a wwyd?

[Jessrof]

ent to our local farmers market today and there was a permanent vendor selling soap and other body wares. I was checking out the soaps and asking questions and mentioned that I just started making soaps. She instantly became cold which was a bummer. I bought some soaps and called it a day. I looked at the packaging when I got home and it said they were 4oz bars. I thought, "no way, my bars look so much bigger and they are around 4 oz, so I weighed the bars. They range from 3oz to 3.5oz. Would you do or say anything or just let it be?

On a side note, when you are packaging and selling your bars, when do you weigh to put weight on package?

 

[CaliChan]

After I cut my soaps I subtract 38% of the weight and that's the weight of oils. When I give/sell bars I tell them the weight of oils not the weight of the soap bar itself because more and more water evaporate as time goes on.

 

[CaliChan]

Not sure what I would do about the rest of your situation. My husband always handles that stuff.

 

[houseofwool]

I ran into this the other day at our local food coop. They are selling locally made soaps and I was looking at them. First I couldn't find the weight and when I did, it was listed as 5 oz. I just knew that they were much smaller than that, so I took one back to the bulk foods area and weighed it on the scale there. It came in at .22 oz. I happened to run into a manager for that department, whom I'd met socially before. I explained that the soaps are seriously underweight and that the reason I had noticed it is because I make my own soaps now.

The weight issue was just one issue I had with the labeling. *sigh*

 

[100%Natural]

I weigh all my soaps as they are being packaged - after a minimum 6 week curing time. Mine are larger than 4 oz but my weight says they're 4 oz. I do this to cover any possible shrinkage due to more evaporation of water.

The weight on the package is supposed to be the final weight - not the first cut weight or the in between weight or a random guess.

As for what to do, I would contact the market manager and mention your concern to them and let them take it from there. This kind of thing just doesn't go over well with me at all. There's just too many consequences for the honest folks out there.

All it takes is one customer weighing their soaps and it can do immense damage to the rest of the soapers in your area.

 

[Sammi_552]

If you are considering selling your soap down the road, I would let it go. It's very possible that you both will end up selling at the same fair one day and you just don't need any negativity from her towards you or your business. Customers will see the difference in value. If you don't plan to sell and are truly upset with the size being mislabeled then you should mention it to the fair manager. Best of luck with your decision.

 

[elizmar2006]

As a customer I would say something since I would feel I did not get what I paid for. Most soap suppliers I have seen post on the packaging or site " 3.5 to 4 oz. Due to the hand made nature of the product size and color will vary." It really depends on how much time you want to spend dealing with this person. Based on the description it might not be worth it but it would be interesting to see what she says.

I think weighing at any stage of the process is fine. It would be easier to package the sooner it is weighed, which is why I've seen people weigh once cut. They often also add a disclaimer that the soap weighed Xoz at cutting and maybe different after packaging. The longer you wait the more accurate it will be.

 

[judymoody]

I wait 6 weeks and then discount the weight further. So If my bars weigh 4.5 ounces minimum, I label "at least 4.25 ounces." The end user typically gets more than what's on the label, not less.

As for the seller you mentioned, I'd let it go WRT the managers of the fair. However, if you want your money back because the soap is underweight, that's your call.

 

[Jessrof]

I am considering selling eventually.... I think the vibe I got from her didn't help once I realized she was jipping customers. I will probably let it go and hope that people see that my bars are much bigger than hers for the same price (or cheaper)