# Only SIX fragrances??



## amd (May 14, 2018)

Some of you may have seen this from Amy Warden of Great Cakes Soaps, but for those who haven't, I thought I would start a conversation on thoughts about this.
Here's her full blog post: https://www.greatcakessoapworks.com.../my-top-5-takeaways-from-the-hscg-conference/

Specifically discussing this snippet...






Honestly, I read this and about fell over. Only SIX fragrances? I don't think I could do it. I mean, not just because I'm a FO ho, but because I don't think I pick 6 fragrances that would consistently have at least one that someone would buy.

Looking at my best seller list, I have 10 that I consistently make in large batches at least once every two months (more if I'm doing a lot of shows). Then I have smaller batch quantities that I make to meet the needs for men's soaps, kids soaps, "dirty hippy" soaps, and such. Those smaller batch quantities make up roughly 25% of my sales. I'm not comfortable losing that much in sales. (actually, I really don't like losing any sales, so if I don't have something specific I try to reel them in with a custom order, which only works 25% of the time.)

I do get the point of customers being overwhelmed, and I've seen it happen where customers have picked up two or three bars, smelled them and then started to walk away, already tired of trying to find a scent they like. That's usually where I step in and start asking what kind of scents do they like, and take some of the burden of smelling all the soap from them. I've also been working on improving my soap display and packaging so that the fragrance names are more visible, so people don't necessarily have to handle each bar of soap to find one that they like.

Maybe I'm being ranty, but isn't it our job as sellers to guide our customers to best choices, regardless of how many or few choices are available? 

And, by the way, if you sell... how many fragrances do you typically carry? Right now, I think I'm pushing upwards of 30. (Which reminds me, I need to order another display rack for my show on Saturday.)


----------



## cmzaha (May 14, 2018)

I cannot say I have ever lost a sale by having to many choices. I have seen vendors with less than a dozen choices do very poorly at markets. I take and have since day one 40-50 different selections. I am including in this vegan, non-vegan, oatmeal, milk, no milk etc. Many times I have surprised customers when they ask for something unusual and I say yep I have it, then they look dumbfounded and walk away, although sometimes they are really looking for something they cannot find and end up being surprised when I do have it.  It is also a way for a customer to not say they don't want anything and are just looking... I would not waste my time nor energy going to a market with so few soaps.

The people saying such have never been up against me at a market or craft fair

All my soaps are shrink wrapped with the label inside so they stay clean. If I have an old batch not selling well I will pull them, re-wrap, sometimes change the name and take them back out in a month or so. Many times that gets the sales going on the poor selling soap, other wise they get pulled and either donated or used in confetti soap or re-batched into my x-scrubby mud bars.

 I use a very simple display with levels. This is an older pic from a past Christmas Season, but you can get the general idea. Each area is 4 tables that extendable legs


----------



## lenarenee (May 14, 2018)

I've read, and been told by marketers that less is better. However, I wonder if the "studies" that led to this conclusion were based on shopping habits in a brick and mortar store, without including shopping habits at shows and markets.   For Target/grocery store shopping six scents is about for me - I want to get in, get done, get out.  Going to shows and markets is a whole different kind of shopping - it's  fun and exploratory - meandering and investigating.

Example:  came across a brand new Bath and Body Works yesterday. Haven't been to one in over 5 years (smelly is not my thing) . The big sign said candles were buy 2 get 2 - and I was struck with the motivation for a little candle adventure.  Yes - waaayyy too many things to smell. Left the store for fresh air and dove back in. But since this completely a frivolous adventure I happily stuck with it.   

A bit off topic;  I didn't like very many of the scents at all; kind of messy, unfocused fragrances.  There was one very similar to Salty Mariner.
The candles burn hot - full melt pool in an hour and I pre-trimmed the wicks!  The fragrance does fill the room well, and a clean burn though.


----------



## shunt2011 (May 14, 2018)

I, with Carolyn, I carry 30-35 scents and have never found it a deterrent for purchases. In scrubs I carry 10 fragrances and lip balm 12 or so.  Many times I’ve had what another vendor didn’t.


----------



## amd (May 14, 2018)

cmzaha said:


> I use a very simple display with levels. This is an older pic from a past Christmas Season, but you can get the general idea. Each area is 4 tables that extendable legs
> View attachment 30294



Oh my! Carolyn, that looks like a booth I want to stop and explore. If I were a customer at a show, I would instantly be drawn to this because there is so much, there is probably something for me in it and it would be worth my time to stop and chat. That was one thing I noticed at the junk market I went to on Saturday (as a shopper), the 10 or so vendors who had soap, just did not have much of a selection. Three of them had almost identical fragrance lineups - which I get does happen, and I do carry some of the same fragrances - but they only had a handful of fragrances. There was nothing "different" or unique to make me interested as a customer. My husband tells me I'm jaded because I have different expectations (of myself) as a seller.



lenarenee said:


> I've read, and been told by marketers that less is better. However, I wonder if the "studies" that led to this conclusion were based on shopping habits in a brick and mortar store, without including shopping habits at shows and markets.   For Target/grocery store shopping six scents is about for me - I want to get in, get done, get out.  Going to shows and markets is a whole different kind of shopping - it's  fun and exploratory - meandering and investigating.



I agree - for many people coming to a show is a several hours expedition, although even that seems to be changing too. I had lunch today with a friend who organizes two annual craft shows each year, plus does her own rounds of shows. Her show sales have been poor, but yet she has had one of her best years so far. The shows haven't been well trafficked, most people don't want to spend hours at one. Her last show she was setup at the door, and she said a lot of people came in, grabbed the sheet with the vendor list, perused the vendor list and either went directly to what they wanted, or turned and left. ETA: most of her sales are coming from online sales.


----------



## Obsidian (May 14, 2018)

I like to buy other soapers products at craft fairs. The only time I have a hard time with a large selection is when they have weird names that give me no hint at what it is.

I don't care about clever names, I'd rather see plain lavender instead of purple haze. That way I can avoid a nasty scent, soapers don't like it when you smell a soap and make a gagging face because their angel wings soap smells like cat pee(ylang ylang).

I'm ok with smelling a few mystery scents but will stop and walk away after 8 or so. I've only met one soaper who actually spoke to me about her soaps, her ingredients, scents and why she makes the soap she does. I ended up buying a overpriced soap I knew I wouldn't really like due to the high butter % but I was ok with that, I just wanted to support her.


----------



## cmzaha (May 14, 2018)

Obsidian said:


> I like to buy other soapers products at craft fairs. The only time I have a hard time with a large selection is when they have weird names that give me no hint at what it is.
> 
> I don't care about clever names, I'd rather see plain lavender instead of purple haze. That way I can avoid a nasty scent, soapers don't like it when you smell a soap and make a gagging face because their angel wings soap smells like cat pee(ylang ylang).
> 
> I'm ok with smelling a few mystery scents but will stop and walk away after 8 or so. I've only met one soaper who actually spoke to me about her soaps, her ingredients, scents and why she makes the soap she does. I ended up buying a overpriced soap I knew I wouldn't really like due to the high butter % but I was ok with that, I just wanted to support her.


