Meh...
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Mama Bear soaps
- Thread starter michiganlover
- Start date
I placed my order for the first time from her. I hope I will place many more in the future.
To be fair, I don't think MB is a B&B vendor.
Plus, it's not a tribute to MB but more a discussion of her business closing down.
Agreed
I don't think most of the posts in question were meant to trash MB. I think they were meant to imply that recently, over the past year in particular, there has been a large amount of new competition, and that MB has to change something if she wants to "stay in the game"
I wouldn't call stating the obvious pathetic, I'd call it having the guts to say what needs to be said. The day nobody is allowed to say anything bad about a product is the day I quit this forum.
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- Thread starter
- #105
Correct, I started the thread, despite the fact that I don't like her products. I started it as a courtesy to the members of this board to share information; I didn't start it to support Mama Bear.
I almost wish I wouldn't have started it now: it appears she already had a job opportunity lined up, an opportunity she apparently has now walked away from. The job would have meant a steady income that can be relied upon, versus the total unpredictability of a failing business. I know people get great emotional attachment to small business, and consider it to be their baby. But at some point you need to be realistic, and know when to walk away.
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I don't recall saying it was a tribute, nor did I say anyone should hold their opinion of any product, so we can leave the asinine assumptions alone. However, do you really think it is the best place to air out distaste?
If it was a thread asking for an opinion, sure, complain till you feel satisfied, but a thread that has turned into an overwhelming support?
Perhaps pathetic was a bad choice of words? Let's go with sad...
If it was a thread asking for an opinion, sure, complain till you feel satisfied, but a thread that has turned into an overwhelming support?
Perhaps pathetic was a bad choice of words? Let's go with sad...
Ok, guys, let's move on.
That's really uncalled for. After all this is just soap. Regardless of what Sue does we still have choices from other great vendors.
Agreed.
Pot. Kettle. Black. You stay classy.
http://www.facebook.com/welcomeback/requests/#!/pages/Mama-Bears-Soaps-and-Gift-Shop/174246802590952
It appears that she got enough orders coming in after posting the original announcement to give it another go. Glad to hear that. When I started coming to this site over two years ago this was one of the first vendors I remember. Love to see those artisans stay in business.
It appears that she got enough orders coming in after posting the original announcement to give it another go. Glad to hear that. When I started coming to this site over two years ago this was one of the first vendors I remember. Love to see those artisans stay in business.
Website is functional. Just ordered and paid w/PayPal. I hope others will quickly put in the orders they've been considering. I know some folks only use soaps with tallow, but I find her soaps make great lather. Her creativity and customer service are second to none.
Interesting. She was going to close down due to money problems, she gets a ton of orders in her support so she... buys more stuff to make more soap? Strange one. Maybe everyone ordered stuff she didn't have in stock and now she's forced to buy more stuff to make new soaps.
I like her soaps, but don't use them nearly enough to justify new purchases. I bought 4 pucks two or three years ago and still have 4 pucks...
I like her soaps, but don't use them nearly enough to justify new purchases. I bought 4 pucks two or three years ago and still have 4 pucks...
I just placed a small order with Mama Bear. I like trying new soaps
Well...
Last night I emailed her and told her that she needs a business, not a hobby. Then I told her that perhaps she should raise prices enough to make a profit. Finally, I said she should have a line on the order site for "EMBP" at $5 per puck of soap. She didn't seem to want to raise prices.
This morning I ordered a puck of Old Barbershop shaving soap, but still couldn't find the EMBP.
BTW, EMBP stands for "Extra Mama Bear Profit". If you like her products, then this should make sense.
Last night I emailed her and told her that she needs a business, not a hobby. Then I told her that perhaps she should raise prices enough to make a profit. Finally, I said she should have a line on the order site for "EMBP" at $5 per puck of soap. She didn't seem to want to raise prices.
This morning I ordered a puck of Old Barbershop shaving soap, but still couldn't find the EMBP.
BTW, EMBP stands for "Extra Mama Bear Profit". If you like her products, then this should make sense.
Sorry, but at $10 a soap, she is charging plenty, especially given the soaps are not triple milled.
So many other artisan's are making fantastic soaps (which are not just glycerin based) and are charging less and [IME] perform better and last longer than MB.
To me, it doesn't make sense that just because a business is failing, the customer willingly pays more in order to keep the business afloat.
What about if MB was making a profit, would there be a "CMP" (claim my profit) option on her website so the customer gets rewarded when times are good?
She could give it another go and try to become more efficient, look for cheaper suppliers (even though from the wholesale rates I have seen, soap making supplies are hardly that expensive when we consider the cost of making each soap) etc etc.
Lots of businesses do well and lots also fail. If MB is failing, it's not up to the customer to make her profitable, it is up to her solely. If she can't do it, then close the business down and move on.
Not trying to open fresh wounds, but it seems tha some of the real meat of this discussion has been lost in the last few pages. She's not seeing this as a stop-gap measure until the next lull. She's fighting for the settlement from her fire, so if she can make it until the end of the year and get her settlement, I'm sure she'll be fine. I've been a MB customer for a few years now and this is the first time I've heard of problems like this. Her explanation of the root cause of her troubles seem to make perfect sense. I've known people that have had trouble getting an insurance settlement and it's usually very similar to this, where they have a lot of problems making ends meet while replacing everything that was lost.
That is a good point. At the same time though, there are some excellent ideas here for her to expand her brand to where she can spend less time on the business side and more doing what she loves....making soap
I think she just has too many products. I regularly place orders with soap making supply web sites and the most expensive items are the fragrance and essential oils. Those little 2 to 10$ bottles add up real quickly. Her soaps are very strongly scented so I could imagine that a large portion of her profits go into purchasing more scents. She might be perfectly fine if she concentrated her efforts on a dozen best sellers. She still would be able to bring back a few once and a while as "special editions". Melt and pour also costs more than making your own product. As it is now, I've been offering my soaps for a few months here, and I cant say I'm making a huge profit. All the profit for now goes into buying more supplies. So far I've been able to slowly, very slowly keep more scents constantly in stock. To be honest, I don't think I will ever be able to quit my day job making soap, but i'm still happy soaping on evenings and weekends. Granted I haven't been at it for as long as she has, and I don't have the same level of reputation she has here. I really hope she gets back on her feet. Regardless what we may think of her soap (I own some and like it) or her business, she seems like a good person that deserves better.
Just the threat got me off my butt and onto paypal. Looking forward to trying my choices. Good luck and God Bless, Mama!
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