# Not impressed with Bulk Apothecary!



## Aline (Feb 9, 2015)

I ordered a soap mold a week ago and they still haven't shipped it. Actually I ordered two but they refunded one of them (but didn't remember to refund the shipping difference). Also, my account says it was the Celtic mold that was out of stock but the email says it was the Nautical one.....:-?

I would be very nervous about placing a big order with this company. Am I just unlucky or are they really that disorganized?!

Epilogue: after waiting over a week, they then tell me the other mold is out of stock too (even though it shows in stock on the website.) Seriously....?


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Feb 9, 2015)

I so far have only ordered fragrances with them and they were shipped within 1-2 days of ordering it, and they arrived within 3-4 days. Some of the scents I got from them weren't really anything like the description while others were nice, or spot on. But so far I've had good experiences with them.


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## abc (Feb 9, 2015)

I spent a bunch of time a few months back loading my cart with goodies during their sale. I got to the checkout and was just floored at shipping prices. I didn't place my order. Even with their 40% off it was way more than I was used to paying.


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## Soapacetic (Feb 10, 2015)

We use them exclusively atm.  Ordered multiple times, very large orders including freight.
No issues of yet and shipping is not bad either. (guess depends where you live, as always)
Every order has been on point.

Hope they get it straightened out for you and then some!

They do have an online chat if you can try during hours (normally runs during day to very late at night)


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## Aline (Feb 10, 2015)

Hoping to hear from them tomorrow. Maybe my order is just too small for them to take seriously


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## lsg (Feb 10, 2015)

Their shipping costs seem excessive to me.


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## hmlove1218 (Feb 10, 2015)

I agree. For me, their shipping costs are about the same as BB.. and BA is not all the way across the country..


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## doggonegardener (Feb 10, 2015)

*they've done fine by me*

I ordered 55lbs shea and also some EO from them in three seperate orders.  All three were spot on for weights and sizes.  Shipping was reasonable and very quick.


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## shunt2011 (Feb 10, 2015)

I too have found their shipping excessive and therefore have not ordered from them.


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## Cactuslily (Feb 10, 2015)

I just yesterday bought some fractionated coconut oil from them. I've never ordered there before, but BB was out of stock. Looked everywhere else, and found costs very high. My order cost @ 6.80$, and shipping was $7. I spend hours pricing things out, unless I find a particular product I just love. I asked before, but didn't receive a response. ..isn't there an app that will tell you where the best price for "x" is. Who is having a sale? Dare I say free shipping? Is there something like that out there?


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## abc (Feb 10, 2015)

Cactuslily said:


> I just yesterday bought some fractionated coconut oil from them. I've never ordered there before, but BB was out of stock. Looked everywhere else, and found costs very high. My order cost @ 6.80$, and shipping was $7. I spend hours pricing things out, unless I find a particular product I just love. I asked before, but didn't receive a response. ..isn't there an app that will tell you where the best price for "x" is. Who is having a sale? Dare I say free shipping? Is there something like that out there?



WSP has free shipping over $40 minimum. Amazon?


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## shunt2011 (Feb 10, 2015)

The problem with WSP is that their prices are higher on a lot of items as the shipping is figured into the prices already so it's not really free in most cases.
 I try to only purchase when they have a sale. There are so many suppliers that we just need to find which companies work best for our products and shipping. I keep a running list of what I buy and where for everything I use.


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## Aline (Feb 10, 2015)

Cactuslily said:


> I just yesterday bought some fractionated coconut oil from them. I've never ordered there before, but BB was out of stock. Looked everywhere else, and found costs very high. My order cost @ 6.80$, and shipping was $7. I spend hours pricing things out, unless I find a particular product I just love. I asked before, but didn't receive a response. ..isn't there an app that will tell you where the best price for "x" is. Who is having a sale? Dare I say free shipping? Is there something like that out there?



I get my FCO from Lotion Crafter. They are cheapest for a lot of ingredients I use and they always send flat rate (which is _ really_ important living in Hawaii).


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## Soapsense (Feb 10, 2015)

I get my FCO from www.thesoapdish.com for where I live shipping isn't too bad.


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## chloe (Feb 11, 2015)

I'm not impressed either. They messed up my order twice and also said some items were in stock that weren't. Then, when trying to fix the order, I found myself calling them several times at 3am a few days in a row (I live overseas). Really they should've been trying to contact me. I stopped buying from them. I love WSP.


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## Aline (Feb 12, 2015)

Finally, 9 days after ordering, they tell me the other soap mold is not in stock! They haven't updated to show it out of stock so someone else will probably be messed about like me.....

I could have got these from somewhere else in the time it took to tell me they are out of stock. SO annoying :x


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## bugtussle (Feb 13, 2015)

Bulk Apothecary is owned by WSP.


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## Aline (Feb 13, 2015)

bugtussle said:


> Bulk Apothecary is owned by WSP.



Really? I had no idea....


