Teach Soap

Okay, I came here through the BB site, and I think they have really good customer service But the shipping can be expensive for me all the way on the east coast.

I'm leary about buying else where because I had a bad deal my first try. All the story told, my bank reimbursed me the fraudulent charges, but it really soured my tastebuds so to speak. So I paid more between finding stuff at the local co-op, shopping at my local stores, and then purchasing what I couldn't find there from BB and paying heavy shipping. I love knowing that BB is a reliable company and am not in a hurry to switch.

But, are there things they don't carry and wish they did? Where do you find items that BB doesn't have available? Do you shop local or on the web?

BB is by far one of my best online purchases ever and I love their little gifts as a thanks for our orders

Since this forum IS sponsored by BrambleBerry, I will stick with their web site.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Brambleberry is a wonderful company to buy from, great customer service- the educational material is outstanding. I too, find their shipping a little pricey. I use www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com (free shipping on fragrance oils and molds), www.suppliesbystar.com.

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www.lovinsoap.com

Shipping across the US can get pricey.
I have heard good things about they are in MN, so a little closer!

Ooooh, I didn't know this site was sponsored by BB. So sorry. Hope I didn't offend anyone. Goodness. My apologies.

Im on the east coast as well. If you tell me what your looking for I may be able to suggest where to find it. Linda

Brambleberry, hands down, has the best scents and soap bases. I live in NYC, so the shipping can get a tad pricey. Wholesalessuppliesplus.com is good too, and some of the things are cheaper than Brambleberry, but not all. Plus, for me, it's usually hit or miss with their fragrances.

I haven't met a Brambleberry fragrance I didn't like! LOL.

I agree you can't beat BB for service and quality.
It does sort of depend on what I need and since none of us wants to spend more than we have to I usually keep a running shopping list so I can combine items and minimize shipping costs. Often it is worth a little extra shipping to order from BB (I'm on the east coast too) and sometimes the overall cost of my order comes out better with BB anyway. And there are some items I just wouldn't buy anywhere else. But all other things being equal if I can save a few bucks I will.

After comparing price plus shipping plus quality I seem to end up at either BB, WSP, or Columbus Foods when I'm buying oils (though sometimes Columbus can be beat on price). I do order this or that from a couple of other places occasionally but those are the top 3. I also get my olive oil locally at BJ's wholesale and I try to find most of my soaping tools locally at Goodwill or flea markets or I make them myself. Harbor Freight also carries several items I use pretty regularly.

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- Mickey!

I'm on the East coast too. Brambleberry and Southern Garden Scents are my two main fragrance suppliers. Southern Garden Scents has some terrific fragrances that BB doesn't and vice versa. Plus periodically SGS has great shipping specials. New Directions Aromatics for essential oils although I just ordered a few from BB that were well priced. Columbus Foods/ Soaper's Choice for the majority of soap oils, butters. BJ's Club and Costco both have good prices for olive oil.

I've had too many faders from Wholesale Supplies Plus. They may be fine for Melt n' Pour though. I don't care for their essential oils and while it wasn't a real comprehensive study, I did some comparison shopping on the free shipping deal. Shipping is being charged in the price of the fragrances I compared in the sizes I compared. Or the price works out the same or better elsewhere with shipping as it does at WSP with free shipping. It's a good marketing strategy though. There are a couple of fragrances I buy from WSP because I can't get them anywhere else and they do stick in CP.

I was doing melt & pour soap base comparison shopping few days ago because shipping is usually the biggest concern for me considering how heavy those soap bases can get. My conclusion is although BB is the closest to me (I"m west coast) the cost of soap bases + shipping came out the highest. Oh, I mean I'm comparing between BB, WSP, & Columbus. I'm most interested in natural lines, SLS free, 100% pure soap. WSP has high shipping cost but their base price is low. Columbus is somewhere between these 2 but it does not list all ingredients in their soap bases so hard for me to consider. But if buying bulk of oil, Columbus has very competitive prices, though sometimes BB can bet them. And I agree, BB has the best FO.

FYI, TKB trading has the most selection in terms of mica and colorants! I went crazy and blew my budget! Plus they provide free shipping if you order more than $100! Unfortunately that deal does not include soap bases or I would be jumping up and down by now...

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Shieh Design Studio
https://www.facebook.com/ShiehDesignStudio
http://soapandrestless.blogspot.com

5

I just received an order from BB--it's the second one I've purchased. The fragrance oils smell WONDERFUL! Everytime I've ordered a fragrance, it has smelled lovely. Some of the other places I've ordered have been hit or miss. Shipping is fast (4 days from WA to TN)--not too bad! I like the way the bottles of liquids are additionally sealed with tape to prevent leakage. Everything is packaged so well--no chance of breakage or punctures. I spent last night opening, closing, and reopening bottles just to smell the fragrance. My mouth was watering at the Applejack peel. That is the BEST apple smell. I bought it to make bridesmaid soaps for a little friend of mine who is 18 and getting married in October (As a 40-year old, I just sigh and hope it all works out, but I know that she'll absolutely LOVE the soaps!)

I order my fragrances and eo's from Brambleberry. I have used others and theirs are hands down the best. I even have a local supplier of eo's here in Dallas and I don't order from them. I mainly use www.suppliesbystar.com for my oils and such because she is right around the corner from me and I can just pick it up but I have ordered stuff from Brambleberry too. They are always wonderful and have stuff that Star doesn't.

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Haven

Have to say for fragrance oils nobody beats Bramble Berry in quality, consistency, and customer service; shipping and ship times (about 10-12 days) are killer so I have to be a bit ahead of myself in the supply orders (I'm on the east coast too). A close second would be Southern Soapers they're on the east coast so everything is here within 2-3 days, my only beef with them is that a lot of their fragrance oils get discontinued quickly or reformulated and you're not notified (I soap everything from there with a bit of extra caution, low temps, full water), but the customer service is great, and everything is of a very good quality not Bramble Berry's but very close. Wholesales Supplies plus I have a love hate relationship with, I love that everything is pythlate free, I hate that the smallest size I can buy is 2oz, if it was Bramble Berry it wouldn't be an issue but so many of their scents are hit or miss in CP/HP soap I have to make a test batch every single order I rather the option to get a 1 oz tiny size for a tiny test batch. I hate the inconsistency the fragrances are reformulated often so you may by one one month and love it but reorder again next month and it won't be anywhere close to what you had last month. I love the free shipping and the quickness it gets here. Last but not least, Columbus foods their in Ohio too everything gets here withing 2-3 days. Customer service, selection and their prices for oils can't be beat anywhere, with the exception of olive oil if you get it locally. They are my life savers. really!