OMG, Have you seen the prices for Fragrance oils at BB?

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I don’t like having to order from the west coast, but I do because I’m very happy with the quality of the products from BB, and also from MMS, which is in Utah. Granted, I don’t have a long history of purchasing and using FOs, nor have I tried many suppliers. I’ve been disappointed that some of the FOs I purchased from other suppliers have a chemical smell OOB, which also makes me wary of using them. Others don’t smell anything like the description (to me at least), for example, an FO with a name that’s intended to evoke severe weather that smells like honeysuckle to me. FOs seem expensive on the one hand because they are relative to lard, for example, but they are super inexpensive compared with perfume.
 
There are soapmakers here who import from BB way over there. For those who've been selling long time I get how they can cover costs including shipping - their soap is about quadruple what I charge for mine. So yes, BB stuff is premium, even here.

Yes I'm in australia, so I dont buy from BB direct but I buy from their only retailer in this country. Thankfully they are 20 minutes from me so at least I can pickup to avoid shipping charges. There are a couple of cheaper companies here as well and many people use their FOs in preference to BB but I just feel the BB ones are better quality. There's only one I buy from elsewhere
 
While I agree BB is expensive, I do think they are worth it as I seem to be able to use less FO than called for. I have not experienced scent fading at all with them. They were slacking in the shipping dept for a while, but IME that has improved. It takes about a week for me and I'm clear across the country from them.
I am a big fan of Rustic Escentuals as well.
 
While I agree BB is expensive, I do think they are worth it as I seem to be able to use less FO than called for. I have not experienced scent fading at all with them. They were slacking in the shipping dept for a while, but IME that has improved. It takes about a week for me and I'm clear across the country from them.
I am a big fan of Rustic Escentuals as well.
Yup, I noticed right away with FOs I purchased from other places that it required more and the scent didn't stick as long. I have some soap that's 2 years old and I CAN still smell the scent. With those from other vendors, the scent had faded some or altogether by 6 months. If one must use more for the same amount of soap batter it isn't really less expensive to use even though per oz it is less expensive to buy. Despite the less expensive cost, if the scent dissipates much sooner then it's not serving me well.
 
As for shipping with BB, I think they are great now. I ordered on a Wednesday and got my order on a Tuesday, in Canada. Shipping wasn’t bad but the brokerage fee :eek::eek:o_O but they are FOs I needed.
 
Everybody, take a calming breath, PLEASE!

As the original poster, I just wanted to point out that to me it appeared that BB is now more expensive than a lot of the other suppliers! My relationship with BB started about 5 years ago. I am forever grateful for the Soap Queen's instructional videos that spurred my exploration into soap making. They have some REALLY good fragrances. I noticed the price change when I started shopping for a re-order of some my favorite scents.

I live on the EAST coast and BB is on the WEST coast. Shipping was always expensive with BB, so I've always watched for sales and coupon codes to help offset the expensive shipping. I started shopping other fragrance companies a couple of years ago because BB's shipping time and cost were a concern to me. At that point in time BB was very competitive price wise. When BB re-structured their fragrance size options, they also changed their pricing. Now, their fragrance prices seem to be at the higher end of the spectrum ( for the smaller sizes), but the shipping seems to be more competitive. I have 16 0unces of fragrance in my shopping cart right now and the shipping is $8.50. At the 2 lb mark, my shipping was $9. At the 5 lb mark, my shipping went up slightly to $13.

On this order, I wanted to try some new scents that were recommended to me. I prefer to purchase new scents in the one ounce size because I don't want to waste my money buying a bigger size when in reality I might not like it. So, spending $3 on a size of 1 ounce is more cost effective to me than paying $6 for a 2 ounce bottle of something I may end up throwing away. With BB, shipping is based on WEIGHT and Distance. So, buying a bigger bottle of something I may not like costs me more in shipping.

So at the end of the day, BB's pricing schedule is competitive on the larger scale - 7 ounce or bigger bottles, but not competitive on the smaller sizes. Those smaller sizes are what I like to try new scents out. Without a major sale, it just isn't cost effective to try new scents. I discovered so many of my favorite scents back when BB would let you select a fragrance sample for free with your order. I miss those days !

