Curing, storing and selling

Just a few quick questions.

How long do you guys let your soaps cure for if you are selling them.
I know it varies depending on oils so lets say
100% olive oil.
100% lard
something similar to 60% olive, 30% coconut, 10% avacado

Do you package your soap at the end of the curing time or before?

Finally does anyone sell soap on Ebay or Etsy?
If so does it sell?

When I looked on Ebay it seemed like every man and his dog was selling homemade soap.

How long do you guys let your soaps cure for if you are selling them.
4 weeks
6 months minimum for castile

Do you package your soap at the end of the curing time or before?
end of curing. i shrink wrapped and store them for later packaging.

Finally does anyone sell soap on Ebay or Etsy?
no. have my own website.

I make tallow soaps and let them cure for 4 weeks. I don't make castile soaps.

I box them up after the cure. Although, since they are cardboard boxes (breathable), I wonder if I could box them up right away and store them until they cure. Haven't tried it.

I sell on Etsy. I'm thinking about Ebay and/or Amazon, though.

I don't sell, but this is what I do (if I did sell, I don't think I'd do it any differently):

100% OO Castile.... 3 months cure absolute minimum

All my other formulas, including my 50% OO formula...... 4 weeks cure absolute minimum

All of my batches are cured on open air racks and then stored naked in baseball card boxes after cure, one batch/scent per box. I don't wrap any of my soap until I gift it to someone.


IrishLass

I'm going to answer a question that wasn't asked and should have been - you shouldn't be worrying about this for a while. Until you can consistantly make great soap that you know very well indeed, well enough to answer customer questions, then selling shouldn't even be a consideration.

The Efficacious Gentleman said:

I'm going to answer a question that wasn't asked and should have been - you shouldn't be worrying about this for a while. Until you can consistantly make great soap that you know very well indeed, well enough to answer customer questions, then selling shouldn't even be a consideration.

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Oh, calm down, now. :wink:

girlishcharm2004 said:

Oh, calm down, now. :wink:

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No - I know that you really don't seem to be bothered by it, but if someone has very little experience at what they are doing then I think it is unfair to customers who might well buy something because they think "if someone is selling, they must be experienced."

If you left your car at a garage for some work and then came back and saw the mechanic poking around at the engine and they said "to be honest, I am really not sure how cars work............." would you be happy with them working on your car?

If you're in a shop buying a computer and the assistant makes a suggestion and you buy it, then you find out that it really isn't what you were looking for so you go back to the shop and the assistent says that they really aren't experienced with computers at all..................

Or you buy a soap from Etsy and after 1 month it's started to go rancid, or it is not cured enough or has unsafe amounts of EO or not enough scent to last more than a few weeks................................

The Efficacious Gentleman said:

No - I know that you really don't seem to be bothered by it, but if someone has very little experience at what they are doing then I think it is unfair to customers who might well buy something because they think "if someone is selling, they must be experienced."

If you left your car at a garage for some work and then came back and saw the mechanic poking around at the engine and they said "to be honest, I am really not sure how cars work............." would you be happy with them working on your car?

If you're in a shop buying a computer and the assistant makes a suggestion and you buy it, then you find out that it really isn't what you were looking for so you go back to the shop and the assistent says that they really aren't experienced with computers at all..................

Or you buy a soap from Etsy and after 1 month it's started to go rancid, or it is not cured enough or has unsafe amounts of EO or not enough scent to last more than a few weeks................................

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Well, in this country, it's a free market economy. I can be responsible to do my research on where I want to spend my money and with whom -- this is like reading the reviews on Amazon before a purchase, or going by word-of-mouth on who the best bike mechanic is. I also have choice to never give my business there, again. It's a risk, that I, as the consumer, choose to make.

If you're not responsible for yourself and you depend on other being responsible for you, you're going to find yourself in a lot of trouble. However, I do understand we come from different countries and different cultures. That impacts how you view others based on your expectations. You expect that they must know something if they're in business. I expect that if they're in business, let's say with Etsy, then they know how to open an account. To me, a seller has to "prove his salt" not simply have a business name.

Anyhow, I have a tendency of staying up waaay too late when I happen to get on a hot topic with you. Goodnight.

girlishcharm2004 said:

............Anyhow, I have a tendency of staying up waaay too late when I happen to get on a hot topic with you. Goodnight.

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Very true. I can't say that getting you worked up and keeping you up late are what I plan.

I know that America tends to be a "buyer beware" kinda place, much more so than over here - I also know that most people will go on to sell before they are ready regardless of the ranting of a crazy Englishman. But I will still say it, every single time. While I can't actually make people wait until they have experience, the only thing I can do is say it. I'd rather say something and there be some result than not say it and there be no results.

ETA, remember the member here who specifically asked if a soap had a certain oil and was told it didn't even when it did? That is the sort of thing I mean - you take the appropriate care that you can, but the seller is a total idiot and ends up potentially endangering you or a loved one. I also think that the impending increase in regulation for soap selling in the US is partly due to people just selling with no idea about what they are doing.

girlishcharm2004 said:

Well, in this country, it's a free market economy. I can be responsible to do my research on where I want to spend my money and with whom -- this is like reading the reviews on Amazon before a purchase, or going by word-of-mouth on who the best bike mechanic is. I also have choice to never give my business there, again. It's a risk, that I, as the consumer, choose to make.

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This is how I feel too but more than that, as a seller I have seen people come and go. I've seen hobbyists who will sell one week and then not come back for a month. Guess who gets their business from then on. To sell effectively here you need to be consistent, customer oriented and you need to persevere.

I don't worry about people who sell too soon, they don't last long. Their products are never as good because they usually try to rush everything. They can't answer questions because of a lack of knowledge.