To me Eucalyptus smells like cat pee pee  yet it is a great seller for me, go figure... I was never clever with names and have always named my soap for the fragrance. Sometimes customers ask me how I came up with the name and I honestly tell them it is the fragrance name. Heck, with my memory these days I would forget what fragrance the clever named soap would be 

_Oh my! Carolyn, that looks like a booth I want to stop and explore_. Thankyou


----------



## amd (May 14, 2018)

I'm in the same boat re: memory. I name my soaps based on the fragrance - most of the time. I tried a few creative names, but they don't sell unless it's obvious like my "Melon-choly Madness" soap which obviously smells like melons. Most people don't get my sense of humor to start with, so I don't try anymore. Good point about simplicity with soap names.

I kind of like it when people make gagging faces, it helps me steer them towards something they might like. Lavender makes you gag, here try this ocean scented soap.


----------



## SunRiseArts (May 14, 2018)

amd said:


> I'm a FO ho



lol I can relate!


----------



## cerelife (May 15, 2018)

I honestly don't_ mean_ to have weird names (and I can't say they're particularly clever), but sometimes a name pops in my head while I'm soaping that has nothing to do with the name of the FO. It's more about what the scent evokes to me, if that makes sense? Like Peak's Parisian Twilight instantly reminded me of the Glen Campbell song "Southern Nights" - if that song had a smell, this would be it! Or FB's Sweet Orange and Chili Pepper - in my mind that's Cajun Sunshine.
Sometimes the name comes from what's happening when I soap...the first time I soaped with FB's dupe of Lush Flying Foxes I had fully intended to name the soap Dirty Jasmine. But the Minou (our monkey cat) was yowling because he hates not being into everything and he is NOT allowed in my soaping area, so the name of _that_ soap became Naughty Monkey. I was also soaping Daystar's Toffee Sugar Crunch in that session, so as a yin to the yang, that soap was named Sugar Monkey.
Then again, sometimes it works the other way around for me. I'll be thinking of a song/book/poem/etc. that I love and think: If that (whatever) had a smell, what would it be? So I start searching through my trove of FO/EO to play around in order to find the perfect scent or blend that speaks to me, and try it out in soap. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But it's always fun!
I know that everyone isn't going to get my sense of humor; or care about my literary references and silly stories, and I'm totally OK with that. 
I make soap because it makes me happy. Part of the fun is in taking artistic liberty to choose the names that make me smile


----------



## shunt2011 (May 15, 2018)

cerelife said:


> I honestly don't_ mean_ to have weird names (and I can't say they're particularly clever), but sometimes a name pops in my head while I'm soaping that has nothing to do with the name of the FO. It's more about what the scent evokes to me, if that makes sense? Like Peak's Parisian Twilight instantly reminded me of the Glen Campbell song "Southern Nights" - if that song had a smell, this would be it! Or FB's Sweet Orange and Chili Pepper - in my mind that's Cajun Sunshine.
> Sometimes the name comes from what's happening when I soap...the first time I soaped with FB's dupe of Lush Flying Foxes I had fully intended to name the soap Dirty Jasmine. But the Minou (our monkey cat) was yowling because he hates not being into everything and he is NOT allowed in my soaping area, so the name of _that_ soap became Naughty Monkey. I was also soaping Daystar's Toffee Sugar Crunch in that session, so as a yin to the yang, that soap was named Sugar Monkey.
> Then again, sometimes it works the other way around for me. I'll be thinking of a song/book/poem/etc. that I love and think: If that (whatever) had a smell, what would it be? So I start searching through my trove of FO/EO to play around in order to find the perfect scent or blend that speaks to me, and try it out in soap. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But it's always fun!
> I know that everyone isn't going to get my sense of humor; or care about my literary references and silly stories, and I'm totally OK with that.
> I make soap because it makes me happy. Part of the fun is in taking artistic liberty to choose the names that make me smile



I love your thought process and names.  I'm not good a it either like others.  So, mine pretty much are what they fragrances are called.   I've renamed a couple because they weren't appropriate (Lick Me All Over) but otherwise they are what they are.  Wish I had more imagination for it though.


----------



## amd (May 15, 2018)

cerelife said:


> I honestly don't_ mean_ to have weird names (and I can't say they're particularly clever), but sometimes a name pops in my head while I'm soaping that has nothing to do with the name of the FO. ...
> I make soap because it makes me happy. Part of the fun is in taking artistic liberty to choose the names that make me smile



@cerelife do you sell at shows? If you do, do you label a description of the scent? My thinking (and experience) is that creative names are ok, if I can clearly identify what it is going to smell like. I've shopped other soapers websites where they had a Blue Lagoon soap but no description of the scent. So I ordered it thinking, it'll be either a watery scent, or some kind of tropical scent... it was lemongrass. A blue lemongrass soap. A lovely soap, but not what I was expecting (and I am not a huge lemongrass fan, so it would have been nice to know, I would have ordered something else). I do like when soapers have signs that say "Wet Dog soap, smells like swamp water", but typically these soapers have 10-15 soaps. When sellers get into the range 20+ it gets harder to make the signs, keep a neat looking display, etc. Of course, this is my two cents based on my own experiences. Some people manage signage for large quantities very well, I am not one of those people, and my lineup changes too much to maintain the signs.



shunt2011 said:


> I love your thought process and names.  I'm not good a it either like others.  So, mine pretty much are what they fragrances are called.   I've renamed a couple because they weren't appropriate (Lick Me All Over) but otherwise they are what they are.  Wish I had more imagination for it though.



This is the problem I have for "Butt Naked in Bed". It's on my schedule to make this week, but I really don't want it in my store under that name. The scent is amazing, but has nothing to do with the name. I'll probably end up calling it "Fruity Vanilla" or something.


----------



## cerelife (May 16, 2018)

I do sell at shows and festivals, but with 40+ soaps in my regular line of soaps (and I usually have seasonal soaps as well), there's no room for signage on my tables nor room on the labels to describe the scents. But I'm one of those vendors who never sits down! I greet everyone with a "Hello, feel free to browse and sniff. If you have any questions, please let me know." and then I leave them alone. I try to find a happy medium between the aggressive vendors who watch everything a customer picks up and wants to tell them all about it, and the passive vendor who ignores you and you feel like you're bothering them if you have a question. 
I do have descriptions of the scents on my website for the very reason you mentioned. I also have pictures not of my soaps, but what the scent conveys to me personally. I agree totally with the example you mentioned about a Blue Lagoon soap with no scent information and then smelling only of lemongrass...I would have been a little ticked off as well! It's hard to make scent choices without actually being able smell the soap. I hope I'm doing a little better than that, but please feel free to critique my site and give me constructive criticism! Before this thread it never even occurred to me that customers would be put off by weird names 
This is one description of the scent for one of my soaps per my website:
Something Wicked This Way Comes
_Imagine ominous thunderclouds rolling in over freshly harvested hay fields on an autumn day - you have that foreboding sense of something coming before you even see the first strike of lightning in the distance. I love thunderstorms, and this complex blend of nettle, hay, oak, ozone, and musk perfectly captures that feeling of anticipation when a storm is brewing!_
www.minoubleu.com

And Carolyn I keep forgetting to say that I LOVE your display!! I would most likely spend my entire Christmas Fair budget at your booth!!!


