# Buying in bulk...



## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

So for those of you that made the change to buying butters and liquid oils in serious amounts instead of small volume...how did you start hunting down your sources? Did you start by contacting your smaller amount suppliers first? Especially with shea butter there seems to be danger in getting burned by bad quality, but I really need to save money by buying larger quantities :sigh


----------



## Qadosh Adamah Lamanchas (Nov 2, 2012)

I did what you're doing: asked other people who make soap/handcream out of goat milk :biggrin

I've had success with this company so far http://soaperschoice.com/


----------



## creamtea (Aug 30, 2012)

I am not in the us, but I have read soapers mention a company called Columbus oils.


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

My shea source I completely fell into, if not for him.....for shea in soap I would be using Soapers Choice, then purchasing my shea for lotion and body butters etc...from a better quality source, I buy enough to make several 5 gallon buckets worth and keep the rest in the fridge. I won't share where I get my cocoa butter from which is the main ingredient now in my lotion. Local sunflower with a store card and now a case discount, buys my sunflower for less than Soapers Choice or the larger barrels from Columbus Foods. I won't purchase scent from somebody who doesn't offer 5 and 10 pound discounts. Most of my scents I am either buying the whole 33 pounds, buying 10 pounds or buying from Tamera. I still use AAA for lye, just buying enough so I only pick up once or twice a year with their largest discount, more often if I am picking up my shea also. When I have a loading dock on the property I will be ordering by the pallet delivered here. Local feed store allows me to have my barrels drop shipped there but they will not allow me to drop ship lye.

It's tough sharing local sources, they can get overwhelmed very quickly, we lost our milk jug source like this, I lost my best lye source from this also....so although I deplore people who won't give back, even with just basic information, it becomes understandable at times.


----------



## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

I have been using soaperschoice for years, but I have never called them about drums and 100 lbs of shea at a time before. I am lucky that I have a friend with a loading dock on their new property that I can ship to if I have to...I have been thinking of building one here for years, but I live in the middle of nowhere 



> It's tough sharing local sources, they can get overwhelmed very quickly, we lost our milk jug source like this, I lost my best lye source from this also....so although I deplore people who won't give back, even with just basic information, it becomes understandable at times.


I so understand!


----------



## creamtea (Aug 30, 2012)

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> My shea source I completely fell into, if not for him.....for shea in soap I would be using Soapers Choice, then purchasing my shea for lotion and body butters etc...from a better quality source, I buy enough to make several 5 gallon buckets worth and keep the rest in the fridge. I won't share where I get my cocoa butter from which is the main ingredient now in my lotion. Local sunflower with a store card and now a case discount, buys my sunflower for less than Soapers Choice or the larger barrels from Columbus Foods. I won't purchase scent from somebody who doesn't offer 5 and 10 pound discounts. Most of my scents I am either buying the whole 33 pounds, buying 10 pounds or buying from Tamera. I still use AAA for lye, just buying enough so I only pick up once or twice a year with their largest discount, more often if I am picking up my shea also. When I have a loading dock on the property I will be ordering by the pallet delivered here. Local feed store allows me to have my barrels drop shipped there but they will not allow me to drop ship lye.
> 
> It's tough sharing local sources, they can get overwhelmed very quickly, we lost our milk jug source like this, I lost my best lye source from this also....so although I deplore people who won't give back, even with just basic information, it becomes understandable at times.


I didn't think of it like that, but when you do think about it, if you have someone supplying you with Shea butter for example, to suddenly have 100's of calls that would be overwhelming. On the other hand maybe the businesses would like every cent they can get. It is a tough one.


----------



## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I buy from Columbus and order enough at a time to have a truck deliver it on a pallet. I don't have a loading dock but the truck is able to pull into my drive and lower the pallet right in front of my garage door.


----------



## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

How much do y'all buy at a time? A year's worth? Half a year's worth? What does "buying in bulk" mean to you?


----------



## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Kalne said:


> I buy from Columbus and order enough at a time to have a truck deliver it on a pallet. I don't have a loading dock but the truck is able to pull into my drive and lower the pallet right in front of my garage door.


For others, what you want to ask for is that the delivery be made with a "liftgate." That is what allows the truck to lower the pallet. Otherwise, they have to remove everything from the pallet individually to get it off the truck (if you don't have a loading dock) and they will not be happy about it! Depending on where you are getting your supplies from, sometimes there is an extra charge for that, sometimes not.

