Selling your soap after 3 months of soapmaking

[Adema]

What do you guys think?

I almost couldn't belive it.. I have been making soap for almost 18 months and reading and researhing months before that and I have learned so much. For the first 4 months my soap was not that nice and not nearly good enough for selling..
Maybe I'm just being bitter but I really feel like she could be ruining the "hand made soap" experiense for a lot of people by not producing a superior product..
Yup I'm bitter :roll:

Kveðja
María

 

[krissy]

unless she spent hours and hour and hours of doing research way before she started soaping, and already had a knowledge of everything that she needed to know about the soaps she is creating then i think it is wrong. there is no way to tell how her bars will be in 6 months or a year and only time will give her that experience.

 

[Adema]

unless she spent hours and hour and hours of doing research way before she started soaping, and already had a knowledge of everything that she needed to know about the soaps she is creating then i think it is wrong. there is no way to tell how her bars will be in 6 months or a year and only time will give her that experience.

Exactly,
She was asking about rebatching and superfatting just over 2 months ago,, so I am afraid she did not know anything until she started making it..

Kveðja María

 

[tespring]

I don't know who you are referring to but I agree, I think this is why a lot of small business fail. People dive in thinking that this is easy but they do not have a business plan or long term goals. This is why I haven't sold anything yet, I want to be a successful business, not sell a few soaps and close. I think anyone that starts a business should take a business course at a college, it is very helpful, especially if they could actually take a small business course. I wish success to them either way though. Sometimes I wonder if people are diving in not because they want a business but actually because they have to get some money, which I cannot blame them in this economy.

 

[TessC]

Me, personally, there's no way I'd ever sell that fast. I keep one bar from each batch so I have some soap that's coming up on two years old now. Some of them still look absolutely great but a couple aren't looking so hot, not DOS but stuff like the swirl colors have bled and it looks like a big mess or the scent is completely gone. I want to know stuff like that before I start selling, better to find it out from the bars on my own shelves than from an angry customer, imo.

 

[Tabitha]

The SMF does not advocate the premature selling of soap or cosmetics.

Please visit this thread for more information.: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=17621

 

[soapbuddy]

The SMF does not advocate the premature selling of soap or cosmetics.

Please visit this thread for more information.: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=17621

This.

 

[BakingNana]

Even when you've done all the study, homework, testing, and planning, the sheer amount of work it takes to run this business cannot be overstated. Long, hard hours. Not a good way to make some quick money.

 

[soapopera]

I have no idea how this person can start selling after 3 months. I've been soaping for 3 months and still fidelling with finding a perfect base recipe.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Mmmm let me see. I have been learning about soap for over 3 years now and making it for over 2.5 years and I'm still not selling to the general public.

I helped to introduce someone into soap making and they became a master soapmaker and started selling within 2 months. Truth is, some tinny arsed people learn as they're going along and do quite well, but they are taking a huge risk and subjecting their customers to a huge risk. :wink:

 

[Traceyann]

crikey I have only just allowed my friends to take some home to try out and give me feed back .....so I can see where i need to improve....I dont know who u r all talking about , but I do agree with what u have said

 

[Dragonkaz]

I have friends and work colleagues asking to try my soaps, but I'm not yet confident enough to do that. My first few batches are ready to trial ... but think I'm being a bit of a sook and keeping it to myself at this stage.

If I like these few, I'll take them to work in a week or two ... which will make them about three months old.

I'm not sure if I ever want to sell my soap, but I'd love to get to a 'place' where I can make it as gifts for family and friends.

My research has taught me that this is a long process ... with many tests along the way ... mixed with loads of fun!

 

[Guest]

Just out of curiosity, why would anyone expect that a soap they made would be in someone's cabinet 6 months after it is sold?
Not debating that someone should do some research on their product because of how long some soaps take to cure.

We give away 90% of our honey, but it will definitely be a crystalized block if people keep it in their cabinet for a year. It is raw honey. I tell people to use what they get.

If I sold soap I would think that I would want people to know that it has a shelf life and needs to be used within 6 months.

Decorative soaps are art and are different. They aren't expected to be used anyway.

 

[falldowngobump]

I've been making soap for 3-4 months now and wouldn't dream of selling to anyone! I've given a lot of soap away to family and friends and the feedback has been great! When they use it all up and ask for more, I take that as a good sign. I just tried my first swirl yesterday, cut this morning and it's really pretty but selling it? No way, I'm far far from being that good.

 

[carebear]

The problem with selling so soon is not just that it's hard to believe you have the best formula, that it's unlikely you know enough about your product to really support it, or even that you may not be able to produce a consistent product.

The biggest problem, IMO, is that you don't know how stable your product is. Or your packaging. Or ESPECIALLY the combination of the two.

Will your FOs hold up a year? Will your soaps develop DOS? What about in other environments (someone's bathroom cabinet? in humid areas of the country? Will your soap perform well in different water types? Will your colors fade? WHAT happens over time?

 

[carebear]

Just out of curiosity, why would anyone expect that a soap they made would be in someone's cabinet 6 months after it is sold?

Why?

Well some of us don't go through soap very fast. A lot buy several bars at once to save on shipping costs. Many give soap as a gift. Many sell wholesale to stores that then sell to customers who might not run home and use the bar up immediately. Stability is hugely important.

We're not talking milk and tomatoes...

If I sold soap I would think that I would want people to know that it has a shelf life and needs to be used within 6 months.

6 months is not a reasonably long shelf life.

 

[Bubbly Buddha]

I don't know who you guys are referring to but I too question the wisdom of selling a product that has yet to be tested long-term. I have only given away soap for feedback (and to make room for more!!) and feel I am nowhere near ready to sell it. Soaping for me is a personal stress-reliever and whenever I give some away it's with some mixed feelings (hope they like it, what if they don't?). To each their own I guess.

 

[Guest]

Well this thread should very well succeed at sending a chill to any newbie interested in selling soap!

As it should. It is not a light subject. The balance of this post has been deleted as it directly conflicts with this forums formal stance on the matter and has been deemed reckless and argumentative.-SMF

 

[Guest]

Just out of curiosity, why would anyone expect that a soap they made would be in someone's cabinet 6 months after it is sold?

Why?

Well some of us don't go through soap very fast. A lot buy several bars at once to save on shipping costs. Many give soap as a gift. Many sell wholesale to stores that then sell to customers who might not run home and use the bar up immediately. Stability is hugely important.

We're not talking milk and tomatoes...

If I sold soap I would think that I would want people to know that it has a shelf life and needs to be used within 6 months.

6 months is not a reasonably long shelf life.

LOL for years I have been trying to change my thinking about keeping stuff. We were starting to get overwhelmed by stuff and I started simplifying. I thought I was not doing well. Then I read my post with fresh eyes. I have tried to start buying what I need, don't buy more until I need more. It seems that I am starting to succeed!!!! This has taken YEARS! But reading your post brought me to the realization that I am starting to change my thinking. I would NOT buy in bulk thinking that there would be waste. I got rid of the extra fridge because I found out I was capable of filling it with sale items that were out of date before I went to use it, or freezer burned. Then I researched to cost of electricity for running an extra fridge, counted to cost of some meat I threw away from freezer burn and changed my attitude. Sams shopper, I am not.

Off topic but it was such an "Ah Ha moment" for me.

 

[SudsyKat]

Good for you, frecklefacedfrannie!!