----------



## shunt2011 (May 16, 2018)

Carolyn, I too love your display.


----------



## cmzaha (May 16, 2018)

Thankyou all,  but I really only posted the pic to how how easy it is to build levels. Normally my tables are covered in back not red. What I do with my labels I will also put a short description under the name of the soap, a note if it is made with shea, oatmeal, non-scrubby etc. I use the word with to separate it from the Soap Name, I have only used Sex on the Beach, and Monkey Farts which I  did re-name it, because felt it was not appropriate, especially with children coming to the booth


----------



## amd (May 16, 2018)

@cerelife I sell the same way, I want them to know I'm here, but I don't want to be shoving stuff in their faces. I do watch to see what people pick up and smell, so that way if they make that "bad smell" face I can steer them in a different direction, but mostly I let them browse. We live in a rural area (and really, slightly uncultured) so there are some soap names that I have to explain - like Nag Champa. Almost everyone comments on what a weird name that is, so I have to explain what it is and why it has that name. Also... I have been to your website before! Your soaps are lovely, and I enjoy your little stories in the descriptions. They are the perfect length, not so long that I get bored, and wonderful descriptions. I can't remember how I found you, I think it was early in my selling days when I was just getting my website setup and looking at other soapers sites to see what information I needed to include. Don't change a thing.


----------



## amd (May 16, 2018)

Anyways, my point of this thread wasn't to tell other people what to do, or criticize for soap names, but really to find out if six fragrances is a reasonable thing. I was kind of questioning my own business (I looked last night and I currently have 36 different soaps, 3 bubble scoops, and 4 lip balms), if I was overdoing things or if I seem to be on track for a reasonable rate of expansion. The soapers I saw at the show last Saturday, they had a very limited selection of soaps - I think the most I saw was one booth had a 4ft table filled - but they also had lots of B&B items. After the discussions here, and thinking on it more, I think that the six fragrances idea is insane and rubbish and not how I want to do my business. I want people to have choices. Lots of choices. And if people really want soap, they won't get overwhelmed by too many choices, they'll be filling their little basket to get the sale price. My instinct - just from my own shopping style - is that people who really want something don't get overwhelmed and NOT buy something. The shoppers who buy a bar once and never come back, those are the ones who get overwhelmed and that's not the clientele I want. I want the lady who takes home a sample of Cherry Almond soap and calls me the next day to order five bars for herself and her daughters, and then regularly orders five bars every 3-4 months. These people make me happy, and like @cerelife said I make soap because it makes me happy.

ETA: thank you all, for you input and the discussion. It was valuable to me.


----------



## Lin19687 (May 16, 2018)

6 is too little. What if someone wanted an Apple but you only had musky or light green grass scents?

Everyone is different and you need Selection.  They don't HAVE to smell them all... but we all do


----------



## MySoapyHeart (May 16, 2018)

My thoughts on just six fragrance options, is that it sounds way too limiting. People are different and people like different things, or a change from the regular thing. If I had to stick with ONLY six fragrances I would not be having any fun making soap, because I like so many different things, and so does my husband and family. Everyone I know love to try different things and if I had only six fragrances instead of 15, I would get bored. 

And besides, you don`t have to paint yourself into a corner either, there is also the oportunity to have a Limited Edition type for fragrances that you want to field test, and if it is a big hit you can enroll it in the regular line-up (by a popular demand etc) 

But even so, I could neeeeever just limit myself with only six. I even struggle with the 8 types I am choosing for my safety assessement...and even then I want to have 8 more asessed so I can do more variations than just 8. 

But just six? Aaaargh...


----------



## dixiedragon (May 16, 2018)

Of course, I'm not a typical soap customer. But IMO, some fragrances - lavender, vanilla, peppermint - you see everywhere. That's because people like them and they are always popular. However, I think a lot of people are going to be tempted by something a bit different, something they can't pick up anywhere.


----------



## shunt2011 (May 16, 2018)

I'm with you Dixie.   I have scents like Red Clover Tea, Vanilla Champagne and Cantaloupe Lily that sell well.   I don't even carry a peppermint.... I've been asked but only a time or two so I just don't carry it.


----------



## NsMar42111 (May 16, 2018)

Shunt2011, peppermint never sells for me even though personally I love it! I thought that was weird since a few big "small" soap companies sell a ton of it...I stopped making it too.

Six? I'd have empty shelves if I did that...because all I do is soap LOL. If I did lotions and such (in Florida, can't really do) then I can see the logic.


----------



## DeeAnna (May 16, 2018)

I'm one of those who gets overwhelmed by too many choices. But "too many" is way more than just 6 or so. A girlfriend and I went to a full-time artisan soap maker (my friend's cousin) awhile back. We had a blast picking and choosing from the 20-30 baskets of soap scented with all different kinds of fragrances, some EOs only and some FOs.

I also think intensity of the scent is also important. There's another soap maker who sells her soap in the little gift shop where I sell. She offers "naked" soap in several different scents (EO blends only -- no FOs), but her fragrances are very light. I'd guess she's trying to keep costs down while still staying as "natural" as possible, but scenting that lightly seems counterproductive.


----------



## cmzaha (May 16, 2018)

Peppermint for me is also a very poor seller, so I very seldom make it.  Lightly scenting for me would be very counterproductive, since they just would not sell


----------



## amd (May 16, 2018)

I don't think I've ever tried just peppermint - I always mix it with something. My eucalyptus mint I have a hard time keeping in stock. I just put out a vanilla mint this week (I actually don't even have it listed in the store yet) and it's almost gone just from word of mouth. Last winter I did a menthol/peppermint/rosemary combo that also sold really well for me (cold season, even though I didn't tout it as a cold reliever people naturally gravitated to it for that use). The only soap with mint that I have had a hard time selling is patchouli mint, at least until I get to a rinky dink little SD town in October and there are a good handful of ladies that buy as much of it as they can. Last year I sold out and took a custom order for more.

I scented on the lighter side up until February or so of this year. I was using FO at .5 oz PPO, and EO at about the same if IRFA (IFRA? ugh, brain fart) allowed it. Last year I started carrying more stock, so it was sitting in my storage longer, and fragrances faded badly in some cases. So I made the improvement this year, and the feedback from regular customers has been really positive on the fresh bars, we'll see how the year goes. I may need to tweak again, or tweak certain fragrances. Of course, I'm also looking into different FO suppliers so all of this is up in the air at this point.