At this point, since I can get quite a few of my oils locally, I buy coconut in 50 pound pails (cheaper than from Columbus) two or three at a time, and olive oil by the case (in the metal cans) maybe 5 cases at a time. Most other oils, I get from Columbus, either in a cube with a spigot (castor, for example) or in a gallon jug (avocado, EPO, etc) for the more specialty oils. I haven't priced out whether it would be cheaper to do a huge buy just once a year, but I think that since I am not getting the coconut, sunflower, or olive from them, I would be hard-pressed to fill a pallet. Coconut might be cheaper if I got a whole 55 gallon drum, but there are additional logistical considerations for that and I don't currently have space without major rearranging. And sunflower might be less expensive from Columbus, but I am using a local source (not just locally purchased, but also locally produced...this is Kansas, after all) and I like that. Lye, I get a 50 pound bag (sometimes two) at a time, again, locally. I don't really want to deal with storing more than that.


----------



## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

I get my oils from columbus and have it delivered by the pallet. I can unload a semi truck with my tractor that has spears on the front end loader. I try and get 6 months worth at at time. Lye I pick up locally by the 50lb bag. I buy a years worth at a time. I try and keep my FO/EO buying with the same companies so I can make larger orders and save on shipping. 

I was wondering from another thread. Columbus has the ability to mix up your soap oil formula for you. How does the logistics of this work? I'm assuming they would come in a drum and depending on your formula you would need a belt warmer to keep your oils fluid enough to pump out of the drum. My biggest question is, is there settling of oils in the drum? How do you mix them up before pumping out?


----------



## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

> My biggest question is, is there settling of oils in the drum? How do you mix them up before pumping out?


I have wondered the same thing...I would think it is only your liquid oils you have mixed? Is coconut liquid or not for that application? I know that RBO settles even in the gallon jug it comes in, olive pomace does sometimes, too. There is a place here in CA that sells 2 different premixed soap oil mixes.


----------



## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

Last summer I bought 500lbs lard and a 50 gallon drum of coconut oil from Columbus. Had to pay $50 for a lift to unload the drum. I am halfway through the coconut oil and one cube of lard left, so I guess I will be ordering twice a year. Shipping was $200. When I order by the cube it costs $20 per cube (ten cubes $200), so this way I get the coconut oil shipped free. Where do you shop for local sunflower, discount grocery stores or restaurants? When I tried to buy lard locally, cost was similar. Dorit


----------



## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I've been ordering from Columbus once a year. My other oils I get from a store about 4 hours from here and we make the trip 2-3 times per year. Sometimes we can combine it with another reason to go but not always. Even with the gas it takes the cost savings is worth it.


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Dorit what does your lard end up costing you per pound? I use so much of it for soap classes, having sometimes two classes a day now, that's 4 buckets of lard a day! I already repackage my coconut oil into the Louanne containers, if it saves me enough, I could repackage the lard into lard plastic buckets also. Vicki


----------



## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

For the lard I pay $40 for a 50LB cube/$.80 per pound, but then its $20 per box for shipping. Coconut oil, $61 for 50# bucket or $1.22pp
Are you saying you can sell it to me cheaper? What about shipping? If my cost would be the same and you can make some money on it I'll buy from you. Dorit


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

No  I meant if it was cheaper for me to repackage for soap class for me  Soap class is an illusion, that I actually am soaping with lard, coconut oil and soybean oil, from walmart. It is lard in the actual bucket, but I pump my coconut oil from my drum into my old Louanne containers, and the soybean oil jugs contain sunflower oil. I do make up lye batches in front of them....but don't when I soap normally. I do not use my commercial molds either...and when I get my cutters, I will show them, like I do my commercial molds, but we cut soap with a miter box and dough scraper. I also use my small Waring, in a 2 gallon bucket.

Just doing math in my head, and that can be dangerous...can't you get lard in 4 pound, 8 pound or 5 gallon buckets cheaper locally than that? Even walmart is cheaper than that, I use a store that caters to Latino's. Vicki


----------



## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

Oh, OK , I misunderstood. I will try the local stores. that's a good idea. thanks. Dorit


----------