I don't know how realistic it is for bigger companies, BUT I LOVE the business model that Mica's and More has going on. She does a video where she test a new fragrance. She then slices that loaf up into small slices and sends them out as samples upon request when you place an order with her. OMG, this is brilliant IMHO! I would be willing to pay her a nominal fee for these samples because it makes my life so much easier! The benefit to me is that I get to smell the fragrance in CP soap without making a batch! Plus, I get to judge how well the fragrance sticks without committing to a bottle of fragrance. The last samples she sent to me, I checked them monthly for 3 months. At which point, I placed my order for the fragrance. When that order arrived, I requested a new fragrance sample. I didn't like it! I am so glad I didn't have to order the fragrance to find out I didn't like it!

The other model that works great for me is when companies like Candle Science or Rustic Essentual do their .99 sample sale once or twice a year. I found a 50% off the one ounce sizes of fragrances from LoneStar this year too. That made their fragrances $1.00 to $1.25 for 1 ounce.

Yup, I noticed right away with FOs I purchased from other places that it required more and the scent didn't stick as long. I have some soap that's 2 years old and I CAN still smell the scent. With those from other vendors, the scent had faded some or altogether by 6 months. If one must use more for the same amount of soap batter it isn't really less expensive to use even though per oz it is less expensive to buy. Despite the less expensive cost, if the scent dissipates much sooner then it's not serving me well.

I have had good and bad with EVERY company that I've order from INCLUDING Bramble Berry! In fact one of the WORSE CP soaping experiences I've ever had was with BB's Apricot Freshia. That scent morphs to something NASTY if it is allowed to gel. This is why I am so big on ordering SMALL sizes and testing the fragrances myself, regardless of who I purchase the scent from.

As for shipping with BB, I think they are great now. I ordered on a Wednesday and got my order on a Tuesday, in Canada. Shipping wasn’t bad but the brokerage fee :eek::eek:o_O but they are FOs I needed.

That is a REAL IMPROVEMENT! It use to take them at least 7 days just to ship my orders. Then another 5 days for it to travel to the East Coast. Everything was shipped UPS Ground. I was always waiting at least 2 weeks to receive my order and that was after paying at least $20 for shipping.
 
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Is BB decreasing their bulk items to make room for kits? Otherwise, how do the kits make them less of a source for business soapers?

EOs have become so popular, and you can't just create a lavender farm (for example) out of thin air. Supply and demand. (sigh). I just can't stomach using any EOs but mint in soaps anymore.
 
I have had good and bad with EVERY company that I've order from INCLUDING Bramble Berry! In fact one of the WORSE CP soaping experiences I've ever had was with BB's Apricot Freshia. That scent morphs to something NASTY if it is allowed to gel. This is why I am so big on ordering SMALL sizes and testing the fragrances myself, regardless of who I purchase the scent from.
I got a sample of apricot freesia last year and it has a very short shelf life. I get that most suppliers say to use their fragrances within a year...but to me, this is unacceptable. I think it was around 9 months I was prepared to try it and it had morphed badly. I also gel all of my soaps, so I'm glad I never got to use it.
I have had so many scents fade on me from BB within the year, and do not experience the same with WSP or the few NG scents that I've used. So for me, I have pretty much written them off.
 
I just made a calculation: around 60 ml (2 ounces) of Apple Sage from BB, costs 11 dollars for me. If I buy it in The Netherlands (I converted the euros to dollars).
Only six dollars would be perfect for me, almost half price...
 
just to make you feel better ladies the prices of 2 oz in Canada is like $9 plus shipping the lowest I pay is 18.99 plus 13% Tax

Where do you order from? Windy Point has FO's in 1 oz sizes starting at $3.75, 4 oz as low as $10 and 8 oz $20 and up. Their Eucalyptus EO is 9.35 for 100 ml and 23.50 for 250 ml.They offer free shipping on orders over $125. I've also ordered from Voyageur in Canada. New Directions Canada has great prices too but I haven't ordered from them yet. As I live close to the border I've ordered from Brambleberry and Wholesale Supplies.WSP is the absolute slowest at shipping. Sometimes you need to factor in when you need an item and pay a bit extra to get better service. I ordered from from nurture 11/29 , wsp 11/30, 12/02 and voyageur 12/01. Nurture order should be here Tuesday, Voyageur on Monday, WSP orders one is in the warehouse, one still processing. Voyageur shipping can hurt but you sure can't beat how fast they get their orders out.
 
