What happened at Bramble Berry?

[Carly B]

I placed an order with Bramble Berry Tuesday night to take advantage of the free shipping. I got a shipping notification Thursday morning! Granted, it's
just the "label created" stage, but I've had BB orders in the past where it has been a couple weeks and I still haven't heard.

A fluke or they've upped their customer service?

Another thing---with free shipping, they factor the shipping cost then they waive it. The factored shipping cost was MUCH less than I'm used to
seeing at BB. It's almost like they are bringing themselves in line with the other vendors.

Has anyone else noticed a difference?

 

[dibbles]

I only order from BB a couple of times a year now, but I used to order much more frequently. The last couple of orders have been shipped more quickly and the shipping costs were also better. I've also not had many problems with anything ordered from them, but the couple of times there was an issue, it was resolved immediately.

I tried to place an order last night (at about 10:00 pm) and there was a problem with processing the order. I tried intermittently for an hour and a half and then went to bed. I sent an email this morning to see if they would extend the free shipping for orders that weren't able to be placed last night. I know they can see I have items in my cart - I had an email (auto generated) this morning reminding me that I left some things behind. I haven't heard back yet, so we'll see. Evidently, I'm not the only procrastinator and the website got overwhelmed in the last few hours.

 

[Carly B]

I tried to place an order last night (at about 10:00 pm) and there was a problem with processing the order. I tried intermittently for an hour and a half and then went to bed. I sent an email this morning to see if they would extend the free shipping for orders that weren't able to be placed last night. I know they can see I have items in my cart - I had an email (auto generated) this morning reminding me that I left some things behind. I haven't heard back yet, so we'll see. Evidently, I'm not the only procrastinator and the website got overwhelmed in the last few hours.

I had a problem Tuesday night, but it was resolved by the online chat person. Maybe try that instead of waiting for email?

 

[kagey]

I ordered some EOs and it took a few days just to create the label and then a week to ship.
It took more than 8 days just to get a few EOs. IMHO, pretty pathetic.
I ordered the same supplies from Amazon and received them, made soap and cut the bars looooong before the BB package finally arrived.

 

[Zing]

ARG! I didn't know about this sale!! What a deal that would have been! Weeks ago I removed myself from their emails because I cannot keep up on my inbox. Lesson learned. I just signed up again. Good luck, @dibbles, I hope you get your discount!

 

[dibbles]

@Carly B I took your advice and tried a chat. They wouldn't extend the free shipping, but did offer a $10 off $75. I really only needed litsea and peppermint EOs, so I ordered them. The litsea was the best price I could find right now and even though the peppermint is more pricey there than Camden Grey, the shipping is less so it was pretty much a wash. And I wasn't tempted to toss in more FOs or EOs than I really need right now. I have an overflowing abundance again and need to use some of what I already have up before the Black Friday sales happen.

 

[Carly B]

Good for you @dibbles ! My big order would have been under $13 shipping if they didn't waive it, and even that is inexpensive for BB. My second order would have been around $8 shipping if they didn't waive it, so their shipping rates have come down substantially overall.

I have WAY too many fragrances. A bazillion of one batch samples, then more than a dozen of larger sizes that I got as "keepers" unless they get discontinued.

*grumble, grumble, Paramour, grumble, grumble*

 

[The_Phoenix]

I took advantage of their free shipping and ordered potassium hydroxide so I can finally learn how to make ls. Also needed Optiphen so threw that in there. Was planning to buy OMH and Peach Prosecco anyway. Proud of myself for having some discipline.

 

[AliOop]

I took advantage of their free shipping and ordered potassium hydroxide so I can finally learn how to make ls. Also needed Optiphen so threw that in there. Was planning to buy OMH and Peach Prosecco anyway. Proud of myself for having some discipline.

