# Preferred Lotion Bottles?



## Anita Martin

I am completely out of lotion bottles and need to order more. In the past I used 8oz amber plastic bottles with a black pump top. The problem with the pump was that I could never get all the lotion out of the bottle. Also, the bottle I used was REALLY hard to fill up with 8 oz. I am thinking of going with a sqeeze bottle that sits upside down on it's lid. Anyone have a preference of one over the other? Do customers like one type more than another? 
Thanks


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## midkiffsjoy

OHOHOHOH there was a post like this a couple of weeks back!!! I cant WAIT to see the responses!!!!! (I, not "there" yet...but Im preplanning! grin)


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## Kalne

I have the same problem with my pump bottles....you can never get it all out. I wouldn't mind finding an easily squeezable bottle that sits on its top to the lotion is always near the opening. I have some 4 oz disc top bottles but they are not easy to squeeze the contents out and you have the problem with the last bit staying on the bottom of the bottle. If you're like me you have half a dozen bottles in your bathroom turned upside down (as well as propped against something) trying to get the last bit of lotion to come out. LOL


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## adillenal

I have been using the princess ovals (malibus) for several years. This year I decided to go with the malibus that are squared off. I am really liking them. But they come in 2,4,6 oz and I always sold 2,4,and 8 oz. So for the 8 oz I have a pump in an 8 oz (can't rememebr what that shape is called at the moment).
WSP has the ovals www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com
and the squared ones I get from Bayousome. I use the natural.
http://www.bayousome.com/malibu.htm
I sell many more malibus than I do pumps in my area. Plus I sell way more 2 oz than anything else.


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## Anita Martin

Thanks so much LaNell. I think I am going to try those Malibu bottles. They are so much cheaper than what I've been using. What do you use for labels? I get my labels from onlinelabels.com. Do they carry a label to fit this type bottle? 

I think I am going to do some smaller sizes too, although I have never had a problem selling the larger ones.


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## adillenal

I use full sheets of transparent labels and I have oval shaped labels that I cut out. For the squared off ones I am using the same idea but making the labels rectangle.I can cut out my labels pretty quick and don't have to worry about printing on labels


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## NubianSoaps.com

How do you fill them? Vicki


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## Kalne

I need to order bottles now. I'm going to get some of the malibus to try. I can see having dh make a small stand of sorts to fill them though. Or maybe they will sit upright enough in a cup.


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## SherrieC

What I am sick of, is the Lotion Pumps, I have had so many defective pain in the butt to open pumps, ot of two different types from 2 different shippers. I wish they could get the quality of the major name brand lotions, I bet they don't have such problem.


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## adillenal

I put three at a time into a large mouth canning jar (short or tall depending on the size of the malibu) and use a gallon ziplock(Freezer bags) to fill. I tried a few other methods but this one has worked best. I can go pretty fast since I have had a lot of practice. I looked into other ways of filling (pump in a gallon conatiner) but this works well for me. I use liquid germall plus so I have to let the lotion cool down below 120 so it is getting pretty thick at that time. I make a thick lotion anyway. 

I went to bellows pumps since I don't really make a lot of pumps and have had good luck with them working.


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## SherrieC

LaNell, what's a bellows pumps, where do I see them or get them?


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## adillenal

Here is an example of the bellows pump. They open and close by just turning the top right or left. I ended up with a few somehow and loved them for testers since they were so easy to close when I packed up at the end of the day.
http://www.mckernan.com/store/search.php?mode=search&page=1


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## SherrieC

LaNell that opened the wrong page for me. I cliked on Pumps on that website, and saw many examples of pumps that I currently use, like the calmar pumps 2 and 3 on the page. They are the ones I have so much trouble with. Can regular folks order from the company? Like small orders of 500 pieces?
Sherrie


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## adillenal

Oops.
Don't knwo where that page came from. But I didn't buy mine there. Can't remember off hand where I got them. They are sometimes called Laguna pumps too.
Try this one.
http://www.soapandthings.com/pc-2148-68-24410-black-wide-laguna-pump.aspx


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## SherrieC

LaNell, that is the coolest thing I've ever seen. I wonder how it would look with my bottles.. We have an OLD fashioned theme going.
Does it pump well? Do you have any complaints on them? You say you like them for testers would they be something good for general sales as well or, some reason I wouldn't want to use them for normal every day sitting on the shelf or mailing bottles?


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## adillenal

I use them for testers and have had good luck with them always pumping. I make a limited number of 8 oz bottles with the bellows pumps for sale and I have never had a complaint about the pumps. 
My main line is the malibus but I figure there are always going to be those that prefer a pump. I have plenty of the other kind of pumps but they just sit in the box cause I prefer the bellows. I also like the easy open easy close feature.


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## NubianSoaps.com

50 cents each just for the pump  Ahh, no...

I do keep some pumps for tesers, but my customers pefer the snappy lids (disc lids) anyway. Vicki


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## adillenal

I buy in bulk elsewhere but that link would not work. Besides, I have customers that prefer pumps and others like the fliptop lid. I just raise the price for pumps


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## Anita Martin

Another thing I don't like about the pumps is that everytime you use it, there is that bit of dried lotion in the end that you have to wipe somewhere. I like the idea of closing the bottle to air. But pumps for testers are certainly nice.


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## adillenal

I agree about the dried bit of lotion and I have to remember to pump some lotion at the first of every show so it isn't there for the customer but I can't do that at my craft mall booth.


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## Joysey

*Thanks for your advise*



adillenal said:


> I have been using the princess ovals (malibus) for several years. This year I decided to go with the malibus that are squared off. I am really liking them. But they come in 2,4,6 oz and I always sold 2,4,and 8 oz. So for the 8 oz I have a pump in an 8 oz (can't rememebr what that shape is called at the moment).
> WSP has the ovals www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com
> and the squared ones I get from Bayousome. I use the natural.
> http://www.bayousome.com/malibu.htm
> I sell many more malibus than I do pumps in my area. Plus I sell way more 2 oz than anything else.


WOW, thanks for the fantastic information, I have just spent the last hour on the www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com website, its FANTASTIC. Thanks for a links, I think this company should pay you a commission


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## NubianSoaps.com

Something else to think about is if your business grows. The boston rounds fit in all the medium, large flat rate boxes and also the regional boxes, standing up...so you could wholesale lotion with them, without finding custom size boxes to fit the other bottles. Free boxes in other words  Vicki


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## Kalne

My boston rounds won't stand up in the regional boxes. I also fit more than 8 oz of lotion in them, 9 oz with no pump and 8.5 with a pump.


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## Joysey

Thanks, thats great to know as the postage has gone up so much.


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## Angelknitter12

Vicki, I fill my Malibu by putting them in a row in cups, then I fill with a funnel. It works well.


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