Where do you order from? Windy Point has FO's in 1 oz sizes starting at $3.75, 4 oz as low as $10 and 8 oz $20 and up. Their Eucalyptus EO is 9.35 for 100 ml and 23.50 for 250 ml.They offer free shipping on orders over $125. I've also ordered from Voyageur in Canada. New Directions Canada has great prices too but I haven't ordered from them yet. As I live close to the border I've ordered from Brambleberry and Wholesale Supplies.WSP is the absolute slowest at shipping. Sometimes you need to factor in when you need an item and pay a bit extra to get better service. I ordered from from nurture 11/29 , wsp 11/30, 12/02 and voyageur 12/01. Nurture order should be here Tuesday, Voyageur on Monday, WSP orders one is in the warehouse, one still processing. Voyageur shipping can hurt but you sure can't beat how fast they get their orders out.
yes 30 ml will be 4.35 plus tax but 30 ml is not enough for me so the next size is 132 ml and costs around 15 dollars , some dollar or two less. I do order from windy for as long as she opened the business. I just paid 20 from shipping from Voyager plus 4% ITP tax and 13 % HST so do not comes so cheap for us, For Us people it comes cheap, For $1 USD I need $1.35 CAD . I strictly order from Labelsonline and 100 pages of waterproof labels inkjet ends up welll over $ 100 CAD. So no you are not right, it is not cheap for Canadians
 
I have never ordered from BB specifically because of their shipping costs. I get very good quality FO's from FragranceBuddy, Aztec and Natures Fragrance with actual shipping charged and no upcharge for it or for handling fee's.
 
I think BB is expensive and I only buy from them once a year because they have one fragrance in my line and so I buy other little things from them to make it worth it. They do have great marketing. I was VERY tempted to buy a couple times the past few months.
 
I have never ordered from BB specifically because of their shipping costs. I get very good quality FO's from FragranceBuddy, Aztec and Natures Fragrance with actual shipping charged and no upcharge for it or for handling fee's.
BB changed their pricing system this year. Their shipping has came down a lot and is now more in line with a lot of the other companies. However, I think when they lowered their shipping rates, they raised the prices on their products to compensate.

While I agree BB is expensive, I do think they are worth it as I seem to be able to use less FO than called for. I have not experienced scent fading at all with them. They were slacking in the shipping dept for a while, but IME that has improved. It takes about a week for me and I'm clear across the country from them.
I am a big fan of Rustic Escentuals as well.

I agree, I think BBs shipping time has improved. I have a few scents from RE that I really like, but I hesitate to order because the shipping is so expensive from them. They refuse to use USPS. I live two states away and shipping is as much as bramble Berry's used to be.... So it isn't cost effective to place a small order....
 
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As for shipping with BB, I think they are great now. I ordered on a Wednesday and got my order on a Tuesday, in Canada. Shipping wasn’t bad but the brokerage fee :eek::eek:o_O but they are FOs I needed.
I finally relented and was about to buy from BB for the first time but when I went to check out my shipping fee to Ontario was going to be $43!!! I couldn't justify that...and now I'm glad I didn't if the brokerage fee is even more outrageous :confused:. BB purchases will have to wait for another day!
 
I finally relented and was about to buy from BB for the first time but when I went to check out my shipping fee to Ontario was going to be $43!!! I couldn't justify that...and now I'm glad I didn't if the brokerage fee is even more outrageous :confused:. BB purchases will have to wait for another day!
add the border fee and you easily pay over a hundred even the item was $10 USD
 

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