WAHM Forums

I had always had a love hate relationship with Walmart. Today I went there to find some Christmas clearance topiary trees and saw something that disturbed me. Walmart has always had scented candles, with increasingly "gourmet" scent names, and we know how they burn (horrible). They have always had warmers to put your candles on and we all know how melting your entire jar candle at once makes the scent dissipate faster and not last as long!!

And what did I see on the endcap today? Melts. In packaging almost identical to Scentsy, for $2. They are called "Scent Sational" and even go so far as to specify "not a Scentsy product" on the front of the label!!!!

This is the first time I have seen it, probably have been around awhile, but it just chaps my hide that now they are marketing specifically to our candle company direct sales customers.

Im going to try to think of this on the bright side and hope that once people try these melts they will look up Scentsy online for a taste of the "real thing." And if I were a Scentsy rep Id be all over that Walmart candle aisle.

Imitation is the best form of flattery, I suppose...

I think any customer who buys a similar product at a discount store and then tries the real thing, will become a customer of yours for life. I applaud you for looking at the bright side.


Melissa

Yep, they find a product that is popular, and then find a way to get their own version to get a piece of the pie. Thats just how it goes. And thats where being a good rep comes in, showing customers how much better our products are in regards to scent and length of time they last. Not to mention earning products free! You sure can't get that at walmart!

WOW, that's just wrong! I'm all for free enterprise & competition, but Wal-Mart pushes the limit. I WILL NOT shop there, not that it matters to them. They capitalize on people looking for cheap and it doesn't matter about quality. If it breaks, gets lost, whatever "it was so cheap let's go get some more!"
It's amazing that so many people think that a candle is SUPPOSED to lose it's scent after 15 minutes and produce black smoke. That's what the majority of candles on the market do and besides it only cost $2.00, let's go buy 5 more!

I haven't tried them. But I did hear that they have a "chemical" smell to them. Yuk. I'm not too worried about them though. My customers know where to go to get more Scentsy. And it's not Walmart! I'm sure you know how it is with candles EVERYWHERE. We know what's good! :)

I will shop there to buy brand names cheaper. For instance, my kitty litter is about 12 bucks there, the pet store is 15 for a smaller box. My breakfast food is every day priced around 2.50 at walmart, but is over 3 bucks at the grocery store. That being said, I go there rarely.

Some customers might give em a try... but I'm confident that they will come back. Scentsy has a wonderful product and is a wonderful company to work with.

I agree with what everyone else has said here. Once people know the quality of your product, they always come back to you for more.

AND

Walmart won't give you any FREE candles no matter how much you buy or refer your friends.

The Walmarts in my area do not sell warmers or tarts.. I am sure they will make their way in MA soon then.. It would be interesting to try them & compare them to other Candle Company Tarts.. I know I am going to love Soylicious or Scentsy's Tart's 100% better... LOL...

WALMART WHAT ARE YOU THINKING????

I think that satz comment on walmart mentality......."it was so cheap lets go get some more!" sums it up. "We can buy 10 at that price!!" Too bad they are all garbage........

Yah, its not saving you money if you buy 10 and they are useless. Much better to buy 1 that works

We shop Walmart and cheaper does not necessarily mean a bad product!

I've been to the Dallas mart and seen some fantastic and beautiful warmers that do not cost as much as it would thru a direct sales company because remember that there is more of the pie that has to be spread around for everyone to make money.
(there are DS companies where you can buy wholesale 50% and sell retail)

I've seen gorgeous well made warmers and plugins at the mart that worked beautifully and yet the price was extremely affordable, they had a wider choice than any I have seen anywhere else and yet were well below $30.

Cheaper does not always mean they are garbage, being a sensible shopper you can save money and not sacrifice quality !

As to candles I am prejudiced in that after burning other candles from the higher priced gourmet to lower priced to our gourmet candles and when I find something works I stick with it and our gourmet candles are priced right, they don't leave any black soot and smell heavenly!!

As to warmers they all have one thing in common, they use 15 - 25 watt light bulbs to warm the wax and the wax in our melts melt beautifully.:cool:

Once again I agree with you.....we get glass and ceramic tart warmers to sell from wholesale sites. And, it I see something cute in a store....im gonna buy it for me. To me that warmer does not matter as much as what you put in it. Yes, we sell warmers. But, that does not mean I cant find others that we like as well.

I guess I could say the same thing about candles and tell the public on this forum to buy candles from their local Yankee store too. I think they are having a big 50% off sale as we speak....or was it buy one get one free? I can't remember...all I know is it sounded like a pretty good deal! Sheesh!

People are going to buy what they are used to. I still have customers that burn both mine and Y candles. I dont get upset at all. BTW....they are having a sale this week......so am I.

I'm just hoping that people read the instructions for warmers if they buy them at a place like walmart. I have heard that some can't be used for extended periods of time, like Scentsy warmers. I know, if I didn't read the instructions, I would assume I could use it 24/7 just like a Scentsy warmer.

Good point Loretta. I have not gotten any at Walmart. I have though gotten them from other wholesale suppliers. I aways supply melt/burn instructions with all of my orders.

You're right Loretta and Flickerscents, regardless where you buy your candles or warmers encouraging reading the directions is important.

As to warmers they all have one thing in common, they use 15 - 25 watt light bulbs to warm the wax and the wax in our melts melt beautifully.:cool:

Actually not all warmers have that in common. Soylicious warmers have a warming plate instead of a light bulb and double as a candle warmer/coffee warmer :)

I have to say I love the designs offered by Scentsy warmers as well as Soylicious warmers. I would not buy warmers from Walmart mostly because I refuse to go there unless absolutely necessary (I got a gift card there for Christmas...eh).

Well said Krista.

Wax looks the same when it melts, but as i have learned from Gold Canyon's warmers, the temperature of the heat mechanism affects how, and how long, the scent is delivered. If you want your product to be guaranteed to smell as it was intended, use as it was intended.

Combined with the knowledge that WM is in the business of getting you to come back ASAP and spend more money on copius amounts of stuff, I would not put a lot of stock in their warmers. I know very little about light bulb warmers so all I can really venture to say is that general comment.

Regarding candles with wicks, they have always had those and so its not much of a discussion point. What do we say? "Waste your money and find out....."