What is your all-time favorite soaping shop?

[christinak]

I've done tons of research (so much it's from sun-up til sun-down!) when it comes to buying soaping supplies. I am unemployed so I have to get the most bang for my buck and NOT get ripped off on shipping heavy oils and butters...

So far it seems like I get the best over-all deal from Bulk Apothecary. What's your favorite place to buy from?

 

[melstan775]

I buy from Wholesale Supplies Plus. I can get everything I need except lye. Their prices are higher then some other places but it's balanced out by free shipping on orders over $30.00. Shipping is high everywhere, they do it by weight instead of volume for some reason. I am a new soaper myself, and love it so far. So what are you planning on doing with your soaps?

 

[christinak]

Eventually I want to sell them I'm dong really well so far with everything and haven't had any major mishaps, lol. I have to get it all sorted out with insurance and make sure everything looks AOK for at least 6 months before I make too many major moves. I'm hoping to be in gear for the Christmas season! I need to place an order asap for some ingredients so I've been looking for some new places.

 

[melstan775]

Sounds like you're on a roll. All the best to you. You have definitly come to the right place - tons of info and soapaholics here. Don't forget to bring porn. lots and lots of porn. Soap porn. Pictures of yummy soap, mmmm.....

 

[lizflowers42]

I second WSSP for newbies! Check out Essentials Depot as well, they offer free shipping on some stuff from time to time as well! They list everything that qualifies for free shipping to take any guess work out!

 

[Genny]

I'm going to discourage you from buying from Bulk Apothecary. There's been so many people that have gotten horrible customer service from them (waiting over 2 weeks just for the order to ship out, missing items & having to repay to ship those, rude customer service people, etc).

If you're not looking to buy in bulk, then I suggest places like WSP, NGC, ED
If you're looking to buy in bulk, then I suggest Soapers Choice or if you have a Restaurant Supply Store in your area.

 

[liafrank]

Congratulations on your success. Sounds like you're living the dream. This may not be relevant to you since cost is the major factor, but I've also found that trust is key. Do you trust a company's customer service, the reliable quality of their supplies. As expensive as Brambleberry is (mainly their shipping), they are incredibly consistent and responsive. The expense of your base oils is going to be high if you have them shipped any distance. This is why I think you may want to try Olive Tree Soaps. I know nothing about them, so you would need to verify their quality and possibly speak with the owner. In addition their range is limited. However, they have the basics in bulk and are based in Naples, NY, which, if you still live in Springwater is a 30 minute drive. Best of luck to you.

 

[Seifenblasen]

Wow, too many companies to list, each is good for something!

- Essential Depot - for their food-grade lye and sometimes oils on sale, but not their essential oils (yuck)!

- WSP - for base oils and butters and some essential oils. I know Soaper's Choice is less expensive, but WSP has free shipping, and I don't have room for large pails of oil anyway.

- Soap Making Resources - botanicals and clays, and some essential oils. They have the best price for sustainable rosewood. I also like their wooden soap molds. Good shipping rates.

- Brambleberry and Majestic Mountain Sage - some odds and ends, both have excellent customer service (at least in my experience).

- Texas Natural Supply - they carry some esoteric botanicals. Expensive and no customer service.

- Camden Grey - some essential oils (I have had bad experience with SOME of their oils).

 

[DeeAnna]

Great list, Seifenblasen -- thanks for taking the time to share your favorite resources! --DeeAnna

 

[Marilyna]

Congratulations on your success. Sounds like you're living the dream. This may not be relevant to you since cost is the major factor, but I've also found that trust is key. Do you trust a company's customer service, the reliable quality of their supplies. As expensive as Brambleberry is (mainly their shipping), they are incredibly consistent and responsive. The expense of your base oils is going to be high if you have them shipped any distance. This is why I think you may want to try Olive Tree Soaps. I know nothing about them, so you would need to verify their quality and possibly speak with the owner. In addition their range is limited. However, they have the basics in bulk and are based in Naples, NY, which, if you still live in Springwater is a 30 minute drive. Best of luck to you.