True story: last fall I decided I was going to "rebrand" myself for 2018. My idea looked great on paper, but once I got started, it was not making me happy. So now I'm rebranding back to what I was doing but making some improvements. I've been doing my business for almost three years, and I still feel like I don't have it figured out.


----------



## Lin19687 (May 16, 2018)

@amd I think most people think that.  They see what someone else does and wonders if they are doing the right thing. 
I have a Winter 'something" that is a peppermint and I can't wait to use it !


----------



## NsMar42111 (Aug 11, 2018)

Just a follow up thought, I looked through my sales this year and notice that I tend to sell a few of this and a few of that. It's not like there's six or seven scents that fly off the shelves and everything else sits....so I'm voting against only having six choices. In toothpaste? Sure. But in fun soap? nahhhh too few. Every customer I've spoken to while I'm restocking raves about having so many choices, and I haven't seen anyone look confused. That said, I am planning to organize by scent type again (the store rearranged so it's out of whack)...so fruity together, floral together, foody together, the EO ones together, etc. to help those who get confused.


----------



## LilyJo (Aug 11, 2018)

I somehow missed this the first time around.

A while back a consumer show did a survey of a farmers market/craft fair (UK) and looked at what people buy, who from and why.  They did an experiemnt of a stall with 20-30 variations of jams and marmalade and measured their sales in a set period with all of their choices. They then repeated the experiment with only 6-8 flavours - their sales doubled.

The general accepted marketing wisdom is that the more variations you offer the more confused people get - they just cant make up their minds so they either buy 'something' but dont come back again or nothing as they cant choose. I know people always have their own anecodotal story that confounds that but its something I always hold in my head, too much choice can sometimes hold a business back just as much as not enought choice.

Not saying anyone is wrong its just something to think about.


----------



## Lin19687 (Aug 11, 2018)

I now have about 25.  I carry 5 of each, a few I keep more because it sells.
I too am going to organise a bit.  Manly, Herbal, Floral,  other (?)

I was typing while the above post posted... I want to say that That is a hard market to study.  Most people like the basic few jellies, grape, straw, rasp .... Then there are the other un-known that some want to try or need for a certain recipe.  
I think unless you did the study based on a full year then I would say ok.   but I am not going to sell Pumpkin jelly in April when here in New England November is when it would fly off the shelf.

I think with soap and soap alone, you need variety.  I will be taking a bunch off the rack when the Fall scents come out.  "Sale" the stuff that is not selling and not stock it again.  So my amount will be less.
I am just trying out these FM's around so I need to find out what sells and where.

Main thing to remember is Go for what works in Your market.


----------



## soapmaker (Aug 11, 2018)

I also missed out on this in May. I have at least 25. But do the rest of you notice that one bar will not sell? It can be ever so popular but when it gets down to one bar, it sits. Most people must think the opposite of me. I would think if there is only one bar left then it was a very popular bar. They apparently think there's something wrong with it!


----------



## shunt2011 (Aug 11, 2018)

I have about 30 scents maybe a handful more.  My customers appreciate the selection. I do find when there is only one or two left they sit. So if it’s something I’m not going to make again it goes in the misfits. Otherwise I make more.


----------



## jules92207 (Aug 11, 2018)

I’m a little like cerelife, I have lots of soaps with names based on what they are, but I do have some that are unique names that came to be when soaping. Like most of my men’s line is called a famous character from a movie- James Bond, Tyler Durden, Jack Bauer, Sam Elliot. I love adding my little take in a name. That being said, 6 is way too few. I have a list of about 20-30 “regulars” I keep in rotation then try to do something new in at least 1-3 selections. I do help people find something that fits for them, I’m usually pretty good at picking a scent for them based on our conversation. I don’t do a lot of selling though, just a few church events a year with friends. 

Carolyn I would be in heaven at your booth, I love variety. [emoji173]️


----------



## Lin19687 (Aug 11, 2018)

OMG I HAVE to know what Sam Elliot smells like 
@jules92207


----------



## KristaY (Aug 11, 2018)

I also agree 6 scents isn't even close to being enough. I usually have 45-50 scents grouped into scent profile so if someone tells me they don't like fruity I can't direct them to scents they might like. I've seen vendors with only a few scents and watched people walk right past after a quick glance. A well organized, well stocked, attractive booth draws them in every time. I never have a problem with the last bar selling because of the way I set up my displays. I always have 2 bars out with their tester piece and the rest displayed around the booth as decoration so as one sells, I just replace it. As for peppermint, I sell a ton during the holidays. I call it Candy Cane and add red ribbons through it. The rest of the year I don't bother making it.


----------



## earlene (Aug 11, 2018)

Me, too!  I love Sam Elliot.  I once saw him on the slopes at a California ski resort, (or maybe it was just a doppleganger, but I just say it was Sam Elliot.)  Now I wish I'd chased after him and taken a good long whiff!


----------



## jules92207 (Aug 11, 2018)

I’ll have to go check my notes but I think I made Sam Elliot with BB’s Rustic Woods & Rum. I even made little mustache embeds in it


----------



## Holly8991 (Aug 11, 2018)

My DIL is 24 and is amazing with social media.  She comes up with names that younger people are attracted to that I am like OMG.  She makes this one huge bath bomb the is called "Size Really Does Matter".  I'm like we CANNOT use that name at craft shows!


----------



## SoaperForLife (Aug 12, 2018)

I do a buy 4 get one free special at each show so only having 6 varieties wouldn't work for me either.  I try to name my soaps something other than what the FO is called for a couple of reasons... if a customer likes one of my scents, let's say it's Indian Summer and he goes to another soap seller asking for that scent - well they aren't going to have it because it is called something entirely different by the supplier.  They may have an Indian Summer but it's not going to be what the customer is looking for.  When I was doing the bigger craft shows where there would be several soapers I always liked it when another soaper didn't rename their soaps.  There was one that used a lot of Oregon Trail Soap Supplies FO's (obviously because she was using Suz's names for them) and I got to smell them in soap and decide if I liked them or not without having to test them out myself so it was great for me....


----------



## NsMar42111 (Aug 12, 2018)

I agree that jelly and soap are two completely different markets! I'll try any strawberry jelly but I'm a little chicken of a mango chili orange mint...LOL


----------



## LilyJo (Aug 12, 2018)

I think its really interesting seeing what everyone says about 'more is more' and I understand cos its something Ive always struggled with too  - think it also depends on how and where you sell and what type of customer you have. Having 40 fragrances might work for one person but for someone else having 6 or 10 might work better, depends on your market, customer, business etc, definitely not a one size fits all.

Think all I am trying to say is that I think its worth bearing in mind as a business/marketing principle - as an example in the UK the huge supermarkets like Tesco and Sainsburys have got bigger and bigger with more and more choice and thousands of product lines per shop. But in recent years there has been a massive growth in smaller sized shops such as Aldi, Lidi and even smaller Tesco stores - when asked why people choose to shop there (aside from price), one of the next reasons quoted is always that the choice is not overwhelming, thats its easier to find something they like.  Its an interesting idea, the balance between offering everything and offering a smaller selection.