It's a no brainier really. You can give people the reasons they should wait. You can tell them to perfect recipes. You can tell them to write a business plan. You can tell them they must have money to advertise and market.

In the end it is only the ones who listened that will be any competition at all, and honestly I only think maybe 10 percent listen. The rest think you must not want them to be competition, and ironically they aren't.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I am not actually selling yet I am still practicing. So far its going well, I just started using 100% OO soap that I made a year ago. I am now waiting for my 100% Coconut and 100% lard to fully cure. I have also used some soap I made with OO, CO and avocado and they were ok.
The stuff I was selling on Etsy was not soap.

I am a Britt living in the US and from what I heard you have to have a chemist check your soap before it can be sold in the UK. Anyone know if thats true?

Dorymae said:

This is how I feel too but more than that, as a seller I have seen people come and go. I've seen hobbyists who will sell one week and then not come back for a month. Guess who gets their business from then on. To sell effectively here you need to be consistent, customer oriented and you need to persevere.

I don't worry about people who sell too soon, they don't last long. Their products are never as good because they usually try to rush everything. They can't answer questions because of a lack of knowledge.

It's a no brainier really. You can give people the reasons they should wait. You can tell them to perfect recipes. You can tell them to write a business plan. You can tell them they must have money to advertise and market.

In the end it is only the ones who listened that will be any competition at all, and honestly I only think maybe 10 percent listen. The rest think you must not want them to be competition, and ironically they aren't.

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One problem with people selling to soon is the fact they can actually turn off potential customers. A few months ago someone stopped at my booth for a lotion and said she would never buy handmade soap again. Asked her why and she told me it doesn't last over a couple of weeks. I asked her if it was one of mine, which I was sure it was not since I did not remember her, and was told no. Come to find out it was from a newbie that sells periodically in the market I sell in weekly. I talked her into trying one of my samples. Guess what she came back for more and informed me she would have never bought handmade again without the sample I gave her. Newbies can hurt the business albeit unintentionally and I understand having the need to make money
To answer the original question I cure soaps for a min of 4 weeks usually 2-3 months and castile for a min of 6 months

micktunbridge said:

...........I am a Britt living in the US and from what I heard you have to have a chemist check your soap before it can be sold in the UK. Anyone know if thats true?

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You do indeed. Plus, various countries have additional laws around it. Makes it a nightmare. Here's a thread I started about it - one thing it allows me to do is improve the products before I pay to sell a recipe that isn't great. http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=41483&highlight=murky+world

cmzaha said:

One problem with people selling to soon is the fact they can actually turn off potential customers. A few months ago someone stopped at my booth for a lotion and said she would never buy handmade soap again. Asked her why and she told me it doesn't last over a couple of weeks. I asked her if it was one of mine, which I was sure it was not since I did not remember her, and was told no. Come to find out it was from a newbie that sells periodically in the market I sell in weekly. I talked her into trying one of my samples. Guess what she came back for more and informed me she would have never bought handmade again without the sample I gave her. Newbies can hurt the business albeit unintentionally and I understand having the need to make money
To answer the original question I cure soaps for a min of 4 weeks usually 2-3 months and castile for a min of 6 months

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I don't doubt a word, in fact I've had people like that too. Some I can convince to take a sample, some I can't. However I think that is a part of every business. Someone has a bad experience it came turn them off entirely. Most of the time they can be brought around but not always.

I still don't mind the occasional real newbie showing up. Usually they just fade away. Capitalism is made to so the consumer weeds out the bad. I think it works pretty well.

Dorymae said:

I don't doubt a word, in fact I've had people like that too. Some I can convince to take a sample, some I can't. However I think that is a part of every business. Someone has a bad experience it came turn them off entirely. Most of the time they can be brought around but not always.

I still don't mind the occasional real newbie showing up. Usually they just fade away. Capitalism is made to so the consumer weeds out the bad. I think it works pretty well.

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I really do not mind newbie showing up in my markets either, in my opinion competition makes you just have a better product or you will not last in the market

The Efficacious Gentleman said:

I'm going to answer a question that wasn't asked and should have been - you shouldn't be worrying about this for a while. Until you can consistantly make great soap that you know very well indeed, well enough to answer customer questions, then selling shouldn't even be a consideration.

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Respectfully EG, I think you're assuming the negative too quickly. There's certainly been many fly-by-nighters who plan on jumping into a soap dynasty after their first batch. But you know...some of these people are just asking the what-if questions.

If the OP is wondering if learning to make soap for the purpose of starting a business is feasible, then they should be asking these questions now - before they spend a boatload of time and money on developing a recipe. They should ask what it's like to hold entire shelves in your house hostage for weeks/months. What is it like to wrap soap? How do you sell? Because when the OP or any other new soaper starts hearing about the real life of dealing taxes, Etsy accounts.....that starts filling in the blanks....and they'll get an idea of whether or not they should continue....or give up now.

After all, so many people recommend spending a year making soap. There is absolutely no reason why they shouldn't spend that time also learning about the possibility of selling. I think it's a good use of their time, instead of simply letting weeks of passively watching soap cure.

And sometimes, (while I know you want to prevent this EG), sometimes you just can't teach people....you have to let them try...even if it means they'll fail.

Again, if no one says it, they might not realise and then their business will almost certainly fail. But as I said, they don't have to listen to me, but I would find it wrong not to at least say it

Besides, you should see if you enjoy doing something before you think about making money from it - yeah, you can see an opportunity and invest time and money in starting a business only to realise that making soap bores you to tears. So make soap for a while before you take the next steps. Is my advice, not soaping law.