My Favorite Online Wax Vendors List: Part I

The Yankee Candle Sisters asked me in a comment which online vendors they should try. Instead of replying via comment, I figured I'd make it into a separate post, so everyone can see and others can add their thoughts on specific online vendors! Add away, and remember, these are only my takes and experiences on events! The breakdowns are for my top 3 favorite vendors at the moment (not in any particular order), but other awesome vendors are listed below as well!

*Front Porch Candle Co.*

Positive:

1. They make really good, pretty strong smelling tarts, and a wide variety of scents as well.
2. You can purchase ANY amount and get free shipping, even if it's only one single tart for $1.75! 
3. Their turn around time (TAT) is pretty fast, I usually get my package within a week.
4. They combine orders, so if you order twice within two days, they will probably ship them together. Note: this may increase TAT.

Negative

1. They are increasing their prices for a 4-pack a little bit starting in 2013.
2. The way they have their website set up to release stock: each day, the owners will send out an email telling users what stock is available for that day ONLY; then, it turns into a mad rush to get what you want before someone else does. If the item you want it in someone else's "cart," it will tell you the item is unavailable; the person with the item already in their cart then has 30 minutes to buy, and if they don't, it gets released back into general stock. This basically means you sometimes have to stalk the website to get what you want, and most people don't have the time or want to do that.
3. Getting emails every single day about what stock they have can be annoying for some people (me, I don't mind, and this is not a negative to me, but I included it just in case you hate to clutter your inbox).

*Candles From The Keeping Room* (note: her shop is closed until mid-January 2013)

Positive:

1. High quality, high scented products.
2. Lots of different stock to choose from, and everything is broken down by what type of scent you want (IE: drinks, clean scents, caramels, noels...she's very specific).
3. EXTREMELY fast shipping: this is due to her shop being ready-to-ship (RTS).
4. The owner: Carol is ridiculously sweet. She is very efficient, works her butt off, communicates very easily and fast with people, and is just overall a nice person to do business with.
5. Free samples: Carol gives insane amounts of sample. We've ordered just a few bags both times and gotten 8-10 samples, sometimes even bigger ones, too! You can even request what kinds of samples you want (I've never done all 8-10, but I have done 2 or 3, and she obliges completely if she has the sample!).

Negative:

1. High shipping costs: sometimes, her packages can cost upwards of $15 for shipping. Depending on how much you buy, the cost obviously goes up. She makes up for this with a killer amount of freebies, so it sort of off-sets the shipping cost in my mind! If there is an overage, she refunds immediately.
2. Website: the website can be overwhelming and confusing the first time you visit it. Your best bet is to look around while she's closed and see how the system works. From the main site, if you click on tarts, you will see a wiiiiiiide variety of sections, some of which include sub-sections. If you know where to look, you have a better chance of getting what you want. You can always use the search bar to type in what you want to try and find, too!
3. Website, part II: Carol is also a RTS shop, so if something is there and you want it, but it's in someone else's cart, they have one hour to buy it, and if they don't, it gets released back into general stock. If it's not on the site but you know she makes it, chances are, it's a popular scent, so she'll remake it in no-time.

*Tiffany Candles* (note: her shop is closed until January 7th, 2013)

Positive:

1. New wax blend: I've talked about this several times on my blog, but Tiffany Candles recently came up with a new wax blend. Their older one needed cure time, and this one does not, which means you can melt what you ordered the instant you get your package! YEAH!! 
2. New wax blend, part II: The new wax blend is also stronger and has a better throw. Her scents were good before, but now they are AWESOME! You can really tell the difference!
3. Blending possibilities: Because Tiffany hand-pours all of her candles, you sort of have endless possibilities when it comes to blending. I'm pretty sure the limit is 2 scents per candle (correct me if I'm wrong because I don't know for sure if there is a cap on the amount of scents you can blend), but you can request blends for your candles. ALSO, she has woodwick candles which are usually pretty dang expensive...but hers are really reasonably priced!
4. Customer Service: Tiffany and her husband Gary are very nice people, and they make communication easy via email! They always answer promptly and are willing to go the extra mile for their customers, from giving samples to fixing broken items (in my experience, anyway).

Negative:

1. TAT: This is not a strictly RTS shop, so if you buy candles, woodwicks, or freshly poured items, the TAT will be increased. In the past when I have ordered from this company, TAT has been between a weekish to up to 3 weeks, during sale/busy times.
2. Some people may complain that the prices of her different shaped items cost more per ounce, IE: clamshells, heart tarts, etc. Really though, anything around $1 per ounce is alright with me. I don't mind their prices at all, I was just grasping to try and find another negative, LOL.

So, there you have it, my current top 3 favorite vendor positive and negative breakdown! I'm not fishing for compliments here from anyone, customer or vendor, these have just been my experiences. 

Please, share YOUR thoughts about YOUR favorite vendors! 

And, if I left anything out, let me know and I'll add it into my post! :)