WAHM Forums

Do you think it's wrong to sell candles from two (or maybe three) different veggie/soy candle company.


I sell Mia Bella by Scent-Sations but they don't offer pillar candles, other than the short blocky ones. I have run into "potential" customers time and time again who like to "candle scape" with their pillar candles and I would like to find a soy/veggie candle co. that offers TALL pillars.


I keep hearing that you can'tmakeBIG ROUND, THREE WICKpillars out of soy/veggie or just soy candles cause they spill all over the place. I suppose you can fix that problem with glass pillar holders or something.


Any suggestions?


I could have sworn I posted this same topic sometime last week but it never made it to the boards.smileys/smiley36.gifEdited by: abbysmom

Well, I dont sell for a company, so I dont know all the rules, but I dont see why you couldnt. I mean, you are independent so.....you should be your own boss, right?smileys/smiley36.gif

Right on funny! I agree.smileys/smiley17.gif


I just figured I'd offer variety (and so far, I am thinking of White Lily as a second source because they have a Childrens Line of soaps also). I have a 3 year old that likes to"swipe" my Bath and Body Works Warm VanillaBody Cream! LOLsmileys/smiley36.gif


I used to "candle scape" when I bought other candles with pebbles and actualstones from the oceanthat I used to collectand with a little "water fountain" it looked fantastic! So I can see the attraction. I just want to offer my existing customers soy/veggie pillars that are either round and tall (getting alot of requests for that one) and shorter, round FAT three wick candles too.


One thing is for sure, they all have to be offantastic quality and offer the "explosion" of scent too.


Edited by: abbysmom

I think a lot of it depends on the companies you are looking at and their policies. Some might have restrictions on other companies you can rep for if their main product line is similar. Others (like White Lily) don't have any restrictions.
It sounds like you are looking into it for the variety - not for companies that offer the same exact product. Is there a company that offers all of the items you are hoping to carry? If so - that might be a solution.
Good luck!


Rebecca

Thanks Rebecca.smileys/smiley4.gif


I am definately in it for the variety. I have 10 consistant customers and 5 of them asked if I was going to get any pillars in. As much as I hate to say "no", I had to. Glad they're still with me.


I am currently looking more in-depth about White Lily, ( I also like the fact that they have "Seasonal" items too!) so it's gonna be a looooong weekend. Ha!


Thanks for the reply!smileys/smiley1.gif

Hi There! Have you checked out Northern Lights at Home? A big part of our business is pillar candles!! Interestingly enough folks ask me often about soy candles!!! It's a pretty lucrative company with low start up. It sounds like a great compliment to your company. Why not work for two companies?? Check it out and let me know what you think! We just started online ordering this week, so you could test out the pillars. They're of excellent quality!


Thanks and GOOD LUCK,


Erinn


www.northernlightsathome.com/mackey (http://www.northernlightsathome.com/mackey)

Hi! You probably want to check the policies with MB first and if you don't see anything in there, shoot them an email just to make sure it's ok to do. I never checked it out with MB but I am curiousto know also. Best wishes,


Alison Boers

White Lily has a nice selection of ball and candle pillars, and it may be nice having the body/spa products to add to your line of candles. Thats one huge thing I love about White Lily. I love the candles and the body stuff equally. I could never choose between the 2.


The pillar candles White Lily has are veggie candles and they have a very attractive sparkly finish to them.


cindy

Others (like White Lily) don't have any restrictions.



Oh yes they do....I was one of their first reps over a year ago.smileys/smiley5.gif
I actually sold for the person they now buy wholesale from, but
couldn't buy direct from her anymore since she went exclusive to white
lily and another company that she can't release the name of. Once we
decided to make our own, I was "booted" from White Lily by the owner
and told it was a conflict of interest as per the contract terms. I
didn't care much, but I did want to mention that YES they have
restrictions and you might want to check before selling them along with
Mia Bella! I don't know the rules now, but a year ago selling
your own candles wasn't something they much cared for! (Don't get me
wrong, I'm NOT saying that's a bad thing, because they have the right
to do that. It's just something that SHOULD be known)



Also, something else I wanted to point out was expanding yourself to
far. We don't sell pillars because you just can NOT with pure soy wax
and we don't want to spread our line out that far offering different
blends. Our focus is jars, melts, and tealights all in pure soy wax
with no additives - we want it to stay that way because of our target
market for just that. Mia Bella is a special blend of vegitable waxes
and not even half soy, so to sell something different might confuse
customers. I know it's hard enough to explain to customers the
difference between all the different types of blends, although most
know the difference between soy and parafin. Vegetable waxes are a
whole different ball game and all companies have a different blend.



Let me put it this way - if you have a happy customer that likes your
jars, selling something from another company could turn them off
completely if they don't like it. Your market focus should be those
that like that one particular blend and nothing else. Spreading
yourself too far could really get you in trouble in the long run.