If I may suggest... I wish someone had told me how much easier it is to make cold process LS, at least for your first few tries. Simply blend to thick trace, cover, and walk away for 24 hours (probably less, but 24 will do it for sure). Then you can concentrate on finding the best dilution rate for your paste, instead of sweating over the cooking soap and wondering if it is done yet.

And like CP v HP bar soap, you can take any HPLS recipes and CP them without changing the recipe at all - not even the water:lye ratio.

I thought I didn't like making LS for a long time because the cooking process was so long and stressful (which is funny, since I did HP bar soap for years before trying CP). It was @linne1gi who shared that she did CPLS, which got me to try it, and I haven't looked back.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

I ordered some EOs and it took a few days just to create the label and then a week to ship.
It took more than 8 days just to get a few EOs. IMHO, pretty pathetic.
I ordered the same supplies from Amazon and received them, made soap and cut the bars looooong before the BB package finally arrived.

I have noticed that when ordering EOs from BB it takes about 2 weeks from the day I order to get to the east coast. I think they use a different shipping method for those (ground shipping?). Assumed it was the combination of the shipping method and West to East coast distance.
I've always been pleased with their customer service; fixed any problems right away.
So I took the plunge and ordered some fragrance oil samples this time. I've avoided them because I prefer the idea of "natural" fragrances/EOs; but, also because I've noticed that some fragrance oils give me headaches. I did bite the bullet with their Honey fragrances several years ago because I'm a beekeeper and well, just couldn't resist. I used comments from the Fragrance Forum to help choose which ones to try. One of the reasons I love this forum - I learn so much from all y'all (as we say in the south).

 

[Nona'sFarm]

I ordered some EOs and it took a few days just to create the label and then a week to ship.
It took more than 8 days just to get a few EOs. IMHO, pretty pathetic.
I ordered the same supplies from Amazon and received them, made soap and cut the bars looooong before the BB package finally arrived.

I have noticed that when ordering EOs from BB it takes about 2 weeks from the day I order to get to the east coast. I think they use a different shipping method for those (ground shipping?). Assumed it was the combination of the shipping method and West to East coast distance.
I've always been pleased with their customer service; fixed any problems right away.
So I took the plunge and ordered some fragrance oil samples this time. I've avoided them because I prefer the idea of "natural" fragrances/EOs; but, also because I've noticed that some fragrance oils give me headaches. I did bite the bullet with their Honey fragrances several years ago because I'm a beekeeper and well, just couldn't resist. I used comments from the Fragrance Forum to help choose which ones to try. One of the reasons I love this forum - I learn so much from all y'all (as we say in the south).

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Some FOs can’t be shipped by air. If one of those ends up in a cart, I believe the entire order is shipped by ground, which takes longer.

 

[cakrt]

I placed an order with Bramble Berry Tuesday night to take advantage of the free shipping. I got a shipping notification Thursday morning! Granted, it's
just the "label created" stage, but I've had BB orders in the past where it has been a couple weeks and I still haven't heard.

A fluke or they've upped their customer service?

Another thing---with free shipping, they factor the shipping cost then they waive it. The factored shipping cost was MUCH less than I'm used to
seeing at BB. It's almost like they are bringing themselves in line with the other vendors.

Has anyone else noticed a difference?

I noticed a huge difference in their shipping time. I received by order in a week!!

 

[Carly B]

I noticed a huge difference in their shipping time. I received by order in a week!!

Mine has actually shipped and will be here Thursday (UPS from WA to MD is far)! So often, it seems like my order just languishes there waiting to be filled.

Interestingly, I have not yet heard anything about my second order, which I did the next day. So we'll see. I hope the speed of the first order isn't a fluke.

 

[dibbles]

I just got a shipping confirmation on my order placed Thursday afternoon of last week! I’d say that’s pretty fast.

 

[Vicki C]

Different company, but I am aggravated at WSP. Placed an order on August 8. No word about anything so I sent an email over the weekend. Just heard back that they are (even) slower than usual due to a warehouse move.
ETA one order has been shipped, so that’s good.