I keep giving soaps to my friends BUT

[Fyrja]

But none of them are actually using the soaps! They are all keeping them in various rooms of the house because they smell so good!

Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[NancyRogers]

Yes. But at Christmas, I gave a friend some more and he said something so funny. "I'm so glad you gave me these. I was keeping them in my bathroom because they smell so good. Then I ran out of my soap so I grabbed one of yours and you know what? THEY WORK!" :roll:

 

[Healinya]

It took awhile for me to get thru to people that it was usable.. everyone kept saying "it's so nice, I don't want to use it"... I give them an evil eye and tell them they wasted my time and money if they aren't using it... They came around and realized how awesome it was...

 

[Tabitha]

When I see soap that is not being used I tell them the soap has not fulfilled it's destiny untill it's been washed with.

That is a big problem when you ake soap to sell also. You want them to use it o they will buy more. I know some sellers that make their soap less attractive so it will get used .

 

[Healinya]

I know some sellers that make their soap less attractive so it will get used .

That's it!! I've wondered that on my own a few times - nice to hear validation from other sellers.. I want my soap to be the most amazing product to USE, not to look at! And actually, from my customer only days... the fancier the soap looked the more I questioned what was in it..

 

[ToniD]

Yes, only about 1/2 of the people I have given soaps to actually use them....

Many think it won't get them clean. Some don't want to use them cuz they look pretty. Or alternatly, they don't want to use them cuz they are ugly

 

[cerelife]

OMG...it's not just me!!
I don't sell soap, but when I start running out of space for my new experiments, I take a bunch of my cured soaps to work and give them away to whomever wants to try them (my only request is that they give me some feedback on what they like/dislike about the soaps, and how they could be better).
My boss loves the soaps and wondered if I could make one that smelled like eucalyptus. OK, so I made the soap, let it cure, and left a bar in her office on a Friday night (after my hospital shift). I come in to work on Monday, and all I hear is how great her office smells...her admin assistant wants a bar, the other VIP's want a bar for their office...I'm like, this is SOAP, not air freshener!!!
My solution was to give them all TWO bars...put one in your office if you must...but take the other one home and USE it...or I will cut you off....no more freebie soap for you! OH YEAH...and remember me when it's time for a raise, LOL!!

 

[Tabitha]

My solution was to give them all TWO bars...put one in your office if you must...but take the other one home and USE it...or I will cut you off....no more freebie soap for you! OH YEAH...and remember me when it's time for a raise, LOL!!

That's a good plan.

 

[PrairieCraft]

My mother hordes my soap to store in her dresser drawers for good smells. She will also use the soap but somehow makes a bar last forever. I have a friend who keeps one in her car and another who just keeps them in a bowl in the bathroom for air freshener. Like I'm going to run out any time this decade. I'm trying to tell these people, please use it up quickly, there is much more where that came from. Just got feedback from a client tonight and one of the positive points she mentioned was that it has made her whole bathroom smell good. I swear, I don't even smell them anymore.

 

[Relle]

I just gave some to a friend for her birthday and she said its too good to use. I said just use it :x ,so she has some guests staying this weekend so is going to put in the shower. Your right about there's more where that came from.
The hairdresser told me she bought some nice soap on holidays and just left in her draw for the smell and finally decided to use it and loved it.

Me, I can't have enough showers to try it all out.

Relle.

 

[xyxoxy]

My Sister-in-law kept a bar in her purse for 6 months and used it like aromatherapy. When work got her stressed she pulled it out to inhale and it always relaxed her.

This gave me the idea to make hand blended perfumes with the same scents as my soaps. I gave these out at Christmas and they were a big hit.

I also sometimes see my soap baskets decorating people's toilet tanks and not being used. Kinda bums me out but those are the people who get gift cards and other less thoughtful items next Christmas.

 

[Pepper]

I gave a cousin a present once, and told her why I gave her that particular thing, and how I thought she should use it. Someone who overheard what I said, took me aside later, and pointed out that gifts should not be given with conditions. Once you give someone a gift, it's theirs to do with whatever they wish. If I give someone soap, and they prefer to keep it in their underwear drawer, or on a dressing table, or even under their pillow, that is their prerogative. And I figure if I give them enough soap, eventually they'll run out of places to keep them, and actually use it for bathing with! However, if they don't, that's entirely up to them.
Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[kelleyaynn]

This thread just makes me laugh - for all sorts of reasons. I didn't give anyone soap this Christmas because I figured no one would use it! Then, I had a large supply of kitchen soap (you can only use it so fast yourself), so I offered up the extras to my fellow teachers at school. I thought, "everyone uses liquid soap, so I'll be surprised if I give one or two away." Ha. Within 20 minutes I had more emails that I had soap for, and ended up making another whole batch to give away. With the condition that they give me feedback, since I'm making a basket of soaps and scrubs to donate to our fundraising auction. When I showed some of my soap to one of the parents who is organizing the auction, she was so interested I gave her a sample, and now she wants me to sell her some!

I've been making my own soap for over two years, and just recently got really into making different types for different uses. I still marvel over how nice the lather is, how nice they smell. I just LOVE to wash my hands!

And making hand blended perfumes that match your soap scents. Cool idea.

And apropo of nothing, but my Daily Spanish Calendar has this sentence today: "Este jabon muele muy rico!" (This soap smells great!)

 

[photoshadows]

I'm overflowing with soap at this point! My dad won't use bars so I'm thinking of trying to tackle liquid someday, but it sounds kinda scary and no where near as fun :wink: Luckily my mom will use it and asked for some to give away as gifts this last Christmas. Sounds like some used them, others used them as air fresheners. I'm starting to think I'll eventually have to start selling just to keep my shelves from overflowing! Glad I'm not alone on the "there's more where that came from" front

 

[soapopera]

Just as I'm responding to this thread, one of my DH's co worker told him that she can't give me a review as she seldom use it. It's because I don't sell it and it looks nice and she doesn't want it to melt away that fast.

 

[danny p]

My grandma is here with my mom visiting my kids and they both got soap to take home from my first two batches that are ready now. I told them about this thread and that I wanted them to use the soap and not just use it as air freshiner. Grandma said in Spain when she was a little girl her mom put castile soap in all the clothes drawers to keep the clothes fresh. I thought that was neat. It's not new so ill just have to make more soap to freshen the clothes.Darn.

 

[kaelily]

I haven't been getting much feedback on my CP soaps either. I've gotten compliments but it's usually about the scent, not on how it feels.

 

[PrairieCraft]

People seem to be totally clueless about how it feels. Even when I ask direct questions about the feel of the soap and the lather, the answers are very vague. I have a couple good guinea pigs that I can rely on. Everyone else, meh.

 

[Relle]

PrairieCraft, I've got guinea pigs too but can't rely on them, because they are of the furry kind.

Relle.

 

[cerelife]

Most of my co-workers who get my freebie soaps are happy to comply with my requests for feedback, YAY! I've received a lot of useful feedback on which soaps make their skin feel good, and the feel of the lather in the shower, how the scrubbies feel (too harsh, too bleh), etc...
I also don't mention the names of the scents I use, and I'm constantly surprised by how people describe them, LOL! Maybe it's because I have a preconceived notion of what it SHOULD smell like because I chose the scent...
Anyway, I trust the opinions of these people because they have zero fear of hurting my feelings...we work way too closely together in an very high-stress environment for this to even enter the equation...to say that we are honest to the point of rudeness would be an understatement!