How cheap can you make your candles?! Are cheap candles over?

My name is Jeff Standley and I teach people how to make candles and create a business around them. Thank you again for watching. If you have anything you would like to see please message me.
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standleyhandcrafted
standleyhandcrafted
Website: www.standleyhandcrafted.com
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woodenwick.com/
www.sixteenseventeen.com
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[@ashleylafleur6832]

You might also consider the cost of shipping materials and explain how we can keep those costs down. There’s also fees for people who sell on Etsy, Amazon, etc.

[@kimberlyolson4705]

Holy eye opener Batman!!!!! My old fashioned calculations per single were close but once I recalculated it in bulk.......what a difference! Thank you!

[@mxj28]

Omg thank you for the cost calculator! I’ve been trying to figure out how to determine this! This is a lifesaver!!

[@periseanbaltimore4064]

Can't believe I found this but I'm glad I did, thank you oh so much for this, I'm just starting out so info like this is super valuable

[@oomc433]

Damn I just liked a video that was helpful and awesome!!

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

Thank you!

[@latricejohnson3210]

Thanks for the video, Jeff. And, yes...I thank God that The Flaming Candle is 30 mins away and Peach State Candle Supply is an hour.

[@harmonywaycreations]

This is a great video. Thanks so much for turning me on the cost calculator along with all the other awesome calculators you have on the site. I've been making candles since 2014 (had to take the last 2 yrs off due to illness and getting back in) and had no idea of this website. Epic!

[@brendaburke345]

Great video and love your calculator. Depending on where you live though, the retail price may be quite high. In the area I live in, you wouldn’t sell too many 8 oz candles for $17

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

The area you are in definitely makes an impact.

[@Cotton_Wood_Candles]

Thank you for all the advice.. you have offered over the years! 🙌🏼

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

Thank you for watching. 🙂

[@latinlabel]

Great video. Extremely helpful!!!

[@Alwyzrite28]

It would be cool to have a little section that shows the profit margin. maybe not many people look at that but I have a spreadsheet that breaks all this down plus what the profit margin is. It's helpful. But I do love this calculator

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

Thank you! There is a spot for wholesale and retail profit margins. We’re thinking of another section?

[@Alwyzrite28]

@@StandleyHandcrafted I meant having it terms of a percentage. It's easier for me knowing the actual percentage of making cost and the profit margin of that makes sense.

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

@@Alwyzrite28 Oh that’s a good one. I’ll see what I can do.

[@Alwyzrite28]

@@StandleyHandcrafted for business purposes it's super helpful

[@BlackDogDesigns]

Fantastic video, sounds like I am pretty spot on with my pricing.

[@cherylmeehan6915]

You've got some cool calculators on your site!

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

Thank you!

[@lisastone3969]

Hello what would be a good place to get your wax from and also the wick thank you

[@juanwhick5589]

Ie learned so much from. I appreciate the openness.

[@khopkins104]

Very helpful!

[@cetriyasArtnComicsChannel]

For me, I'm looking to find a blank label wholsaler as I personally don't want to make the candles and some of these prices are tough

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

That's actually a great way to go for a lot of people. Overhead is lower, space for supplies is lower and you have way more free time to spend selling.

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

Your comment prompted me to make a quick video about this topic. This is such a good way to go right now in this economy. I'm tagging your channel in the video.

[@cinderandsmokecandleco]

Great info as always! Maybe ink for the printer and allow for gas to deliver.

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

Definitely stuff to add once you get your base price. I have another video that show's all that extra stuff. :)

[@marvincorbin5322]

We can't even sell a jelly jar candle for the $8.91 wholesale price where we live.

[@jennifercronk4086]

Where is the link of breaking down cost you mentioned

[@daphneyjeanpierre2754]

I have a question do candles have a shelf life. I have wax that I bought since 2020 and wanted to know if I can still use them.

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

If it was stored in a dry place you should be more than ok to use it.

[@ramonecd]

How close are you to Cierra candles?

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

They’re a couple of hours away. Brambleberry also.

[@traviscrawford675]

Great information. Wish you had a soap cost calculator.

[@cherylgrace2744]

The printer you use for your shipping labels does it work for Shopify?

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

Yep it connects right up. 🙂

[@cherylgrace2744]

@@StandleyHandcrafted thank you so much for your help. I enjoyed your vlog always so informative

[@MarcJMusic]

Hey Jeff, do you have any company recommendations for getting labels for the actual candle printed. I kinda want something with a clear background and I can't remember seeing it in the book you wrote. If I'm overlooking it just direct ne to the chapter and I'll go back and read it.