That's just my two cents, but really the choice is up to you! smileys/smiley2.gif





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Hi Abbysmom:


Have you checked out www.kandleindulgence.com (http://www.kandleindulgence.com)? We offer a large variety of soy container candles and soy pillars. We have sold hundreds of soy pillars and haven't experienced any problems with the these spilling over. Please don't believe that soy pillars can't be made using pure soy wax because it's not true. I use only pure soy wax to make my pillars with no additives such vybar or stearic acid and my pillars are hard as a rock and burn perfect! I know the next question is that I must add paraffin wax...NOT! I haven't dealt with paraffin wax in over8 years and I have no desire to start now.


With KIC we don't put a lot of restrictions on our consultants. We feel that if you're working from home or trying to supplement your income, who are we to tell you what company you can and can't work with. This limits your income ability.





Wishing you the best!





Jameel

Please don't believe that soy
pillars can't be made using pure soy wax because it's not true. I use
only pure soy wax to make my pillars with no additives such vybar or
stearic acid and my pillars are hard as a rock and burn perfect!



Then I'm guessing it's a vegetable blend, right? 100% soy (TRUE SOY,
not a vegetable blend) is far too soft to make a pillar. Soy is very,
very soft and a pillar wouldn't be "rock hard" without being a blend of
other oils or wax (natural or not).



I don't want to turn this into a debate, but did want to say something
about that comment because you make those of us that make 100% soy
candles look like liers. smileys/smiley18.gif



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Kara,


You're right, I don't want to turn this into a debate. But it is what it is. And I'm not here to make anyone appear to be liars. I'm sorry if you feel that way.smileys/smiley19.gif I know what I use and what the final outcome is.





Thank you and have a wonderful day!

Same here I guess - even our melts are easily damaged because they are
so soft, and I know for a fact we use 100% soy with a small amount of
beeswax.



It may be that your supplier isn't being so honest because I've seen
that before too - the supplier says it's soy, but it's actually a blend
of unknown oils and vegetable waxes selling it as "natural soy wax" but
not saying what exactly is in it.



I've never heard anyone that uses soy ever say they could make a pillar out of 100%.

You know Kara, that could be the case. I have ran across a few suppliers that have stretched the truth to make a buck. Well, looks like I will be investigating that.


Well, I know for a fact that I use 100% soy for my container candles and those aren't soft. Now, when you say soft do you mean when you touch it, it will leave a dent or something?

Do you use EcoSoy? If so, it states it's made from %100 "botanical
oils" and soy bean base. So not 100% soy, but at a glance it
might be mistaken for that. I noticed they had a pillar blend, so
thought I would ask.



Hard as in soft to the touch yes, but it will also dent very easy. Almost like a solidified lotion.

Our wax is 85% soy and 15% vegetable. I am able to make pillars, but they are very soft and damage easily.

I had to do some deep research to locate the manufacturer and Kara you're right, it reads: made from pure 100% soybeans and carefully selected botanical oils. But these pillars are still hard! For example, I can sit these pillars in the sun and these haven't melted unlike my container candles get extremely soupy.


Here recently, I started mixing beeswax with the container blend and the scent throw was amazing! I have some palm wax but I haven't tried using that yet.


Have you tried working with palm wax?

Ah ha! Problem solved. :) Not saying vegetable wax or botanical oils is
a bad thing, but I'm just a freak about accurate presentation and
misrepresentation. I know of a certain candle company where some are
still selling as "soy wax" when there isn't even any fact to support
the companies blend even still has soy in it. Plus of course, some of
the "soy candles" you see are just a small percent of soy mixed with
who knows what.



Anyway - we haven't messed with palm wax just for the simple fact that
everyone seems to be happy with our 100% soy and beeswax. The amount of
beeswax we use is very minimal (around 1%). The candles throw great and
burn nice. Since we don't use color though, I can't say what the
difference is with that and other blends.

My customers are my customers. Obviously no two are alike, so no two situations are alike also.


So far my customers are liking the idea of my selling Pillars, no matter what they are,so I am going to start making my own pillars along with what I already sell.


I'm all for soy/veggie and soy/soy or whatever. My focus is keeping my customers and so I decided to expand a little. not alot.


I'll see where it goes from here.


Thanks for the replies though, they are definately appreciated.Edited by: abbysmom

Oh by the way, thanks for the info Jameel! smileys/smiley4.gif

Hi Abbysmom,


I totally understand where you're coming from. I know my customers love the fact that I make pillars.A few of my wholesale customers have informed me that the pillars I do for them are one their top sellers. So you have to go where the money is, but at the same time you can't do for everybody. I say go for it and if you need any advice, feel free to email me.





Wishing you the best!


Jameel