The Importance of a Sniffy Spot

[Catscankim]

Purposely titled for the "titles and my strange mind" thread

Anyway. I always have soap in a cooler bag wherever I go. I was previously purposely making a hole to smell soap with the shrink wrapping. Then after people started putting their noses all up in the soap sniffy spot, and some people complaining about it because of covid, I started wrapping them with no opening to smell, and a little ziplock baggie with a sample to smell.

Soaps are not selling this way. I had a really pretty drop swirl Cucumber Melon soap...the girl was looking at it, it looked like Miami Dolphins colors...she wanted it for her room at home, but couldn't smell it. I gave her a baggie with a sample of the same soap from the same batch to sniff....she still wouldn't buy it. I'm like "ok, rip off the friggen packaging kim".

I did, just a little piece off the bottom, and she smelled and bought two bars.

I had (same night, tonight), another girl that wanted some charcoal bars. No sniffy spot on my bars. I had two smells...lavender EO and Rosemary Mint FO. She didn't want them without being able to smell them even though I had samples of them both. I even offered her to take one of the samples to the bathroom to try one. I opened one full sized bar, and she bought both: one of each. I'm like no, this one smells like Rosemary Mint...She didn't care, took one of each without smelling them both. Weird.

So I'm thinking...do I make a sniffy spot on all of them, or do I make one or two with holes...then hand them the ones without the hole so they don't actually get soaps with everybody elses noses on them? It kinda pisses me off when people put their noses on my soap, but I do the same thing LOL

 

[soapmaker]

Purposely titled for the "titles and my strange mind" thread

Anyway. I always have soap in a cooler bag wherever I go. I was previously purposely making a hole to smell soap with the shrink wrapping. Then after people started putting their noses all up in the soap sniffy spot, and some people complaining about it because of covid, I started wrapping them with no opening to smell, and a little ziplock baggie with a sample to smell.

Soaps are not selling this way. I had a really pretty drop swirl Cucumber Melon soap...the girl was looking at it, it looked like Miami Dolphins colors...she wanted it for her room at home, but couldn't smell it. I gave her a baggie with a sample of the same soap from the same batch to sniff....she still wouldn't buy it. I'm like "ok, rip off the friggen packaging kim".

I did, just a little piece off the bottom, and she smelled and bought two bars.

I had (same night, tonight), another girl that wanted some charcoal bars. No sniffy spot on my bars. I had two smells...lavender EO and Rosemary Mint FO. She didn't want them without being able to smell them even though I had samples of them both. I even offered her to take one of the samples to the bathroom to try one. I opened one full sized bar, and she bought both: one of each. I'm like no, this one smells like Rosemary Mint...She didn't care, took one of each without smelling them both. Weird.

So I'm thinking...do I make a sniffy spot on all of them, or do I make one or two with holes...then hand them the ones without the hole so they don't actually get soaps with everybody elses noses on them? It kinda pisses me off when people put their noses on my soap, but I do the same thing LOL

So annoying! We will never create the perfect workaround for John Q. Public. Just remember were part of that

 

[Jersey Girl]

Purposely titled for the "titles and my strange mind" thread

Anyway. I always have soap in a cooler bag wherever I go. I was previously purposely making a hole to smell soap with the shrink wrapping. Then after people started putting their noses all up in the soap sniffy spot, and some people complaining about it because of covid, I started wrapping them with no opening to smell, and a little ziplock baggie with a sample to smell.

Soaps are not selling this way. I had a really pretty drop swirl Cucumber Melon soap...the girl was looking at it, it looked like Miami Dolphins colors...she wanted it for her room at home, but couldn't smell it. I gave her a baggie with a sample of the same soap from the same batch to sniff....she still wouldn't buy it. I'm like "ok, rip off the friggen packaging kim".

I did, just a little piece off the bottom, and she smelled and bought two bars.

I had (same night, tonight), another girl that wanted some charcoal bars. No sniffy spot on my bars. I had two smells...lavender EO and Rosemary Mint FO. She didn't want them without being able to smell them even though I had samples of them both. I even offered her to take one of the samples to the bathroom to try one. I opened one full sized bar, and she bought both: one of each. I'm like no, this one smells like Rosemary Mint...She didn't care, took one of each without smelling them both. Weird.

