New Pricing for Soap/Candle Molds & Poll

[JoeyG]

As some of you know, we have been trying to develop a line of affordable 3D silicone molds for soap and candle makers for quite some time. Initially we did this out of necessity because we could not find any company that would create a *custom* mold for us at what we felt was a reasonable price ($1000 or less).

There have been many obstacles to overcome, the most major one being the price of the silicone itself. For our purposes when buying silicone we are faced with two choices... Tin cure or Platinum cure. Tin cure molds do not have the same life-span as Platinum cure molds. And in our experience, have not performed as well, which is why we use Platinum cure silicone for our molds. The life-span of Tin cure molds is approximately 1 year. Platinum cure molds; depending on who you talk to, have a life-span of 10-30 years.

As a result of using Platinum cure silicone our molds are pricey... and yes, we are aware of that. We have been struggling to solve this problem and in the short term have secured some silicone that will allow us to sell a limited amount of molds at a much better price (New pricing is in effect on our site now, MIGHTY MOLDS). In the long term it would help to know what the desirable price range is for this type of product, as we search for a more permanent solution.

If you have time it would truly help and we would greatly appreciate your participation in the poll.

 

[dixiedragon]

You say the tin cure lasts one year. Is that one year with regular use, or does the silicone itself have a life span? If I bought a tin-cure silicone mold and didn't use it for a year, would it still be in good shape?

I would say that many of the folks who are buying special molds like yours are professionals. And they don't know if (say) a dragon egg soap or candle would be a good seller for them. So IMO it would make more since to buy the cheaper tin-cure version, and then if you do well with it and wear it out, step up to the platinum version.

 

[toxikon]

You say the tin cure lasts one year. Is that one year with regular use, or does the silicone itself have a life span? If I bought a tin-cure silicone mold and didn't use it for a year, would it still be in good shape?

I would say that many of the folks who are buying special molds like yours are professionals. And they don't know if (say) a dragon egg soap or candle would be a good seller for them. So IMO it would make more since to buy the cheaper tin-cure version, and then if you do well with it and wear it out, step up to the platinum version.

Agreed, I had the same question about usage vs longevity. I have many cheap molds that I've been using a few times a year for 5+ years with no signs of wear and tear.

 

[dixiedragon]

Also, I think it might be helpful to have some pictures of soap and candles. I can't get a good idea of what the dragon eggs look like from the video. Take pics in different colors - white, a medium color, and a dark color.

 

[JoeyG]

You say the tin cure lasts one year. Is that one year with regular use, or does the silicone itself have a life span? If I bought a tin-cure silicone mold and didn't use it for a year, would it still be in good shape?

I would say that many of the folks who are buying special molds like yours are professionals. And they don't know if (say) a dragon egg soap or candle would be a good seller for them. So IMO it would make more since to buy the cheaper tin-cure version, and then if you do well with it and wear it out, step up to the platinum version.

Agreed, I had the same question about usage vs longevity. I have many cheap molds that I've been using a few times a year for 5+ years with no signs of wear and tear.

Library Life (sitting on the shelf) vs Production Life (using the mold)

The library life of the tin cure silicone we tested is 1 year. And at the end of the mold's library life it has a tendency to tear easily and become unusable. The library life of the platinum cure silicone we use is, we're told, 30+ years.

The production life is dependent upon things such as, what types of casting materials you are using? Are they harsh or mild? We never use release agents on our soaps or candles, but some people may. That would affect the production life of the mold as well.

Our molds can be used for casting: plaster, soap, wax, concrete (limited production run), resins and other materials. They have a service temperature range of a constant -65°F to +450°F (-53°C to +232°C).

@dixiedragon That is a good point you make about trying out the inexpensive mold before purchasing the longer lasting one. I hope more people weigh in on that. It's definitely something we're going to talk about internally.

As for more pics, that's something that we'll work on.
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@toxikon, if I may ask, what is the intended purpose/s of the molds you mentioned? Loaf/Slab... or are they molds that produce fully three-dimensional shapes?

 

[HowieRoll]

I, personally, would not spend a single dime on a mold that I knew had a library life of 1 year before it started to deteriorate and would be rendered unusable. But in our household, we generally follow the mantra of "buy your tools once." In other words, spend the money up front to buy a quality item so that it will last years and years, rather than purchasing cheap crap that will soon fail and need replacement.

Anyway, that's my couple of pennies.