Nature's Garden vs WSP?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

melissa826

Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Messages
20
Reaction score
2
Thinking about switching from WSP (wholesalesuppliesplus) fragrance oils to Nature's Garden oils but I'm a little nervous about how they compare. I know WSP isn't top of the line, I just want to be sure NG isn't worse. They are MUCH cheaper and my husband is worried about the "you get what you pay for"....but I'm starting to think WSP is just increasing prices drastically to make up for their free shipping.

So I am looking for any advice on NG vs WSP or just your thoughts on NG's quality.

Thanks!!
 
I still buy their Bay Rum and Rosemary Mint FOs because NGs just isn't even close. I've been able to replace everything else that I used to buy at WSP.
 
I have never had an issue with NG FOs but have with some WSP. I have had WSP FOs disappear or seize though the reviews don't mention that. At least NG tests how they act in soap and advise on their pages. I would say before making a complete dive in switching, get a couple and test them to make sure they meet your expectations :)
 
To me, it all comes down to the particular FO you are interested in buying from either one of them. I use several different FO vendors because experience has shown me that every one of them has both 'hits' and 'misses'. I've also learned that just because an FO is less expensive at Company X, it doesn't necessarily mean it's inferior or weaker than Company Y's (and vise-versa). Like that old song says..."My mother told me, 'You better shop around'". lol That's why I love TheScentReviewBoard so much. It helps me weed out the 'misses'.

Which FOs are you looking to replace?

IrishLass :)
 
I am with IrishLass on this. There is just no good one supplier of FO's. I do not like many from WSP but the few I do I cannot come close anywhere else. Same goes for NG there are a few that I buy from only NG. Just depends on what you and your customers like or dislike
 
I use several different online vendors as well as a few local suppliers depending on what my needs are at the time. I use Saveonscents for some things but they are really hit or miss quality-wise. One supplier I love, and use frequently, is Elements Bath & Body. Every FO I have ordered from them has been high-quality and held up well in CP. They have detailed notes about each FO as to how it behaves in CP, HP, candles, lotions, etc as well as the flash points. I also use them for my soap boxes. They have weekly sales where you can get bulk amounts of various products for dirt cheap. Just recently I got 100 bath poufs for $7. I have found their prices to be consistently reasonable, they ship quickly, and their customer service is courteous and helpful. Their selection of EO's, however, leaves much to be desired so I get my EO's elsewhere. All-in-all, a good company with good prices. Never been disappointed with anything they've sent me. Might want to give them a look.
 
Never put all your eggs in one basket. Like anything else.. Suppliers differ and where one might excel they may also fail in another place.
I have tried about 12 places and currently but regularly from 5 places. My bulk is from NG and WSP. I have about 30 from each of them and consider those scents to be superior to the others. Does that make sense? Trying not to be too wordy. LolThe other 3 places I've found scents I love and can't find elsewhere.Love spell I feel no one compares to WSP. But it's personal preference too. Baby bee buttermilk from anywhere but NG smells funk. But theirs is yum... IMO. :)
 
WSP does indeed have slightly higher prices to help compensate for their shipping. /but/ in most cases I have found that after you calculate shipping on orders of any decent size, WSP is generally less expensive (Except in the Lye department....ED For lye on my end)

Lets do some quick math:

FO 1 scent from each place:
(I Took lemongrass sage and lemongrass Kiwi respectivly)
I will put put in () if they offer a size the other does not and give you a price comparison below

WSP: 2 oz: 5.95, 4 OZ: 8.95, 16 OZ: 35.95, Drum: (25 Lbs) 595.95
NG: 1oz:2.60 4oz:7.65 8oz:9.75 16oz:14.49 5lb:66.25 10lb:124.90 25lb:284.75

For WSP to have a 1 oz, 5lb, and 10lb it would be: 2.98, 119.19, and 238.38 respectivly if you broke down the costs of a 2 oz or a 25lb into those sizes. Keeping that in mind lets move on to shipping:

1 25lb Barrel from NG: 25.90 to ship to me.
1 8 oz bottle: 10.75 Cents!

That means a single 8 oz bottle = over 19.75 from NG, where as from WSP its 17.97 (35.95 /2)

Lets go with a medium size order of somthing they both have. 4 oz bottles. Lets buy half a dozen.
NG: 11.52 in shipping for a total of 57.42
WSP: 53.70

I am not trying to be confrontational I am trying to show you, and anyone newer reading this that its not about what you see on the site. Its about what the math breaks down to.

Having been a trucker for many years, I can tell you that in 80% of the cases, 'free shipping' is always a great deal unless you are getting over certian weight thresholds where they can get LTL or freight price reduction (Sometimes its as little as 20-30 pounds, some places its 200pounds +) in wich case you should do the math.

If you are going purely on numbers in my opinion it looks like the break even point (or where NG becomes better) is right around the 5-10lb mark (Extreamly good) but for order under 1 dozen 4 oz bottles or what not, based ONLY on money, WSP still seems better.

Thats just with FO, with their oils and such, I have found in most cases WSP is really good.

Hope this helps
 
Last edited:
Great post Shalisk.. love the way you broke it down. :) For me personally it's all about scent and I don't pay much heed to the cost if it's a good one. Wish you could break down lots more of WSP's prices vs. others this way. lol I have a huge spread sheet of container costs but never worked out one for fragrances.. seemed daunting with the variety.
 
I do this often when I have other things to order that are pretty much the same no matter where I get them and often find WSP still comes out better most of the time. I also have found many more fos from WSP that I like in comparison to NG. Just my experience of course, I know they have good ones if I dig further but for my money WSP has been worth it and I have had less dissapointment.
 
I have favorites from several companies. They all have their hits and misses, so I wouldn't write off WSP...they have some great FO's and I order a lot of my EO's from them as well. Like someone else mentioned, when you add in the shipping prices, it kind of evens things out.
My favorite companies for FO's are:
WSP
NG
Peak
DayStar
ScentWorks (they are apparently having some issues right now, but I really hope they work them out as they have some incredible FO's!)
 
Great post Shalisk.. love the way you broke it down. :)

For me personally it's all about scent and I don't pay much heed to the cost if it's a good one.
Wish you could break down lots more of WSP's prices vs. others this way. lol I have a huge spread sheet of container costs but never worked out one for fragrances.. seemed daunting with the variety.


WSP has basically 3 costs of their FO's. its like 4.95 5.95 or 7.95 or somthing like that depending on what one, there are some odditys like orange wich is like really cheap (for obvious reasons) so its safeish to assume that you can work out the 3 basic prices the same way and move on with life.

I have not tried the nature place for scents or anything but i like WSP's scents most of the time. :)

Now, if everything was equal (Quality and scent) I would buy my smaller volumes (up to 16 oz) at WSP, and my bulk oil (I think) there too. But huge drums at Natural because even with shipping they are cheaper for 5 10 and 25 lbs of FO
 
I too purchase from several companies. I only have 2 that I order from WSP as they are always higher in price for me unless I order a lot of stuff so I only order 1/2 times per year from them. I order from NG and find their shipping reasonable as long as I place a larger order which isn't hard to do. I also use Peak and Southern Scentsations (local to me) for a few scents as well.
 
I agree with Scotsman about Elements Bath & Body. I don't have many FOs but I bought couple FOs from EBB. Since they have detailed information about each FO as to how it behaves in CP, it helped me greatly. My only problem is the FO plastic container(it leaks sometimes) but then, it reduces the shipping charge. They also have great customer service.
 
I agree about the plastic containers. I usually transfer them to amber glass boston round bottles, as I seem to always have a lot of them lying around.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top