Question About Purchasing FO and Making Ahead

[Lorelei]

I've done my testing with FO testers in soy and I'm ready to roll.

I want to do a Christmas line so my question is, should I just buy ahead those FO's in a large quantity and pray they sell, take orders and deliver praying the FO's arrive in time. How did you all get started?

Additionally how long will the FO's really last in the bottle?

Finally how early can we make ahead tarts to sell, how long before they start "getting old" and can anything help prevent their demise?

Thanks a lot for answering in advance!

Lorelei

[chuck_35550]

I buy testers and make several candles. You really need to learn what sells in your area. Fragrances that are hot in other areas of the country won't sell in my neck of the woods. I have a few (haha) pound bottles of fo that won't ever be used because nobody liked the fragrance but me. Save your money for the stuff that will really sell. I can always sell: Creme Brulee, Coconut lime

Verbena (BBW), different versions of Creme Brulee and a limited number of florals. Clean or spa fragrances are sparse and patch is non-existent. Test your market first. HTH.

Steve

[Candybee]

I've done my testing with FO testers in soy and I'm ready to roll.

I want to do a Christmas line so my question is, should I just buy ahead those FO's in a large quantity and pray they sell, take orders and deliver praying the FO's arrive in time. How did you all get started?

Additionally how long will the FO's really last in the bottle?

Finally how early can we make ahead tarts to sell, how long before they start "getting old" and can anything help prevent their demise?

Thanks a lot for answering in advance!

Lorelei

Some suppliers have 2oz, 4oz, 8oz, and 16oz size FO bottles so you don't have to buy alot before knowing what sells. To help with selection go to the scent forum section. There's threads about Christmas scents there that may help you.

FOs tend to have a long shelf life but there are a few that go bad within a year. Some of mine have lasted for 5 yrs and still smell great.

Its okay to make tarts ahead of time and store them. I used to make tarts and stored them in large freezer bags. One bag for each scent then put the bags in a large box and stored that in a dark closet.

The trick to knowing what sells in scents is to try them out by marketing them to your customers. Going to craft shows and local shops are a great way to find out what is selling in your area. So visit craft shows, gift shops, listen to your customers, take inventory of what is selling. I always provide some classic scents along with a few new ones and make sure I have a variety too; bakery, floral, fruit, clean, etc.

[pamperme]

I bought fragrance in 1# bottles in the begining also...and found out I was stuck with fragrances that no one wanted. Spiked Egg Nog was one. I ended up with a bunch of candles that I had to give away or put in gift baskets with 2 other 'better' candles.

After trial and error I have found my main Fall/Christmas line which consists of 10 scents. I could have had 25 if I wanted to waste the money and offer more variety but why???

I would say pick 5 if you are starting out...buy by the 1# bottle to save per ounce and order the basic scents everyone loves. You can always make special orders for people with a minimum quanity purchase if they really 'have to have' a scent.

Also I state that I only sell these scents from Oct-

Dec and when I run out I do not reorder. If they want Pumpkin Fudge....they need to order early.

Works for me and gets me orders faster.

[rebeccajo99]

I always start with the smallest bottle of fo to do my testing and then to get x number in stock once testing is complete (depending on what it is that I'm making and I would add an oz or two to account for testing not going the way I want). If I need to order more because I sold out, depending on how long ago I ordered, I would go up a size, stay the same or just not order again if it took too long to sell. It depends on how often you want to order, but I always try to keep the smallest amount needed in a certain time period. I usually do a 3 to 6 month range right now as money is still tight in the business area as I'm still in the early business stages.

In my opinion, you are not going to get that many people who are going to want to order their stuff and then wait for it to come. You may be able to get people who want that if they know your stuff, but not everybody. Your going to want to