Not sure that the answer is tbh but I think its worth bearing in mind.


----------



## earlene (Aug 12, 2018)

I did not know Aldi was in the UK.  We used to have one in our town, but they left because we didn't provide them enough business to make it profitable. But I do shop Aldi when I am in the cities and on the road when I can find one.  I really like one particular bread they carry that I have never seen elsewhere.

When grocery shopping, I tend to go back to places that have what I want whether they are big or small.   For example, if a large store doesn't carry the vegetarian entree options I prefer, I'll go elsewhere until I find someone who does carry it and they get my repeat business as long as they carry what I want.  

For soap scents or soap styles, maybe 6 to choose from is fine in a small market, with minimal traffic, but in a bigger market, I'd hope for more options from which to choose.


----------



## Holly8991 (Aug 12, 2018)

I like a lot of variety so I guess thats why I currently have about 100 different scents on hand

On a side note....I hate Aldi......tried it twice.  If a grocery type store is smaller than my kitchen I am not interested
We were going to get a Lidl but they scrapped that idea after they cleared the land a while back.


----------



## cmzaha (Aug 12, 2018)

SoaperForLife said:


> I do a buy 4 get one free special at each show so only having 6 varieties wouldn't work for me either.


I never by x amount get one free. Since I sell my soaps for $7 that is a $7 loss. I do have a 4 for $25 which is a $3 discount and I still make money on the bar. Giving it away I do not make money


LilyJo said:


> I think its really interesting seeing what everyone says about 'more is more' and I understand cos its something Ive always struggled with too  - think it also depends on how and where you sell and what type of customer you have. Having 40 fragrances might work for one person but for someone else having 6 or 10 might work better, depends on your market, customer, business etc, definitely not a one size fits all.


The 6 to 10 will never work better if a seller with a large selection is also in the market. They may get the passerby that has not yet seen the seller with a large selection. Also sellers with lg selections usually have a variety of soaps including Vegan, Non Vegan, Oatmeal, no Oatmeal etc etc. I learned a long time ago to go bigger or go home, if I was to survive selling soap

It could work with minimal fragrances but if the seller is in a small market and no soap sellers with a large selection. I do understand in the UK it would be much harder to have a big selection since soaps have to go through assessment unlike the US and if I remember reading you can only have x amount of fragrance change per assessment. So that definitely changes inventory choices I would think.


----------



## Lin19687 (Aug 12, 2018)

I do as @cmzaha does. 4 / $25  - $7 a bar in my FM's that I have to pay for
I still have one FM that I do not have to pay a Fee.  So they all get $0.50 off each single soap  and a $4 / $20 which is $6 off - but I will be changing that to 4 / $22 next market.   I am the only Soaper there.
One FM they only have one soaper on each time, so I am there till sept 4th and they are on the other days.
The other 2 markets I am the only soaper


----------



## cmzaha (Aug 12, 2018)

I do not change pricing from one market to another, simply because people know me and my prices. I have a 100 mile range of markets I do and people will recognize my booth no matter where I am. Just had one come to my booth that had not seen me in almost 2 year and in a market I only attended once. She told me she knew that was me because she recognized my booth. If I were to sell for a different price you can bet the customer will tell you because they tend to remember prices. This is also why I do not make drastic changes to my booth or rebranding


----------



## LilyJo (Aug 12, 2018)

Can I just put it out there for UK and EU soapers - you dont need to have 40-100 fragrances to run a soap business. 

I understand that the rules are different across the world and different markets have different profiles but can we scale back on pushing the idea that less than 30/40/100 is not worth doing? Its not a fair picture or expectation for markets outside of the US.

In order to sell legally in the EU (online, Etsy, craft fairs, school fairs, markets, anywhere) you need a safety assessment, the cheapest safety assessments I know of is £180 for 8 soap variations. To have 80-100 variations you are looking at around £2000 - before you have even sold a single bar of soap.

There is a school of thought that says less is more and for many UK/EU based sellers you have to work with getting the best set of products assessed and sometimes that means that you only get 8 done and see how it goes for months - it doesnt mean you wont sell any, it doesnt mean you are doing something wrong and it doesnt mean that you wont get any interest. And trust me, you will NEVER be up against anyone with 80-100 soap variations in any UK craft fair - well, not if they are selling legally that is 

Im not saying anyone is wrong, all I want to do is give another view so that any new soaper doesnt think they have to get 100 fragrances assessed before they can even sell!


----------



## MySoapyHeart (Aug 12, 2018)

cmzaha said:


> I do understand in the UK it would be much harder to have a big selection since soaps have to go through assessment unlike the US and if I remember reading you can only have x amount of fragrance change per assessment. So that definitely changes inventory choices I would think.



Yes, you are correct, it does make it much more difficult. We in the EU can never ever compete with you guys in America, we have to do things in a smaller scale, simply because unless someone`s already are a millionaire, it isn`t exactly viable to start with 30 fragrances asessed before someone even sell 1 soap. But you guys are more free to do that, so that works out better for you. And I would LOVE to have seen your booth, Carolyn, a long time soaper who know her market, would be a treat to see! 

The safety assesment company I have chosen, allows  8 fragrance variations. If you want more you have to get another assesment. But if I recall correctly they will shave a _littlebit _off the price if you send in more variations at _once_, so you don`t have to pay doubble, but get a small discount. How much they don`t say. But still, only 8 fragrances makes it much more difficult to decide which oils I want. I don`t want to choose a fragrance that fades, and end up being a dud, so everything must be 100% before I send in my formula. I haven`t sent in my papers just yet, but hopefully soon(ish), need to finish getting all my colors decided for each fragrance, the look of the soap, lablel, etc. I have been testing them for morphing, bleeding, along with the fragrances that sticks etc etc.

I hope to end up with 14 fragrances and 2 essential oil variations that I know will stick in soap. I`ll be more than happy with that. I base that on 100 different people testing my soaps over *2 *years, and which fragrances the general consensus likes the best. If I _can _expand fragrance options, I totally will, but not chewing over more than I can swallow is a good rule to live by for me


----------



## Lin19687 (Aug 12, 2018)

@cmzaha I only do 3 markets now and it is only $0.50 difference in the soaps.  Not much but I could have upped it to $1.50.
My markets are miles apart and wish they were a bit cheaper.  I lost money on one last week (1st time there) due to rain.  I have to go this week because I told a few people there that I would be but I ate the $30 fee for the 1st day.  Rain forecast this week so I bet I will eat the next $30 and then I will no longer go there   The other new one this week is $25 fee, will see how that goes this week.

I understand about EU/UK soaping, totally different due to the laws.  And I do hope that having less soaps displayed is not a discouragement to anyone.  What works for some won't for others.


----------



## I_like_melts (Aug 13, 2018)

My goal is to carry 30 - 35 at any given time, which reminds me I need to make more wax. I also sell mostly on Etsy though, and from what I read, 30 listings or more is supposed to be good for SEO.