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

@@MarcJMusic Check out Lightning Labels, they do amazing work in all styles

[@MarcJMusic]

@@StandleyHandcrafted thank you sir! You've been an awesome teacher and a great inspiration.

[@susanmccabe1679]

Adding labor time would be more than just a few cents. Example if your hourly rate is $12 and you make 6 candles per hour that would be an additional $2 per candle.

[@susanmccabe1679]

Or if you make 12 candles per hour then an additional $1 per candle. Thanks for your videos Jeff!

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

I have another video that goes into those details, this video was more addressing the questions that kept coming up about base material costs.

[@hollyhobbyist1659]

I wish ppl would preface these videos with "This is a very general pricing structure and your price should be unique to your business and costs". I only say that because I see people asking for pricing help all the time and it isn't as cut and dry as x2 for wholesale or x4 for retail. It's a starting point. Not at all a bad video or anything. I just feel like it can sometimes hurt businesses as a whole because people forget to include so many other costs. Labor/time, insurance, marketing, website fees, Esty fees, market fees, shipping materials can be super costly, the list goes on. what if you suddenly need to hire help but your pricing doesn't allow for it? Again, not knocking your video, just wish ppl coming into the industry had a more in-depth understanding of pricing because not pricing correctly can really hurt them in the long run if their goal is to truly grow a sustainable business.

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

I fully agree with you on the points that you made and I do have many other videos that go into exactly what you were just talking about. I probably could have made a few more references to those videos in this video, but this video was made after receiving a very specific question or thought about this topic. The bigger goal is to hopefully have people who are interested in this go through other videos so that they can get the full scope of the business.

[@hollyhobbyist1659]

@@StandleyHandcrafted oh I understand that. It's just a pet peeve of mine.

[@BrittanyTishar]

i'm farely new to the candle industry but not a new business owner. i just think new business owners are lazy. it shouldn't be his responsibility alone to provide this information. you must do your research. if you youtube all of your business guidance you probably shouldn't be starting one. and this isn't directed to you in particular but let's stop holding strangers accountable for research we should be conducting on our own. thanks for your videos stanley.

[@hollyhobbyist1659]

@@BrittanyTishar If you are putting out content to help new business owners how can you justify this logic? I agree you can't get ALL your info from youtube but it's where most people start. I wholehearted believe that you need to invest in educating yourself on business. But a 5 second disclaimer never hurt anyone. I wasn't saying Jeff did anything wrong, pricing is a pet peeve of mine so I always feel compelled to say something. There is so much BS out there about pricing. When someone is starting out they need to understand pricing is complex. It's not just "cost x 4", at least not if you want to actually grow a business. It's something *I* wish I knew when I started.

[@susanplouff7412]

But the two companies are not apple and oranges. Natures garden is about $25 for 16 fl oz for vanilla. Candle Science is under $20 for 16 oz. Besides the obvious cost difference, the natures garden, due to the fluid oz makes about half as many candles as the Candle Science selling fragrance by weight. This makes Natures Garden crazy expensive for fragrances. This is too bad, too, as I love their scents.

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

You are right for most products. I was really looking for ways to show it cam still be done with most companies. Also the oil amounts are the same from CS and NG. I’ve used both of them a lot.

[@dellraefearn-lawrence2266]

We still struggle with heatthrow

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

You’re struggling with hot throw?

[@rudygarza6410]

It’s shipping that hurts

[@sorayashahi]

This doesn’t really help much. The problem we’re having is everything is going up. But looking for the cheapest of everything just lowers any brand.

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

You don’t have to go cheap if you don’t want too and this really highlights that certain candles haven’t gone up that much at all.

[@Draconamous]

$10? I can make coco apricot Knox glass from aztec and keep it under that... 3.33 after shipping for jelly jar. And gonna sell for $10 at events. 3x the cost is still 3x the cost. And you get better repeating customers which is more valuable then the occasional $18 priced.

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

If you look around you can definitely get cheaper prices, and ordering in bulk can really help with cheaper pricing for sure.

[@Draconamous]

@@StandleyHandcrafted I got all sorts of places. My favorite use to be lonestar. But they were hit the worst with shipping and now they are higher than CS.

[@StandleyHandcrafted]

@@Draconamous Oh yea some places took a huge hike. I’m all over the place now comparing things before I buy.

[@Draconamous]

@@StandleyHandcrafted va candle supply, and aztec are the best I've seen. 16/17 west coast includes lid and not bad shipping.