Selling both CP and MP soaps?

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harrietrosie

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Hi there, I'm totally new to the soap making world and this forum!

I've been experimenting with MP soaps to test out which scents I like together, but I'd love to start a store selling CP soaps. Do you think it would be odd to start the shop now with some of my MP soaps, and then in a few weeks add in CP soaps, once I've got the hang of them? I'd like to sell the MP soaps I've made so far (the good ones!) but I don't know if it'll look odd to sell both types in one store as they're quite different.

I'd love to know the thoughts of some experienced soap makers!
 
If you don't know how to make soap, then you should not be selling soap. The end.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. If you haven't even made CP you certainly shouldn't even begin to think about selling it. Seriously, if you read posts on this forum you will see that it's recommended you have at least a year's experience under your belt before even planning on selling it.
 
There is a TON more to soap making besides seeing what scents you like together.

Also, MP and CP are really two different art forms. They have very different ingredients and techniques.

I know you are just excited and enthusiastic, but it is kind of insulting for a person who has never even made CP to be talking about selling it to folks who have been making to for years. There are people on this forum who take this craft very seriously and have worked hard to perfect their recipes.
 
MP is much easier to get a handle on, if you want to sell those it only takes a couple of months to get to the place that you might feel comfortable selling. Also, since they are pre-made bases, there is much less that can go wrong w/r/t stuff that could be dangerous or changes/morphs to make your soap different than when it was when you started out (curing, colors/fragrances morphing, these things take months to develop/change w/CP, and then when you add in cure times and changes in recipes/formulas, it is a process which just takes time.)

Sell the MP when you have some nice ones that you can replicate easily and that you think people will buy. Work on the CP in the meantime and learn, it is really fun. If it is any comfort, buyers often prefer MP b/c they hold scent better and (at least with the clear bases) you can do really pretty things with them, many of which you cannot w/CP.
 
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not_ally thanks for the kind response, I've been weighing up which one would be better because as you say the scents hold better, but personally I prefer to buy CP soaps so that's what I'd like to sell long term. I'm just worried about if it'll look odd if I start out selling MP then introduce CP as well later.

To clarify, I'm new to soap making but I'm starting to sell them with a friend who is used to soap making, we're getting together because I know about marketing and she knows about soaps. But since we're both involved I want to make sure I really understand how it all works so I can market them well and so I can help to make them and create new recipes, so I'm learning now.
 
If you want to sell CP...then why not learn to make CP? What you are learning about scents and MP isn't going to carry over into MP. Many FOs that play well in MP don't in CP, so you will basically be starting over.
 
I'm just worried about if it'll look odd if I start out selling MP then introduce CP as well later.

I don't think it will seem odd at all. There are some people who make spectacular MP soaps and then add various CP ones in later. I personally love clear MP, did it for a couple of years before CP, and still really like it. CP is just a much, much longer learning curve.

How long has your friend been making CP (here, the general recommendation is to work it for at least a year before you start to sell?) If she is experienced and good, could you not just put her CP soaps on the site w/yours, and then work it out as you go on, if you want a mix of those types from the beginning?

I know it is tricky sometimes working with friends, if you do that just make sure you are clear about agreeing on the business aspects when you start, and as questions come up when you continue.
 
not_ally I believe her mom taught her when she was younger, and she likes to make a batch for christmas presents and things like that, so she's been doing it infrequently for years and seems to know what she's doing! I'm glad you think MP and CP soaps are fine together as I think that's what we'll do, at least for now. As for the business side, we've known each other since we were 5 and work very well together so hopefully it should all be fine!

Or course I wouldn't sell a not great soap since I'm new to it, I was more looking for opinions on if it's odd to sell both types of soap in one store, and just wanted to give a bit of context on why I was asking.
 
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