----------



## amd (Aug 17, 2018)

Well, it's been a few months since I posted this and I have been watching which soaps sell and if I have a trend of only selling 10 fragrances really well at *ALL shows*... and I can safely say that I don't. For example, last September I made a Lime Basil honey soap, and I sold one or two bars here and there since then, with zero sales on it the last 4 months... until my two day show two weeks ago. They loved it there, with multiple people buying it, and cleaned out half of my stock! And to think I almost didn't put it out at that show! It was my best seller that weekend. The one soap I do sell really well is my daughter's Unicorn Poop soap, and that one sells at every show - I think part of it is the name, followed by it is a fun scented and designed soap, and third I make sure I tell people that $5 of every purchase goes towards Claire's horse camp fund. The soap is $2 more than my other bars, but no blinks an eye at paying it. 

[side note: Claire has a scholarship to cover half of the cost of camp, but we still need to pay $300 out of pocket for her to go, she really wanted to help earn half of that so she came up with a soap design and helped make it - she shaped lollipops out of soap dough to place on top of the soap, chose the colors and helped weigh out oils and colorants, leaving me to do the "heavy" work of mixing and pouring the actual soap. She's halfway to her goal and we're getting ready to make another batch to restock.]

I have a few times run into the situation of people being overwhelmed, telling me "there's too many, I can't decide" and then they walk away. I wonder if some of that is that my displays aren't well organized, so I am going to be working on that this weekend for my show next week - the other part of the organization is just getting my inventory boxes set up to match the display so it's easier to unpack at shows.

This article and the responses in the thread gave me a lot of food for thought, and I am going to be changing how I do some of my soapmaking in 2019 - but I'll probably still be carrying 40+ fragrances, lol. If nothing else just because I'm an FO ho and need to use up what I have in stock.


----------



## jcandleattic (Aug 17, 2018)

amd said:


> I have been watching which soaps sell and if I have a trend of only selling 10 fragrances really well at *ALL shows*



I can honestly say, for me, what sells like hotcakes at one show, will barely move at the next one. This happens from year to year, from show to show. What sells is ALWAYS different, always. That's why I will never have any "must have" scents that I HAVE TO HAVE. 
That also means for me if a seller suddenly either discontinues that scent or suddenly closes up shop, I will never be in the lurch to find a replacement. 

Now, admittedly I did not read this whole thread, so I may be missing the point along the way, so please forgive me with my answer here, but I would also never be able to narrow down my scent list to only a dozen to half dozen scents. 
I have, as of my last inventory, 166 unique scents from about 10+ different places. On top of those, I also blend many of my scents, so that list is at least double with unique scents/blends I have on hand.  
I've thought about dwindling down my scent list several times, however, there are just too many good ones out there for me to even want to try at this point.


----------



## shunt2011 (Aug 17, 2018)

I too would have difficulty picking just 8-10 fragrances.  What sells at one show doesn't sell at another.  This past weekend Dragon's Blood was selling like hotcakes.  Now, there is one man that stops by every year and grabs 8 bars.  I went through 20 this weekend.  I currently have 35 fragrances.  Will be adding 3 more by fall.


----------



## soapmaker (Aug 17, 2018)

amd said, "I have a few times run into the situation of people being overwhelmed, telling me "there's too many, I can't decide" and then they walk away. I wonder if some of that is that my displays aren't well organized, so I am going to be working on that this weekend for my show next week - the other part of the organization is just getting my inventory boxes set up to match the display so it's easier to unpack at shows."
I have wondered if people say this because they weren't intending to buy anyway, they just wanted to stop and look.


----------



## LilyJo (Aug 17, 2018)

shunt2011 said:


> I too would have difficulty picking just 8-10 fragrances.  What sells at one show doesn't sell at another.  This past weekend Dragon's Blood was selling like hotcakes.  Now, there is one man that stops by every year and grabs 8 bars.  I went through 20 this weekend.  I currently have 35 fragrances.  Will be adding 3 more by fall.



I wish we had that flexibility - the process and costs associated with getting products assessed means you are pretty much stuck with the fragrance, recipe and colours until you can afford to get another batch assessed.  When you add product testing and curing onto the whole process it can take months and months to bring a new range of products to market so you have to be sure what you want to get signed off before you start.  It drives me mad and holds back the creativity without a doubt but its the rules we have to live with and I cant see it changing any time soon.


----------



## I_like_melts (Aug 17, 2018)

soapmaker said:


> amd said, "I have a few times run into the situation of people being overwhelmed, telling me "there's too many, I can't decide" and then they walk away. I wonder if some of that is that my displays aren't well organized, so I am going to be working on that this weekend for my show next week - the other part of the organization is just getting my inventory boxes set up to match the display so it's easier to unpack at shows."
> I have wondered if people say this because they weren't intending to buy anyway, they just wanted to stop and look.



I think so to. Maybe ask them what kind of smells they usually like?


----------



## LilyJo (Aug 17, 2018)

shunt2011 said:


> I too would have difficulty picking just 8-10 fragrances.  What sells at one show doesn't sell at another.  This past weekend Dragon's Blood was selling like hotcakes.  Now, there is one man that stops by every year and grabs 8 bars.  I went through 20 this weekend.  I currently have 35 fragrances.  Will be adding 3 more by fall.



I wish we had that flexibility - the process and costs associated with getting products assessed means you are pretty much stuck with the fragrance, recipe and colours until you can afford to get another batch assessed.  When you add product testing and curing onto the whole process it can take months and months to bring a new range of products to market so you have to be sure what you want to get signed off before you start.  It drives me mad and holds back the creativity without a doubt but its the rules we have to live with and I cant see it changing any time soon.


----------



## jcandleattic (Aug 17, 2018)

soapmaker said:


> I have wondered if people say this because they weren't intending to buy anyway, they just wanted to stop and look.


this might be part of it. 
It's amazing the excuses/explanations I get when people look/sniff/handle but don't buy. 
Some are comical, some are rude, and some you can tell are just outright lies. 
I simply smile and say "thanks for stopping by".


----------



## cmzaha (Aug 17, 2018)

jcandleattic said:


> this might be part of it.
> It's amazing the excuses/explanations I get when people look/sniff/handle but don't buy.
> Some are comical, some are rude, and some you can tell are just outright lies.
> I simply smile and say "thanks for stopping by".


I do the same. The market I have now the people tend to just say I am just looking. I do capture a small percentage of the "Looky Loos",  I also thank them for stopping by


----------



## jcandleattic (Aug 17, 2018)

cmzaha said:


> I do the same. The market I have now the people tend to just say I am just looking. I do capture a small percentage of the "Looky Loos",  I also thank them for stopping by


I have a few that you can tell are not going to buy but want so badly to pick them up and smell, but you can just tell that guilt they feel for not buying. After selling for as long as we have you recognize it. When I see it, I try to alleviate their guilt and let them know it's okay to just sniff and browse by picking them up and handling them.