So I'm thinking...do I make a sniffy spot on all of them, or do I make one or two with holes...then hand them the ones without the hole so they don't actually get soaps with everybody elses noses on them? It kinda pisses me off when people put their noses on my soap, but I do the same thing LOL

Don’t have any real advice...people are strange, but I did take advantage of the thread title...thank you!

 

[TheGecko]

You could buy some soap boxes that have the cut outs and then put some a slightly thinner bar of the soap in them. Put a label on the box that say 'tester soap'.

 

[penelopejane]

I wrap my soap in Decorative paper. I have a sample out the front in real cellophane that you can smell the scent through. I’ve got a sticker with “display only” on the cellphone soap which I swap with each batch to make sure the soap in the display one is identical to the wrapped soap and people still buy the cellophane wrapped soap! Go figure.

 

[amd]

So I'm thinking...do I make a sniffy spot on all of them, or do I make one or two with holes...then hand them the ones without the hole so they don't actually get soaps with everybody elses noses on them? It kinda pisses me off when people put their noses on my soap, but I do the same thing LOL

My soaps are shrink wrapped in a band, so two ends are exposed. With the awareness of Covid, and that everyone puts the soap against their nose where germs live, what I started doing is making smelly cups. I use a deli cup with a lid (the little 1oz condiment size, I can get a decent size pack for $8 on Amazon), place half a cotton ball or a paper towel square in the cup and add 10-15 drops of the fragrance. Add an address label to the top and you have a smelly cup that even folks with masks can smell without getting their nose in other people's business. I've done two shows this way, and probably about 80% of the people who come to my booth have no problems using the smelly cups. I do have the soaps out so they can be admired, and people (particularly those who don't wear masks as my state does not have a mandate) will pick those up to smell them so I always offer to grab a "clean" bar when a customer purchases.

No matter how hard you try, you cannot make everyone care about germs. You can only try to help those who do.

Oh, and I do also remind customers that the smelly cups are undiluted fragrance, so when someone says "wow that's strong" I can tell them the soap isn't that strong.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

In general, what I’m getting from this discussion is that potential buyers want to check the qualities of the soaps visually and with their noses. For the buyer who only needed to smell one soap, maybe that was enough to convince them of the quality of the FOs you’re using, e.g. they didn’t get a fake or chemical odor.

 

[jcandleattic]

My advice is mainly for craft shows, but I wrap all of my soaps completely in shrink wrap with the label on the front, however, for the set I have out to sell, I have the thinner butt end that my cutter leaves, as the "sample" - it's anywhere from 1/4" - 1/2" and looks the same as the rest of the bars, and that's the one they can pick up, man handle, sniff, etc., and then they buy the wrapped full sized bar. Maybe you can do something like this?

 

[cmzaha]

I never had sniffy holes in my shrink wrap. When I cut my soaps I always have two thin end cuts that I wrap, label, leaving the ends open. Today with Covid I would probably keep the samples and hand them to the customer after wiping them off with alcohol wipes. I have always spritzed my lotion sample pumps and open containers of balms with alcohol. I would just inform my customers the packaged soaps will smell stronger when unwrapped.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I'f it were me' I'd make samples for sniffy's that they keep. Covid Is Scary & Passed To One Another Through Several Routs, One being direct contact w/ body fluids. So defiantly no sniffy on soap Customers would purchase. Infact I wouldn't want customers touching the soap for sale. cause thats how covid is spread' Hands to Face. But thats me & my perspective. If I saw a person walk up and pick up a soap to look at or sniff' I wouldent want to touch it after. Cause of covid. Makes it hard for a vender. UGH

 

[Rsapienza]

I sell bars with just a cigar band. Most of the batches have a sample end cut, (some get lost in my travels) LOL
I have sanitizer at my table and I keep alcohol in a spray bottle and spritz soaps that have been handled.
I don't really understand the theory that I have often seen that selling soaps unwrapped is reckless and/or irresponsible. The virus can live on shrink wrap as well.
I suppose everyone does what works for them and their tribe

 

[cmzaha]

My customer base would not buy unwrapped soaps, and many told me it was the reason they came to my booth. Just something to think about.

