cost of wax melts

[lionprincess00]

So I just drifted over to the soap queen website and saw a tutorial for wax melts. Clicked the add to basket because I've contemplated making my own, and I wanted to see the basic cost of it.
Minus the scraping tool, and because it comes with 10 containers, I worked it out money wise to see the cost of 1 packaged melt.
It is 19.05 for 2, $7.93 for making one, not including shipping.

Minus the color block too....$7.10 for one wax container.
Not including shipping.

So is this the average price of doing this at home? I mean that seems awfully expensive to make! Any advice on where to begin with supplies? I figured homemade would be cheaper than the store bought (scentsy) things and better, well, because it's homemade lol! Oh! And considering over at etsy they're selling appx 3-4$ a package, I'm thinking there's a better way to do this (just went there now to compare prices).

Thx so much for any help provided!

 

[Meganmischke]

BB is definitely not the cheapest option. I have found that there is a huge difference in wax prices when you buy in bulk. I don't sell but I got into wax to use fo that were naughty in cp. You might want to take a look at nature's garden and peak candles. Definitely do some price comparisons before you buy.

 

[shunt2011]

I'm not speaking from experience but I have considered making them and priced them out and I'm sure they were much cheaper to make. Check out Nature's Garden as that's where I checked first.

 

[lsg]

You can buy soy wax and palm wax at your local craft store. I see that Hobby Lobby has both listed on sale this week in their ad.

 

[amowrer]

I just bought the ingredients from their website except I'm doing Christmas tree fragrance and green color block. If I like how it comes out I may try and order the same ingredients from another site for cheaper but for now I'm just doing it for fun.

 

[lionprincess00]

Looking at hobby lobby website. It has 2 lb soy wax for container candles. Candlewic brand. Does this work?? I have a scentsy warmer, which I read can be finicky. Would this all work? Tia and Thx for the wonderful advice!

 

[lsg]

I use soy container wax with a little beeswax and a little palm wax. I use a tea light warmer instead of a scentsy. My melts work great with that.

 

[lionprincess00]

Don't have palm, just grabbed 2lbs of soy, they only had 1 container and got it, and one glass with wicks in case it doesn't work.
I have beeswax. do you add beeswax to the soy to harden it up (i read soy can be soft?).

Thx, uncharted territory here!

 

[lsg]

Yes, I added a little beeswax for hardness and I think it helps with the scent throw.

 

[dalewaite48]

I purchase mine from candlewic. The cost of containers & scent and colors. I have found my cost to make them is only $.74 per container. My containers hold two and three-quarter ounces of wax.

 

[Chefmom]

Obviously the costs for just a few items is always going to be higher than if you bought a large quantity of ingredients and then made MANY melts.

It's kinda like a kit, you pay a little more and get only what you need for a couple of finished pieces, but in the long run it's cheaper than buying bulk items and then after one candle you decide that it ISN'T for you.

Brambleberry is a well marketed company. They produce a lot of fun tutorials and then their website is designed for one stop gathering of ingredients for people to quickly buy the needed items before getting distracted onto something else.

Once you have supplies on hand, various colors, a case of wax, a case of melt containers or silicone molds and a selection of fragrances....then yes, each finished package of scented melts will be MUCH cheaper than the first "fooling around" ingredients. But that is also a larger investment overall and you will need to make a LOT of those containers to bring the price down of each individual one.

When I buy a crafted item I do weigh the cost/time to my lifestyle. I don't buy a cake from another cake designer because I like my cake better, and so their prices will ALWAYS be too high for me. But some things that I really don't want to make for myself are just cheaper to buy from another crafter and support their cottage business.

If you are spending $50 a month on buying scented melts from another crafter you may be able to supply yourself cheaper overall, and will always have some for gift giving.

 

[lionprincess00]

Well I'm not buying anything on a regular basis from retail, I had a couple times in the past. That's why I looked into making my own at a cheaper rate. Second I totally get that smaller equals pricier. The problem was the price was extremely high compared to a typical diy. I like bb products and purchase a ton of things from them. Always have received excellent customer service as well, and I find them as a supplier wonderful to deal with.
So thinking repeatedly I must've made a mistake, I relooked at the tutorial. I saw two melt cases in the final soap queen pic and thought that's how much was made. 2. At the cost it's way too much money (more than a scentsy dealer and diy should never cost more than retail). Well the tutorial says at the top it yields 8 cases of tarts. The instructions don't specify it, the pic had only two filled, and so I made an error. Yes at 8 the cost is less than 4$ per case with shipping. So I made an error. That said if I continue I sincerely appreciate all the info on all suppliers I received. That way I can compare cost to need etc. in the future. Thx all!!

 

[Ktaggard]

Soy container wax is usually too soft to get out of clamshells or tart molds. You will want to mix with a harder wax. I use a parasoy wax that I blend myself - using soy container wax and paraffin pillar wax. It works great. Soy wax can be a lot more finicky than paraffin when it comes to fragrances and hot throw.
I make clamshells for .80-.90 cents and sell for $3 each.