----------



## cmzaha (Aug 17, 2018)

shunt2011 said:


> I too would have difficulty picking just 8-10 fragrances.  What sells at one show doesn't sell at another.  This past weekend Dragon's Blood was selling like hotcakes.  Now, there is one man that stops by every year and grabs 8 bars.  I went through 20 this weekend.  I currently have 35 fragrances.  Will be adding 3 more by fall.


Keep selling DB we may have a real backup of it. 



jcandleattic said:


> I have a few that you can tell are not going to buy but want so badly to pick them up and smell, but you can just tell that guilt they feel for not buying. After selling for as long as we have you recognize it. When I see it, I try to alleviate their guilt and let them know it's okay to just sniff and browse by picking them up and handling them.


Yep, many times my husband will mention, "they had no intentions of buying," after handing them one of our best sellers and getting them to sniffie it. Sometimes it does not work and it is fun to see them come up with another excuse, instead of saying they really do no want one.


----------



## shunt2011 (Aug 17, 2018)

jcandleattic said:


> I have a few that you can tell are not going to buy but want so badly to pick them up and smell, but you can just tell that guilt they feel for not buying. After selling for as long as we have you recognize it. When I see it, I try to alleviate their guilt and let them know it's okay to just sniff and browse by picking them up and handling them.



I get quite a few that just want to sniff.  A large percentage end up buying a bar.  I just tell them sniffing is free.  Enjoy it.


----------



## amd (Aug 17, 2018)

The same thought has crossed my mind as well (although I can still stand to do a bit of organizing - if not for customers then at least for me when I set up / tear down). I try to direct those people who want to smell everything to the fragrances that they might like more, or if they say they're overwhelmed to ask them what they like - one lady told me she wished she could buy one of everything, lol - and if they don't / can't tell me what they like I take that as a hint that they are, as Carolyn put it, lookyloos. If they still seem stuck, I make sure they get a business card or a free sample so if they decide they can find me again after the show, but I don't count on them coming back. yep, it can be a graceful way for people to bow out of a sale and I'm ok with that. I was just surprised that I've heard it a few times this year when I haven't heard it before - although my lineup has almost doubled from previous years.

My purpose of posting this back in May comes down to this: This year my sales have really been hurting. I've been told by about half of my regular customers that they aren't buying because of the price increase I made at the beginning of the year - they were ok paying $5 a bar, but don't like $6 a bar. It seems crazy to me that $1 really makes that much of a difference to them, but it does. The end of July I decided to go back to $5 a bar to bring back customers, I'll lose a dollar of profit for every bar but if I sell more bars I'm actually making $3.50 more that I wasn't making by not selling it. (My soap costs aren't actually $1.50 a bar, I usually shoot for $1.25 or less per bar.) I'm still working on bringing costs down - looking at different fragrance suppliers, different ways to reduce costs without giving up quality, tweaking recipes, and even changing how / where I spend my "behind the scenes" money and time. When I was looking at all this in March/April/May and then came across the blog post linked in the OP, I wondered if cutting back to six fragrances is true for all sellers and that's how other soapers increase their profitability. Your responses tell me "not so much"! So I'm still running numbers and figuring out what I really need. 2019 will look drastically different for me, but I think it will be a better different for me. Less shows, creating an "off-season" for myself to do a bulk of the soapmaking, doing the shows I really want to do rather than "any and every show" - and still carrying a whole bunch of fragrances


----------



## penelopejane (Aug 22, 2018)

AMD
It makes sense to me to limit the number of soap varieties you make.  Especially if that will save money. 

Do you think you could put your price up by 50c but have 4 for $20 so the regular customers still have the same $5 price?


----------



## shunt2011 (Aug 22, 2018)

I upped my price from 5.00 then went to 5.50 and this year went to 6.00.  However, I still do 4 for 20.00.   I've been having a pretty good year though the 3 large venues I do have dropped a bit.  I have been able to make up for it by doing wedding/shower favors.  My website doesn't do a lot of business but it helps as many of my regular customers are not local to me. 

Next year I'm going to jump in with both feet and sign up for one of the biggest venues (most costly I'll ever have done) to see if it's worthwhile.  It has the potential to be a huge success but may also be a bomb.   They get over 300,000 visitors and have 400 vendors.  I stopped doing every show I could last year and it's a lot less stressful for sure.


----------



## DeeAnna (Aug 22, 2018)

soapmaker said:


> ...I have wondered if people say this because they weren't intending to buy anyway, they just wanted to stop and look.



Speaking for myself, that's not necessarily true. As a card carrying geeky introvert, I get overwhelmed by too many choices even if I know without a doubt that I want to buy. Sometimes I just have to walk away to get some breathing space so I can let my brain cool down  but that doesn't mean I've given up -- I'm likely to come back later.


----------



## jcandleattic (Aug 22, 2018)

shunt2011 said:


> I upped my price from 5.00 then went to 5.50 and this year went to 6.00. However, I still do 4 for 20.00.


I've had my prices at $6.00 per bar for the last 4 years, and also still do the 4/$20. Most people don't even bat an eye, and I do very well at the shows I do. (but only do 4) I've been thinking of possibly raising my prices to $6.50 a bar, however, - I just don't know if that will scare people away. I'd hate to ruin a good thing, but shipping is getting spendier and spendier every time I do an order, so I need to start covering those costs somehow. ..


----------



## amd (Aug 22, 2018)

penelopejane said:


> Do you think you could put your price up by 50c but have 4 for $20 so the regular customers still have the same $5 price?



I've thought about that... but it comes down to being lazy - I don't want to have to carry around a couple rolls of quarters to make change. Dumbest.reason.ever. I don't want to deal with quarters.



shunt2011 said:


> Next year I'm going to jump in with both feet and sign up for one of the biggest venues (most costly I'll ever have done) to see if it's worthwhile.  It has the potential to be a huge success but may also be a bomb.   They get over 300,000 visitors and have 400 vendors.  I stopped doing every show I could last year and it's a lot less stressful for sure.



Holy moly! 300,000! I'll be interested to hear your process for preparing for that show. I've been thinking about doing our state fair, there's one soaper there from IOWA (not to diss Iowa but it's a state fair so you think they could get a soaper from our own state, right?), so I think I would have the potential to do well especially if I advertise "made in South Dakota". I just have no idea how to setup and stock for such an event.

@DeeAnna For some people it is very true! I had one lady at my 2 day show who said she was overwhelmed, took my card and a sample, and then came back the next day. She liked the sample and browsed through my Etsy store to help make her decisions. I think her problem was more that there were too many that she liked, but she didn't want to buy all of them.

@jcandleattic I hear ya on shipping! I'm hoping if I cut some of my costs I'll be able to keep prices stable... because I do spend a lot of money on stupid stuff - molds that I think I'll use and then never do, ingredients that would  be cool to use that never get used. I learned alot from posting this thread - namely that focusing on six fragrances is going to be limiting myself too much, and I do need to focus more on what works.


----------



## jcandleattic (Aug 22, 2018)

amd said:


> I've thought about that... but it comes down to being lazy - I don't want to have to carry around a couple rolls of quarters to make change. Dumbest.reason.ever. I don't want to deal with quarters.