 

[Rsapienza]

My customer base would not buy unwrapped soaps, and many told me it was the reason they came to my booth. Just something to think about.

Oh, I have gone back and forth with it. I haven't had 1 mention of it. It's so strange how different areas are so different when it comes to this virus. I will never understand.
Correct me if I'm wrong and I mean this in all seriousness, wrapping them doesn't prevent the spread so what really is the difference? Covid can live on the wrap as easy as the naked soap, can't it? Our produce isn't wrapped. We still buy it. I just don't see the logic, but maybe there's something I'm missing.

 

[Arimara]

I'f it were me' I'd make samples for sniffy's that they keep. Covid Is Scary & Passed To One Another Through Several Routs, One being direct contact w/ body fluids. So defiantly no sniffy on soap Customers would purchase. Infact I wouldn't want customers touching the soap for sale. cause thats how covid is spread' Hands to Face. But thats me & my perspective. If I saw a person walk up and pick up a soap to look at or sniff' I wouldent want to touch it after. Cause of covid. Makes it hard for a vender. UGH

I must be one of those people who would not care. If someone touches a soap and I want to buy it after they put it down, I'm picking it up anyway. The germs would be on the surface so why not rinse it under running hot water and let it air dry? It's not like it's prepared food and the customer had their face all over it before leaving it alone- it's soap. And if the product is wrapped, I'll just wipe it off like I do everything else when I get home and sanitize it that way.

 

[earlene]

It doesn't matter what we buy, someone has touched it before us. Don't we wash our hands after handling things? I just picked up groceries yesterday that countless others have touched before it ever even got to the store to be placed on the shelves by another number of employees and then taken from the shelf and put into bags and then carried outside in bins to my car at the pick-up area, and put inside of my trunk. It is called no-contact shopping, but really there is still some contact; I had to open my window to verify who I was so they could give me the correct order. But the hand-to-product contact was in no way diminished.

Do I still handle the products the same as I would had I been inside the store and putting them into my cart and walking through check-out? Of course I do. It is my personal responsibility to protect myself and my husband by properly handling these things and doing safe food preparation, such as cleaning fresh produce prior to utilizing. Or letting the dry goods in packages sit long enough to allow the CoVid virus to die of starvation. Either way, it all comes down to the consumer's responsibility to wash their own hands as necessary.

But, that doesn't mean I want to buy unwrapped soap. I don't. When I go into a store that sells unwrapped soap, I might touch it, but I won't buy it. I do touch and purchase unwrapped produce, though. Go figure. It's just a thing.

 

[Rsapienza]

But, that doesn't mean I want to buy unwrapped soap. I don't. When I go into a store that sells unwrapped soap, I might touch it, but I won't buy it. I do touch and purchase unwrapped produce, though. Go figure. It's just a thing.

But, do you feel this way because of Covid, or has this always been your stance on unwrapped soaps?

 

[soapmaker]

I know the "eww" factor is there when thinking of someone touching your soap. Just a thought...soap is what we use to kill the virus. I'm sure there's far more important research to be done than how long the virus lasts on a bar of soap but it has been determined that it lasts on plastic.

 

[dibbles]

One big difference with soap - people just can't seem to keep from putting it right up to their nose and sniffing it - sometimes more than once if they really like it. I've never seen someone do that with a head of broccoli.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I must be one of those people who would not care. If someone touches a soap and I want to buy it after they put it down, I'm picking it up anyway. The germs would be on the surface so why not rinse it under running hot water and let it air dry? It's not like it's prepared food and the customer had their face all over it before leaving it alone- it's soap. And if the product is wrapped, I'll just wipe it off like I do everything else when I get home and sanitize it that way.

Though we differ in opinions right wrong or indifferent' its our opinion's.

 

[TashaBird]

I wrap my soaps in small clear cellophane bags and use a hole punch on two corners for folks to be able to smell. I’m just about to do my first market and trying to figure out how to deal with this. I don’t have sample ends of every kind of soap. But, I have some, and I have samples people can have. I think I’ll let them smell the corners and wipe them down, for now, and see how it goes. Maybe I’ll try and find some containers for smelling bits. Maybe a clear salt shaker with holes?