Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thanks to all of you who made 2007 our best year ever! I am convinced that our Premium Soy Tea Lights and 15 Hour Soy Votives are the best on the market .... and it looks like you are convinced too! Thank you for all of your patronage through 2007 and I look forward to providing you with all of your candle needs in 2008.
We have a New Year's Resolution we want to share with you. We are anticipating a lot of changes in 2008 and I'd like to give you, my regular customers, an advanced notice.
The first thing you will notice in 2008 is a new streamlined ordering page for our Premium Soy Votives. You will have a one-page glance at all of our votive offerings - wrapped, unwrapped, unscented , scented, aromatherapy and custom labeled. An unavoidable price increase will also be evident as we try to minimize the impact of ever-increasing soy prices as well as increases on premium fragrance oils, essential oils and overall freight costs. I apologize for this increase but our votives and some other candle lines have been under-priced for so long and we are forced to increase our prices to remain competitive in other areas. I can assure you though that my prices will remain low in comparison to other quality natural soy candle stores and I also ensure that I will give you the most options when it comes mix and matching scents within a given quantity lot. We value your business and we want to be profitable so we can stay in business for you.
Another anticipated change is that our price/quantity configuration for various candle lines will change to ensure the candles you purchase fit in the boxes we have (no more onesy/twosy candles wrapped separately). We will keep our tiered pricing structure (the more you buy, the more you save) because it offers the most cost effective way for our candle lovers to purchase their favorites. You will be required to purchase in quantities of 4, 12, 48, 96 or 192 with the ability to mix & match scents in those configurations.
We have grown this business so much over the last 5 years and now we know what our customers want - quality natural candles and unique candle accessories! So we are reducing our inventory of gift, collectible and home decor items to concentrate on what we do best. We are striving to be your number one source for natural wax votives, tea lights, pillars, jar candles and scented tarts. So we will be offering more of them as well as more styles of related accessories (e.g. votive holders, tea light holders, candle lamps & lanterns and tart warmers).
We will be increasing our unscented candle offering as we know that many of your prefer candles unscented due to allergies and sensitivity to fragrance. Also, our Natural Blends Aromatherapy line will be expanding as a lot of customers are enjoying the earthy and true to life aromas of these candles.
We also will be reintroducing our wholesale program for certain candle lines. First will be our Premium Soy Tea Lights. Our restaurant, spa and event planning customers are growing by leaps and bounds and we want to offer them additional price breaks on large volume purchases to help them achieve their goals as well.
And lastly, we have discontinued our Scent of the Month discount. We have found that this promotion is just not popular and the time and effort required to modify the website to offer the Scent of the Month just isn't bringing in the sales. Our regular customers use the discount code offered in the quarterly newsletter to get their favorite scents at reduced prices all of the time. Which brings about another change. Since some of our pricing will be increasing, so will our quarterly discount codes offered through our newsletters. Instead of 3-12% discounts, you can expect 5-20% discounts or equivalent gift item promotions (e.g. lighters, candle holders, snuffers, etc).
This transition is going to take us all through 2008 and by 2009, we anticipate being a premier online shop for Premium Soy Candles.
So, in the meantime, what does this mean to you? Well, first of all, significant savings on our gift, collectibles and home decor items. Starting in 2008, we will be marking down our home decor items 20-50%. Browse through our Home Shop, Howl at the Moon Shoppe, & Wreath and Garland pages to see what I'm talking about.
And finally, please enjoy this quarter's 15% discount code. Use it right away to save on our current prices as after January 1, UPS shipping prices are scheduled to rise and after January 10, our prices will slowly creep up a bit. Just enter discount code RESOLUTION015 at checkout to receive 15% off of your total purchase (excluding s&H) until the next newsletter comes out. (discount codes do not apply for wholesale purchases)
Again, I want to thank you for your patronage in 2007 and I look forward to serving you in 2008.
Our best wishes for a happy and healthy 2008 to you and your family. And as always, please take time out in 2008 to enjoy the glow!
