful and willing to work with me to find something I'll like.

And as has been mentioned, you just can't find a better wick selection, I can't imagine ordering wicks from anyone else.

I've never had a problem with my shipping, so I haven't had to deal with the problems that some of you have had, but any time I have called the rep I've spoken to has been helpful.

Just wanted to add my 2 cents.

Kate

[moonrose64]

Gotta chime in too.

Been buying from candlewic for a long time. Only use their wax and wicks.

I love them. I have never had a problem with them.

They have even called me at home after I placed an order just to tell me something was out of stock and did I need something else.

They always answer my emails and a couple times called me instead of emailing me back.

Not all their scents are good, but some are the best I have ever smelled.

Of course I am in PA so I get orders quick. But I never had to wait for an order..

It's to bad so many are having such bad experiences with them.

I feel they are a good company....

[topofmurrayhill]

It's not that they don't have any problems at all, but this thread could give you a really exaggerated impression. To say they have a "terrible" track record just isn't right. They are really a great resource for candlemaking.

[Fern]

I agree with you completely Top. I originally switched from 1343 to 4045 because shipping was so expensive from the other supplier I was ordering from. Turns out, it actually performed better than the 1343 and I haven't looked back since. I also purchase OK6228 and J223 from them in addition to all of my wicks and dyes. I've been very happy with the quality of the products, nothing has ever come in damaged, and although others are saying that there FO's suck...that just isn't true either. Perhaps they chose some that they didn't care for but the Ultimate and even a lot of the Standard scents throw very strongly. Granted, they don't have the best fragrance selection, but they have added quite a few new ones over the last year or so, so they are getting better in that area. It's a little disturbing to see how people are bashing this place so badly but I guess if you have a bad experience you don't forget and write them off your list of suppliers.

[Tess]

I wouldn't say bashing. Just because someone has had a bad experience, and is telling others about it, is not bashing. I for one have tried numerous oils. Even ones with the little "blue ribbon" that is their top sellers. I have also tried some of the ultimates. They do throw well, but nothing was accurate compared to other suppliers. 90% of the oils I got smelled really rank. As for the customer service, what are the possibilities of us all getting the same service? Maybe I just called on too many "bad days".

[Donita]

I am sure that there are many great candle supply companies....I have used a few.....I just like the fact that many times I receive my order in less than 24 hours.........and the few times that UPS has screwed up and dropped wax and scraped it up and put the dirty wax back into the box.....Candlewic has replaced it or given me a credit and I can keep the wax....throw it away or clean it up. I have some good FO's from them......they have improved. I just have to support them because they taught me what I needed to know to start a business....one that has been working for many years. Donita

[Fern-Marie]

I am not familiar with them, but there is a difference between not offering good customer service, and just having a jerk at the phone.

Some ppl just don't care, but that's the nature of any business.

Believe me, it is hard to find good help.

Others here say that they got great service from the owners...that is who you should contact, and let them know that the person you dealt with didn't give a damn whether the company got your business or not.

It's important to them, I'm sure.

It's a shame that someone like that is dealing with the customers.

I once called my bank when they didn't deposit my husband's check into our account, and bounced checks, and charged me $15 for each check.

What made it worse, is that the check was drawn from the company's account..AT THE SAME BANK! You wouldn't believe it, but the idiot on the phone had a world class excuse...dig this..."We don't cash checks"!

To which I said, you're a bank, what the hell do you do...would you like me to ask the banking commissioner to advise you of your job description?

The next week, my husband went to the drive-up window..CASHED his check in small denominations, then handed the teller back the cash, and said...'Now, deposit it"....hehehe.

They're out there!

We did change banks.

[siberia]

topofmurrayhill

Candlwic's

4045.

Really? Can you give a bit more detail as to why you favor CW4045 over IGI1343?

My 2 cents, I've ordered quite a bit over the years from Candlewic and have never had a problem. However, I do agree that communicating with them through email vs the phone is much more effective (works for me as that is my preferred method of business communication:yes:).

Kimberly

]Anyone who's fond of IGI 1343 would do better to trade it in for

[waxnwic]

I wish to sincerely thank several of our customers that have forwarded this thread and those that commented about out company. The Candlewic Company has been providing a complete line of Candle Making supplies for over 30 years and over those years tries to ensure each and every customer has a positive purchasing experience.

In reading this thread it is apparent that some customers have had a bad experience with out company. As an owner we do not like to hear those comments and in these instances I am not sure what may have happened. The one thing I have always asked is for the opportunity to review the situation. For those that have dealt with us long enough will know that we try to rectify situations and if the issue is brought to my attention you can be assured it will receive a response.

Unfortunately, there may be instances where we didn’t have control, shipping company lost the package, our supplier send the wrong material, internal damage during shipping but in those instances we try to ensure we can do everything possible to ensure we remedy the problem.

Another point appears to be the quality of our fragrances. I can assure we go to great lengths to ensure we offer only the high quality fragrances available. At the beginning of this post I identified that we have been doing this for over 30 years and in some instances the fragrance formulation we use has been the same. Many of our long term customers love these formulations making it difficult to just change the formulation. The “Fragrance” market has changed over the years and we have changed along with the market. The newer scents are a different “complexion” with more notes then some of the earlier fragrances. Is a Cinnamon fragrance “developed” today different then a number of years ago different? Absolutely, it does not make the one developed years ago inferior it just might not be as “complex”. For example our Pumpkin scent (S-47) is a standard pumpkin smell, it would not be fair to compare this scent to our Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin (US-116). Again not that one is inferior it is just what you are looking for from the fragrance.

Fragrances are always difficult to select in that what one customer may like another may not like the same fragrance. With any fragrance it is always best to try in smaller quantities and in a candle. Fragrances directly in a bottle will not always create the same fragrance throw that it will in a burning candle.

Over the years we have always tried to be more then just another company selling candle making supplies. We have always offered resources such as our monthly Enlightner, Chandler section of our website, samples of our waxes/wicks where possible and our Technical experience to assist all of customers.

It is difficult in a thread to address what each of the concerns issues may have been with our company but I can assure you that if you contact me at billbinder@candlewic.com that we will respond.

Bill Binder, President

[SteveinPA]

Although I haven't ordered from them often, I was very satisfied with their service, products, and shipping charges. I e-mailed them several times with questions, and got replies very quickly. I switched from 1343 to 4045H. I noticed the price of the 4045H went up again- but then again, what hasn't gone up in price.

[Chickie1st]

I too have ordered waxes, fragrances and other things from Candlewic and I have been happy with my purchases and have had no problem with them at all. Seems that the shipping was pretty fast also.

[wvcandleguy]

I have to admit, I dont remember ever ordering from them, but its very refreshing to see an owner actually come on here and reply. To me that shows respect for us "little" people. I salute you sir.

[chris77]

It's not that they don't have any problems at all, but this thread could give you a really exaggerated impression. To say they have a "terrible" track record just isn't right. They are really a great resource for candlemaking.

For those of you that remember when I started this thread, several hours later I started another thread stating that Candlewic had stepped up and rectified. I'm still not happy with the service I've received in the past, however Susan is bending over backwards right now to take care of the problems I've had! They will still have my business in some things, others I have turned to Peaks. On one hand I'm sorry I started this thread. On the other I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who has had issues.