I won't be rich anytime soon

[mandolyn]

What pops out of this discussion for me are:

responsibility
accountability

When I sell my soap, I'm responsible for it to the end of it's life.
When I sell my soap, I'm accountable for the results of someone else's use of it for the life of the soap.

Then, there's the whole picture:

Each soapmaker who sells, is a reflection of the entire soapmaking community. What you sell is a reflection of the soap of the entire soapmaking community.

Personally, I want my soap to contribute to the good of the soapmaking community. I don't ever want a customer to end up with a rancid bar of my soap, & consequently come to the conclusion that ALL handmade soap is inferior. That hurts eveeryone making & selling soap.

So, what I'm saying is it's not just my reputation at stake.

 

[alwaysme07]

So how old does the soap have to be before it can be sold? And how many years did everyone wait to start selling? I'm not sure if it would be worth the time.

 

[carebear]

I believe I am a month or so into soap making. I have 44 sale-able bars downstairs.

Tell me you are kidding.

I mean, what makes you think they are sale-able?

Not that one cannot make marvelous soaps from day 1, but how the blazes would you KNOW they will not be a total mess in a few weeks or a couple of months without a solid knowledge of your ingredients, your suppliers, and your products?

And do you have the expertise and experience to reproduce these marvelous bars? Because right now even if they do turn out to be sale-able then you are setting your customers' expectations and what if you cannot then continue to do so?

So it's quite likely that you will turn off customers with either 1) a not really sale-able bar or 2) a sale-able bar that you cannot then make again. ing off a customer in either direction is not the way to do business. In MY opinion.

And seriously - insurance.

Oh, and don't forget you need to collect AND PAY sales tax (and income tax on anything you make off the deal).

Ohh, but I know the ladies over at the Dish went through all this with you at least twice. So perhaps I'll just stop now.

 

[ChrissyB]

I totally agree Carebear.
It can potentially hurt the whole industry of handcrafted "anything" when a consumer has a bad experience. They just go back to buying from the supermarket.

 

[Guest]

I believe I am a month or so into soap making. I have 44 sale-able bars downstairs.

Tell me you are kidding.

I mean, what makes you think they are sale-able?

And seriously - insurance.

Oh, and don't forget you need to collect AND PAY sales tax (and income tax on anything you make off the deal).

Ohh, but I know the ladies over at the Dish went through all this with you at least twice. So perhaps I'll just stop now.

I honestly don't want to bring the ignorance from there, over here. I read the TOS for this site and I love the no drama policy. I don't mind discussing my plans, I don't mind constructive critizism. I am a newbie.

My belief is that my agenda should be respected, just like the agenda of others. I see beautiful artistic pieces of soap. I purchased the works of some of the soapers and compared it with what I've made. I've listened carefully to those who have tried my soaps and read tons and tons of materials. I won't stop reading and experimenting and giving away and selling and listening. Thats all I can do. Now can I please a buncha unhappy folks who don't know me...no...not even going to try.

 

[LJA]

Go girl.

 

[carebear]

WE aren't looking for drama. We are offering sound advice. Based on your 3rd to last sentence you aren't going to follow it, but that doesn't remove OUR responsibility to lay it out.

You go ahead. Have at it. Try not to hurt anyone or to destroy your chance for success.

 

[LJA]

It's none of my business, but can I chime in and say something? I'm sure you guys didn't mean to have a "tone" with Philly but for a minute there it sounded like I was back on the Mean Girls forums. I'm SURE she (and all of us...I sure do.) value experience from people like you, but sentences like "please TELL me you're kidding" don't seem very helpful. She's new. A lot of us are new. I think there are better ways of going about giving advice. That kinda stuff makes people leave. I don't want anyone to leave. :cry:

That's all. Let's be supportive.
I'll shut up now. ::group hug::

 

[Guest]

WE aren't looking for drama. We are offering sound advice. Based on your 3rd to last sentence you aren't going to follow it, but that doesn't remove OUR responsibility to lay it out.

You go ahead. Have at it. Try not to hurt anyone or to destroy your chance for success.

Your advice is appreciated. Just know I will balance it with my offline interactions.