Not dumb! I don't bring coins with me to my shows. My prices are such that the tax is built in, and it's a nice even amount (another drawback to the $.50 increase) 90% of all my customers at shows use cards, so it probably wouldn't be a problem, but there are those, that only deal in cash. Right now I take at least $100 in small bills such as $1's, $5's and $10's. If I did the .50 increase, I would also have to get a roll or 2 of quarters, and nope, like you I just don't want to deal with that.


----------



## MySoapyHeart (Aug 22, 2018)

shunt2011 said:


> I just tell them sniffing is free.  Enjoy it.



Lol, totally stealing this from you @shunt2011  
I am working on my assesment papers and want to be able to sell eventually. If I ever get to a point where I get to sell at a market I will make a sign saying:

Sniffing soap - FREE OF CHARGE 
Eating soap - YOU EAT IT, YOU BUY IT (_Want fries with that?_)​


----------



## NsMar42111 (Aug 22, 2018)

That sign would be hilarious! Don't Eat The Soap!

Chiming in with I also do $6 each or 4/$20. The regulars get 4 + and the one timers do the one or two bars deal from what I see LOL


----------



## Lin19687 (Aug 22, 2018)

Since my bars are huge compared to what I have seen sold around ($5 for a 3.5 or 4.5 oz bar) I have to charge a bit more, only $7 for a 6+ oz bar.
My 4 day fair is in a small town in the middle of my state and I am debating on selling for $6.  But I can not find any other people to compare to out there 

Screw quarters.  I stopped that.

BTW, I don't mind smelling of all the soaps. But Tuesday I had 2 groups of kids that came by.... I think I am all done with kids.  I was very nice and chatted with them all but really 3 kids all grabbing and dropping was a bit much.  Next time I will say to be very careful and maybe the 'guardian' will get the hint.
I am also changing over to a full sliver, meaning the full face of the bar so you can see the swirl or what ever, for smelling and not a full bar.


----------



## shunt2011 (Aug 22, 2018)

My bars are 5.5 oz. I don’t mind people just smelling. I enjoy talking to the majority of them.  I don’t let kids go smelling a bunch unless they are with an adult.


----------



## cmzaha (Aug 22, 2018)

A few years ago I went up from $6.00 per bar to $7.00 per bar and really never had any complaints. I like even numbers so I do not have to carry a lot of change. So no fifties... I do sell 4 for $25. My bars average around 5.5 some bigger some smaller since not all decide to pour evenly. My customers like to find the largest bar. Even at 5 oz I have no problems with $7 per bar. But I am not in a small town, but in a very small market. 

Shari, I hope your big show turns out big. I had an invite to one of those big ones a couple of years ago that I turned down. Glad I did because it was a horrible bust. This was at the Anaheim Convention Center during the Christmas Season and cost over $500 to attend. Do not remember the actual cost but I do remember it was over the $500 mark. It takes a tremendous amount of $5 bars to make the space back let alone make money


----------



## cerelife (Aug 23, 2018)

jcandleattic said:


> I have a few that you can tell are not going to buy but want so badly to pick them up and smell, but you can just tell that guilt they feel for not buying. After selling for as long as we have you recognize it. When I see it, I try to alleviate their guilt and let them know it's okay to just sniff and browse by picking them up and handling them.


Not only can you recognize them, but after selling for a long time, you can tell the ones who are 'serial sniffers' from the ones for whom our products are a luxury that just doesn't fit into their current budget. 
I try to make the first group comfortable like you said, but the second group never leave my tent empty-handed. Karma is a powerful thing and I know that I'll never go broke by sharing my blessings with others.
This has held true in my business dealings, and at my largest yearly festival I average $1K/day in sales...immensely helped by word of mouth from locals who steer the tourists to my tent 
Oh, and I had another soap name epiphany last week....I wanted to try DayStar's Blooming Violets FO since Irish Lass LOVES this one, but I didn't know what to name the soap. I'm driving to work thinking about this when Prince's "When Doves Cry" comes on the radio with the lyrics 'oceans of violets in bloom' - yep this soap will be named after the song...my third Prince themed soap!!


----------



## DeeAnna (Aug 23, 2018)

I have been a vendor at craft fairs and markets with my soap and also with products from my leather business. I have learned to keep a careful eye on the children. Most of the kids are just fine and most parents are good about keeping them under control, but there are always a few that cause trouble. I've had pop spattered over my wares (which taught me that soda pop on leather can leave permanent marks!) and my merchandise dropped, bent, or otherwise damaged. Grrr.


----------



## earlene (Aug 23, 2018)

*amd & jcandleattic*, You can carry half-dollars instead of quarters.  Yeah, I know, it's still silver, but if you raise prices by 50 cents instead of 25 cents, you wouldn't likely need any quarters. US Banks have them just the same as they have quarters.


----------



## jcandleattic (Aug 23, 2018)

Almost all of my bar


cmzaha said:


> A few years ago I went up from $6.00 per bar to $7.00 per bar and really never had any complaints. I like even numbers so I do not have to carry a lot of change. So no fifties... I do sell 4 for $25. My bars average around 5.5 some bigger some smaller since not all decide to pour evenly. My customers like to find the largest bar. Even at 5 oz I have no problems with $7 per bar. But I am not in a small town, but in a very small market.


This is me. Not in a small town but a semi-small market. The church on is both a small city and a small market, and it's my best show of the year by far. 

My 'normal' bars average 6-6.5oz that I sell for $6 or 4/$20, I also have a "little hands" line where the soaps average about 4oz, that I sell for $4 each or 4/$15. I'm thinking of raising my prices this year. Just to see what happens.


----------



## jcandleattic (Aug 23, 2018)

earlene said:


> *jcandleattic*, You can carry half-dollars instead of quarters.


TBH, I'd rather carry quarters than half dollars. 

I think if/when I raise prices, it will be on the whole round dollar than to have any change involved.


----------



## Lin19687 (Aug 23, 2018)

I will have 23 scents for the big fair and 8 that will be at the 4 week mark.  If those 8 are hard enough I will bring them. 
I think I will lower the price to $6 each, 4/$20 for this Fair as it is small town and very community geared which I love.  Would rather sell a lot at 6 then not as many at 7.

I am the only soaper, only Avon, Mary K and Scentsy would be 'competitors'


----------



## Karens62 (Aug 26, 2018)

I currently have about 20 scents in my inventory with about a few of them “seasonal”. (I.e watermelon for summer, hot cocoa for winter) so I end up with 16 at any one time. I do well at markets with that many and notice people typically stop sniffing after 8-10 unless they are looking for something specific. Personally, when I see a display with 40-50 scents, I walk away. My little brain just can’t handle that much variety and the overall scent of the booth gets to be too much. I also lightly scent my bars because that’s my personal preference and I get many comments that people like that. I think it’s possible to have a limited number of options, even in the US, and do well.


----------