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## shunt2011 (Feb 13, 2015)

bugtussle said:


> Bulk Apothecary is owned by WSP.


 
I was not aware of that either.


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## bugtussle (Feb 13, 2015)

The links to WSP are very hard to find, but Dish Forum has discussed link.


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## IrishLass (Feb 13, 2015)

It might possibly be that they are just a distributor for WSP's Crafter's Choice brand instead of being fully owned by them (I will have to check it out to be sure), but with that aside for the moment, there have been 24 complaints against them with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) in the past 3 years, and 9 which were closed in the past 12 months.

If you look up Bulk Apothecary on the BBB site, they are listed under the name of "Natural Essentials", and you are not the only one  that has had an unhappy experience with their service. You can read the complaints on the BBB site:  http://www.bbb.org/akron/business-r...atural-essentials-in-streetsboro-oh-132517552 

I just found the above info from reading some threads on the TeachSoap forum.


IrishLass


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## Dorymae (Feb 13, 2015)

bugtussle said:


> The links to WSP are very hard to find, but Dish Forum has discussed link.



Where are you getting your information?  From my own search at whosit I find Gary Pelligrino for bulk apothecary and Debra May for wholesale supply. 

Have you confirmed that information?


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## bugtussle (Feb 13, 2015)

Several months ago, I posted about Bulk Apothecary and someone posted that they were owned by WSP.  Debbie May had a container webby and never indicated she owned it.  Let me see if I can confirm!


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## shunt2011 (Feb 13, 2015)

I did a search and nothing I found links them to one another.  Owners listed as husband. wife and brother team named Pelligrino same as Dorymae.  Nothing connecting them.


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## pamielynn (Feb 13, 2015)

I have to tell you that I'm not impressed with some of their EOs. Their Lavender 40/42 does nothing for me. I'm going back to NDA when this batch is used up. Plus I got 2 jars (lemon and Patchouli) that were under stated weight. I did not have a problem with shipping times, though.


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## bugtussle (Feb 13, 2015)

I will look and find the post.  Until then, pls don't throw me off the board. lol


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Feb 13, 2015)

Countdown is running...... Just kidding


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## bugtussle (Feb 22, 2015)

Well, I give up and retract my posting about Bulk Apothecary being part of WSP.  I cannot find the post I got it from.  Sorry, I am usually very careful of what I post.:sad:


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## blissfarmnaturals (Mar 23, 2015)

I placed an order Thursday or Friday and got it Saturday via FedEX shipping to home. I live in Ohio where they are, so that's a factor. I was very pleased.  It was a relatively small order.  You can't beat their prices on jars and bottles, at least that I've found.  Shipping using FedEx option was around 13 dollars.


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## Cindy2428 (Mar 23, 2015)

I live in IN and haven't found their shipping excessive. I bought 120 lbs of MP bases and approx. 12 FOs. The S&H was $58.00 and I received my order in 2 days. I paid almost that much from BB for less than a 20 lb order and it took almost 2 weeks to arrive.

 I routinely price out SFIC bases and they have the best pricing per lb. If you can afford an order for $250.00, they further discount an additional 15%. Just for the heck of it, I even compared their pricing to buying from SFIC directly. With the trucking fees, I would only save about .05 per lb.  I also have no complaint with their EO quality - they all tested clear indicating purity of oils; pricing I have found cheaper but sometimes it's worth paying a little extra for me to get my order in a timely manner.


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## SoapSap (Mar 29, 2015)

I regularly order from Bulk Apothacary and find their prices and products to be most satisfactory.


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## 100%Natural (Mar 31, 2015)

I used to order from them a lot.  I'm in Canada and it became a hassle to place the order to begin with.  Their shipping charges jumped substantially as well in recent months so I have dropped them completely.   

They have no respect for your time.  They would put me on hold and then conveniently hangup on me when I asked a question they didn't have an answer to.  If I was a small time customer I could possibly see it but when my orders are over $1500 USD they should get their act together and make sure it's an easy process!  The right hand does not know what the left is doing.  They're all clueless!  I only put up with them because of their pricing and the quality seemed good.  Well now that I use NDA I realize the quality isn't as good with BA as I originally thought it was.  Some of their EO's are better than others for quality too.  

Save yourselves the hassle and shop elsewhere.  Something's gone awry with them as of late and they're worse than ever.


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## cmzaha (Mar 31, 2015)

Cactuslily said:


> I just yesterday bought some fractionated coconut oil from them. I've never ordered there before, but BB was out of stock. Looked everywhere else, and found costs very high. My order cost @ 6.80$, and shipping was $7. I spend hours pricing things out, unless I find a particular product I just love. I asked before, but didn't receive a response. ..isn't there an app that will tell you where the best price for "x" is. Who is having a sale? Dare I say free shipping? Is there something like that out there?


Soapers Choice sells 1 gallon of FCO (MCT) for 22.40 ($3.20 per lb) and their shipping is not excessive. Final cost for me in Southern CA is $4.42 per lb. It has a long shelf life


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