Smee, please drop it - there are many people successfully running soaping business properly with great and NONE of them have any need to show you any of their calculations.
Okay, man. The forum that continues to squash conversation or intellectual curiosity. How long before I get
banned for asking questions or just trying to stimulate good conversation? It's an embarrassment that I can't openly discuss this.
I've now been told to drop EVO olive oil conversation because DeeAnna was right, and there was no room for any discussion or God forbid, dissent. Then I proved that Kirkland EVO is a scam, and got flack rather than appreciation for that. And now I have been told to drop this conversation, despite nobody showing that they actually calculate
all input costs or making valid, logical arguments to counter sound economics. If there were many soap stores turning profit as you say, a bigger soap company would buy them out. That is how M&A works and the fastest way for big boys to gain market share. Finally, I posted a video that showed Aleppo soap being made with Army Green/black olive oil, and nobody had the intellectual curiosity to ask or explain what was going on?
Yet, I get accused of ignoring what you guys tell me. No, I question it, and that gets confused with ignoring because you don't like it. Then people get passive aggressive with me, don't answer questions, and just try to use their forum status or some vague argument like "I was in marketing so I know" to prove a point. As if I have no knowledge. What a terrible assumption. If I ever boasted about my background or education you'd all eat crow. But I don't want to use credentials to sway argument; I want to see facts, and nobody can provide them.
I don't doubt there are a very small few, probably a handful, who run successful soap businesses. But the majority of people selling soap do it at a loss. It's a saturated market with undercutting, and that formula is always a race to the bottom (lowest margin). The ones who succeed very likely (a) sell globally (b) market completely differently than most (c) factor in all inputs and charge accordingly. Etc.
Feel free to ban me for an opinion that differs than yours and is backed up by economics and examples (the ones on ebay selling at $2.25 per bar. Laughable. Especially after ebay fees and shipping/handling). But that just says more about you than me. If anyone is willing to engage in a real discussion and show
facts, such as your inputs, please do. We do not need to see your prices..just delete those, but "I don't know you I'd never show you my costs!" is just a strawman to avoid showing the inputs, which is what I want to see, not the costs.
Instead of all these arguments based around logical fallacy, can you please just show me all these soapmakers running successful stores? Can you please show me your inputs? Some facts rather than jabs based off some bitterness or killing of the dream that you'll one day open a soap shop? That's what I am getting now, all because I want to challenge and ask real, hard questions about this industry and process, and it is stepping on the toes of the old guard.