Factory or Trading Company? How to Tell Who You Buy From
How to tell whether a candle wax supplier is a real factory or a middleman — the four questions, the documents, and the price signals that give it away.
Read the guideSOURCING GUIDES
Candle making & sourcing guides
Practical guides on choosing candle wax, verifying suppliers, reading COAs and building a candle business — written by a manufacturer in Henan, China since 2002.
Importing Candle Wax and Candles from China: Duties and Documents
How classification, ISPM 15 packaging, dangerous goods rules and document timing decide your real landed cost on candle imports from China.
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MOQ Explained: How Minimum Order Quantities Work
What a candle wax MOQ is built from, why factories set it where they do, the four levers that move it, and how to start below it with samples and a trial order.
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How to Test Candle Wax Samples Before You Order Bulk
Four tests worth running on a wax sample — pour, full burn, fragrance load and storage — plus the record sheet that turns a sample into a buying decision.
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Candle Troubleshooting: Frosting, Sink Holes, Wet Spots and Cracks
What frosting, sink holes, wet spots and cracks each tell you about pour temperature, cooling speed and fragrance load — with the fix order that saves a batch.
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ASTM F2417: What the Candle Fire-Safety Standard Covers
What ASTM F2417 is, why a voluntary standard behaves like a requirement at retail, why the edition year matters, and exactly what to request from your supplier.
Read the guideIFRA, REACH and MSDS: Which Document Does What
A COA, a safety data sheet, IFRA documentation and a REACH statement each answer a different question. What candle importers must collect, by market.
Read the guide58° Soy Wax: The Number Every Candle Brand Should Know
What the 58°C melt point means for pour temperature, sink holes, set and fragrance load in container candles — plus a working checklist for buying bulk soy wax.
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Soy vs Sand vs Jelly: Choosing a Base for Your Candle Line
Map your retail format to the right candle base: burn-in-vessel soy, no-flame refillable sand wax pearls, or transparent jelly wax for layers and embeds — with the decision matrix.
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How to Write an RFQ That Gets a Useful Answer in 24 Hours
Six elements every candle supplies RFQ needs — plus the supplier checks that matter (samples, batch COA, MOQ, pre-production samples) and how to judge the quotes that come back.
Read the guideWhat a COA Tells You (and Why We Ship One with Every Batch)
How to read a wax certificate of analysis: batch number, melt point, appearance — what a batch COA proves, how it differs from a certification, and the questions to ask a supplier.
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Candle Kits Wholesale: A Retail Buyer’s Checklist
Contents, wick size, portioned wax, instructions and branding — the buyer’s checklist for candle making kits headed to retail shelves, Etsy and workshops.
Read the guideNew guides publish on a monthly content calendar. Topics answer the questions buyers actually send us in RFQs and at trade desks.
READY TO SOURCE?
Got a spec? Get a factory answer in 24h.
Pricing, MOQ, lead time — plus free samples with COA for whichever grade makes your shortlist.