Bernadette Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I received a request for a wedding quote a few minutes ago. She referred me to a picture on The Knot of what she would like to get close to. She wants a quote for 23,500 votives!!!!:shocked2: The wedding isn't until June. Is it possible to order that many for a wedding?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 HOLY CRAP! Looks like you are going to have your work cut out for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Typo or psycho....? Hehe. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernadette Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 Well...I'm shaking...I think it's real! I typed her name into google, and she and her fiance are the founders of one of fastest growing "meet" sites on the web, plus she is the owner of another extremely lucrative "storefront" business. We'll see if she likes the quote I give her. I wonder if I can really do this without neglecting all my other customers....:tiptoe::tongue2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardLOZ Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Sounds like a great order if it is genuine, however the thought of pouring 23,500 votives sends shivers down my spine. That is sure one hell of a lot of candles to pour & package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaturallyTru Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 calling all family members...lol! With that many would it be feasible to hire someone to help you...assemble molds, wash molds, package? Trudi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CathyinME Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Sounds like a great order if it is genuine, however the thought of pouring 23,500 votives sends shivers down my spine. That is sure one hell of a lot of candles to pour & package.Same here I can't imagine having to pkg all those. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scifichik Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernadette Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share Posted March 5, 2010 Don't congratulate me yet...we're still negotiating. Brides are a hard lot to deal with sometimes. I mean, her initial request was for a short cylinder votive(no dimensions or hint of what she meant) and "I'll be ordering alot depending on the price". Okay...am I supposed to be a mind reader?! Thru back and forth emails so far, she wants something shorter than a regular votive but taller than an oyster cup votive. Ooookkkaaayyyy...could you give me some idea of the quantity you'd like and I'll quote you several quantities. Obviously, the price would be better for 23,500 than for 235! How can you quote shipping if you don't know how many they want?:confused:And the picture she referred me to on The Knot...the color is in the glass votive holder with a white votive inside. I'm trying to confirm with her that she wants an actual colored votive and not a white votive in a colored glass votive holder because I don't sell votive holders and would NEVER ship that many across country.It would be a great order, but the headaches involved in getting everything straight, on top of making that many...I'll believe it when I see it.:tiptoe: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 I don't know whether to congratulate you or ask you where you want your hair buried after you rip it all out in frustration! It is pretty incredible though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Do you have all the equipment and space to pour the votives? Yikes! If you want to get it done in two weeks you would have to pour at least 1,000 a day. You need lots of space for that. And thats only pouring time. I have no idea how long it would take to package. Do you have to package individually plus shipping or just for shipping only? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catlover Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Yikes! You aren't kidding that brides can be difficult--we have a mobile d.j. business and do lots of weddings & receptions. I can't count the number of times the bride thought she wanted some outrageous thing until someone with sense talked her down. Congrats on the money if it works out, but maybe she'll come out of her tulle bubble and come up with a sensible number, not causing you permanent neck & shoulder problems from pouring an insane number of candles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernadette Posted March 6, 2010 Author Share Posted March 6, 2010 Candybee, the wedding isn't until June so thank God I have more than 2 weeks to make them...IF.... Why did you think it was a couple of weeks?I keep thinking to myself that there isn't going to be any electricity at this wedding - that's why she wants 23,500 votives!:laugh2:I wouldn't want to be the person that has to light all of these! I only have to ship them. They're not supposed to be favors or anything. They're going to be used at the wedding. The skeptic in me is beginning to tell me this is never going to happen....:tiptoe: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 (edited) Candybee, the wedding isn't until June so thank God I have more than 2 weeks to make them...IF.... Why did you think it was a couple of weeks? I didn't think it was 2 weeks. I was giving you a grounding example of the time and space you would need to make them. Negotiations take time. Getting your money for supplies takes time. Ordering supplies to make them takes time. Unpacking supplies takes time. Getting pickup for the packaged votives takes time. 2 weeks may not be exact but when you take out all the time you need for other things to pull together it ain't that far from it! You may be looking at weeks not months to get the order ready. Just giving you a time frame for how many you have to make in just a couple of weeks. The wedding may not be til June but you have a much shorter time frame to actually make the votives. Edited March 6, 2010 by Candybee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy, USMC Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 I did just a quick calculation. 23,500 votive sized candles @ 1.5 oz per candle comes to 35,250 oz; that's over 2,200 pounds. That's about 45 50-pound cases. WOW!! *faint* I'd be sure to calculate in my estimate some hired help ... and a truck carrier for shipping. OH, and don't forget to get a very hefty deposit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuminousBoutique Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 (edited) wow. Thats some MAJOR cashola. I guess all I would consider is... is it WORTH the time, effort, headache, money invested... I hope it works out for you though, I mean thats ALOT of votives, but it also could be a big deal for you. Edited March 6, 2010 by LuminousBoutique Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 It is a lot of wax. So much that it may only be shipped via truck. You need to check if you are required to have a biz address and a dock for unloading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybersix Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 I don't know about you, if this is your only job, so I don't know if it's great or not! Not to turn your hope down!I made for two years candles for a big fashion company. From november to march about 1500 - 2000 candles, and it's been hard, making the candles, space for tumblers, wicking, packaging then storing everything..But I have a daytime job, I work mon/fri from 9 AM to 6 PM in an office. So maybe for you it will be different. I needed help from my sis to wick tumblers and for packaging.Anyway good luck, I hope it will turn in a great job but be careful and plan everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernadette Posted March 8, 2010 Author Share Posted March 8, 2010 (edited) As excited as I initially was to receive this request, I walked away from it this weekend. After talking to her, she wanted hot pink votives and votive holders. She was willing to pay whatever to get them, but besides getting everything together for the actual votives, if I were to look into the glass holders for her, I would have to get samples to see if I could color match the candle to the glass. With all that was involved, I just didn't see the feasibility of getting these done and to her in time.For those that asked, yes, I have the exquipment and a good portion of the supplies, and I do this full time; however, to take this order, I figured I would not be able to service any of my other customers for awhile and probably would not be able to accept any new customers either. I have a couple of longstanding wholesale accounts that order this many candles a year, but they place their orders around the first of the year with specific dates scattered throughout the year that they want so many candles on this date, so many on this date and so on; so it's manageable. Not the whole thing in less than 2.5 months!I pointed her in the direction of several other online sites, but also told her that I believe they would be mass produced candles(probably imports) and that I seriously doubted she could get that many custom made candles at this late date. She was really nice about it, and told me she would stay in touch, so we will see. All in all, I'm relieved. At least it's good fodder for my journal! Edited March 8, 2010 by Bernadette spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 have we no one on this forum who could do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernadette Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 It's not just the votives, it's the finding and sampling of hot pink glass votive holders, then trying to color match the candles to the glass holders, then filling the order. That takes time, and she did tell me on the phone that she wanted this done and in her hands by mid May! A little unrealistic I thought.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisa Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I have a couple of longstanding wholesale accounts that order this many candles a year, but they place their orders around the first of the year with specific dates scattered throughout the year that they want so many candles on this date, so many on this date and so on; so it's manageable. Not the whole thing in less than 2.5 months!:WOW, You have a "Couple" accounts that order in the 20,000's per year (You mentioned she was asking for 23,500 )?!!?? Did I read that right? If so you are WAY outta my league for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caryfh Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Wow, that is a huge number of candles!! I actually wholesale some candles to The Knot, and even with a company of their size, the largest order I ever had to fill for them was 9600. I'm trying to imagine what she was possibly going to use them for. That many candles, in one room... wouldn't it be super hot??? And a serious fire hazard?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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