Olive Tree Soaps is still in biz? Yay! I forgot about them. I used to get my Shea butter there.

 

[Marilyna]

Christinak,

I know I'm different than a lot of soapers, but right now while I'm still testing my Fos and not yet selling, I'm buying nearly all my oils at the grocery store. The only one I've had shipped so far is Shea butter (eBay is also a possibility for some things).

You can make great soap with common oils such as coconut, olive, lard, meat shortening (which is mostly tallow), soybean, canola and others.

 

[houseofwool]

Okay, to expand on this, who is your favorite supplier for essential oils? I've ordered them from Brambleberry as well as Essential Depot and been satisfied with both.

Seifenblasen, why don't you like ED?

 

[Shannon_m]

For Fragrance Oils and Essential Oils I have bought from Bramble Berry and Pure Fragrance Oils and have been very satisfied with both. I buy my base oils from Soaper's Choice but Olive Oil I buy at Costco. Most of my colorants and molds I buy from Bramble Berry but I have purchased one mold from Bulk Apothecary and another 2 molds from a seller on Etsy.

 

[MaitriBB]

I like Save On Scents for fragrance oils. They have more unusual fragrances like gunpowder and cement. I've also soaped successfully with their Yankee Candle dupe scents. And I got my perfumer's kit from them.

Candlescience has some decent fragrance oils too. Unfortunately some of their scents are candle-only, and their website doesn't tell you which ones.

 

[christinak]

Thanks everyone for excellent suggestions! I had no idea I had a store so close to me 8)

I was excited when I saw the thread for .99 fragrances at candle science but when I checked the sale was over...I did see, however, that it does tell you which are for body and which are for candles...I think it's right under the avatar for the scent.

I did end up sticking with Bulk Apothecary for the order I placed last night. With the 10% off coupon code it was too good to pass up. My first order from them was at my door within 3 days and the second took about 10 days. Both times they were back-ordered on one item but it was shipped to me within 2 days and I never had to pay extra.

The code is SAVINGS10 if anyone else uses them!

 

[Sedge]

I'm going to discourage you from buying from Bulk Apothecary. There's been so many people that have gotten horrible customer service from them (waiting over 2 weeks just for the order to ship out, missing items & having to repay to ship those, rude customer service people, etc).

If you're not looking to buy in bulk, then I suggest places like WSP, NGC, ED
If you're looking to buy in bulk, then I suggest Soapers Choice or if you have a Restaurant Supply Store in your area.

I can throw in a personal story here. I have only bought from Bulk Apothecary once. I spent about 150$ and got many oils. If I recall, shipping time was not great but not bad either. Most of the oils were really nice but the clove bud EO smelled very rancid... like rotting plant material or moldy oranges :sick:

Now, I've gotten clove before and I love the smell so I know what it is supposed to smell like and rotten oranges is NOT it. When I contacted Bulk Apothecary to ask for a replacement or refund, they said that it wasn't there problem and that the scent probably wasn't meant for me. :lolno: Won't be ordering from them again!

 

[Badger]

I have had good experiences with Wholesale Supplies Plus. They have had good prices with the free shipping over $30. I ordered once through Bulk Apothecary and did not have any issue with the order so I can't say anything there, but I have had many people warn me away from them since then. I completely understand being unemployed and trying to make soaps on a tight budget. I am on disability myself and have to be careful on my spending. I am willing to pay a little extra to keep from having negative experiences though when it comes down to it.

 

[houseofwool]

How about for EO?

 

[Seifenblasen]

Okay, to expand on this, who is your favorite supplier for essential oils? I've ordered them from Brambleberry as well as Essential Depot and been satisfied with both.

Seifenblasen, why don't you like ED?

I had a few EOs from them that did not smell quite right.

 

[Badger]

I have heard good things about Camden Grey for EOs, and some people order Lavender EO through a supplier on Ebay. I bought some EO's through Ebay and did not have the best experience, but the oils themselves seem okay at least, just the shipping was horrible and the person would not contact me after I tried to contact them about shipping and I tried to contact them by email and by phone (their voice mail box was full for at least 4 days).