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The Woes of a Personal Shopper

I love my life and what I do, no doubt about it, nonetheless, there are some woes and I’ll explain more as I write this article. Personally, what makes my job so exciting is the amount of clients that I have around the globe and the amount of various items that they buy using me as their personal shopper every week, month, quarter, and or just a few times a year when they shop in bulk. I have had such an enormous outpour of followers on Instagram and I cannot thank those enough who have been so gracious  to tell family, friends and even complete strangers about my services as a personal shopper whether it be their classmate, roommate, brother, sister, cousin, mom, dad, aunt, uncle or spouse. I have clients that do testimonials and short videos telling others about their experiences with me and Savin Exporting

I take what I do very seriously as I shop for each and every customer as if I were shopping for myself. I built my website a few months back and remind people to review it as policies do change without notification. My shopper fees are 15% across the board except for twice a year and that is during any semi annual sales that stores may have both at their brick and mortar or online. I prefer doing all of my business online as my time is valuable and getting in a car and driving about takes more time and effort. It also sets me up for the things that people do not think about which are accidents during wet or dangerous seasons. Ice and snow are hazardous in my region and it only takes once to have this happen for anyone to not want to get in the car again for this exact reason.

Most of my customers disregard the increase shopper fees during any semi annual sales, or after holiday sales as they couldn’t get these bargains with anyone else at the ridiculously low prices offered on a website, and if they did, it is most likely because that personal shopper in the USA is not claiming taxes as a running business owner which then puts me in that shaded area where I end up losing. You see, here, I am up against those selling online that are working and selling for ‘fun money’ or so that they don’t have to work a real job and punch a time clock while their other half or significant does. That’s ok IF you are paying taxes. If a personal shopper doesn’t have an EIN number or a tax ID and is selling and making over $600 annually, they need to fill out a 1099 and most of them don’t. This is what hurts this aspect of my business and being a personal shopper. I have to pay taxes and so should they have to as well.

I don’t run a fly-by-night profession. I run my business on good ethics, morals and values and I expect my employees to do the same. I have children and want them to realize that mom worked hard to get where she is today and that when I get knocked down, I pick myself back up. I have always pushed myself to do more all while striving to shape/mold my kids as well as my coworkers into learning how to run a business themselves and how not to get bullied by those that don’t like change. Mentoring is my middle name. I want everyone to succeed as I have and I don’t want others to get discouraged when they fail. We all fail. We must in order to learn from past mistakes. When this happens in the line of work that I do, you’re either on board with me or you jump ship. I have had repeat customers for well over 6 years now and I get customers that are newbies. There are also those that leave and think that they’ve found someone less expensive and go with them,…until they get ripped off. Their anguish is saddening to say the least. Just ask a few of my customers that have left and come back, or new customers who have suffered worse with another personal shopper who promised them the moon and didn’t return calls, emails, texts as they will tell you that my costs don’t seem so high after all.

Look, I try to do everything possible and in the most professional manner to keep my overhead low and my costs lower. Do keep in mind that in the line of work that I do as a personal shopper, many men and women desire wax products but it does not stop there. I buy anything that can be shipped abroad such as clothing, goodies, foods, treats, collectibles, hobby items, and more.

So many things attribute to the costs that I imply. Paper supplies, the boxes that I have to purchase to ship, packing supplies such as the packaging containers, the employees, payroll, labels, stickers, etc. I also have to pay fees on any of the sites that I use at cost of 3-6% and credit card interest if inventory runs unpaid over 30 days.

At the end of the day, we work for you and with this being said, we do our very best in finding you the best prices even when you think you’ve found an item(s) for an already low value. In all honesty, it ain’t about the money. Yes, of course I like the benefits and financial rewards, nevertheless, I do it for my own personal love for sharing wax and wax products with others and I enjoy buying for customers abroad who cannot buy from America. This gives me great joy in helping them purchase their things on a ‘must have list’ that they’ve created. I also do this so that I can stay at home and work from an office and warehouse while at the same time rescuing kittens and small animals when nursing them back to health is their only source of survival and finding them loving homes is priority for me. Year to date I have saved, rescued and at times bottle fed 82 kittens until they were ready for good caring homes. At the end of the day, my job is glamorous indeed.

I hope that when people read this they’ll understand more as to why at times there need to be increases in fees, and why they should always read up on our website to keep informed of policy changes. Since 2004 I have been in business for myself as I have owned and been successful as the owner of an online travel store, a flower shop, a bridal store and intimate apparel boutique, and now my personal shopper business, Savin Exporting.

Follow me at Shellys_World_of_Wax on Instagram!

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Semi Annual Sales!

Ahhhh this is the time of year when we get all giddy with excitement. Are you ready to shop? The semi annual sales are soon starting up for a variety of our favorite USA stores. Mainly from BBW, Goose Creek Candle and YC come my shoppers largest sales, though we get requests for items from a large variety of stores. This is the time when we stock up for our own personal use, or purchase items for gifts such as anniversary, birthday, holidays, such as Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving.

Whether you prefer candles, body lotions, fragrance mists, pocketbacs, shower gels, car products, or novelty accessories and home decor, you’ll certainly find a large number of scents, sizes and quantities of product.

Items at this time are anywhere from 50-75% off and the deals are steals for sure! Please note that what someone sees available at a store may not be the same merchandise that is or will be available on the online stores. Whether you seek candles or any wax items, you’re sure to find something that you will fancy. Accessories and home decor will also be available so we must buy quickly as there is no telling how long these items will last at such low cost. At this time NO coupons are accepted, none, whatsoever.

This is the time of year to shop for remodeling your home. If you are looking to redecorate your bathroom, bedroom, den or man cave, you’ll find quite the selection of merchandise that has a note of your style, and we’ll get it shipped via Savin Exporting. Our personal shopper service is at your beck and call.

These sales usually last 3-4 weeks long and each day, week there will be new merchandise listed. My job is to shop for you as your personal shopper online for all of your favorite things! Do keep in mind that our normal personal shopper fee is 15%, nevertheless, during these sales the shopper fee does increase to 25%. Why? The prices are so low and drastically reduced. We also have to cover our costs such as supplies, packing and employee wages along with your import fees.

I urge you to check out your favorite websites to see if they are running semi annual sales and if they are, start making that list! If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to reach out to our staff or myself with questions or concerns here at Savin Exporting.

Happy Shopping!

Shelly

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Yellow or White Labels from Yankee Candle?

Are you a candle collector or a buyer? Are you a casual candle shopper or an avid one? Do you look at the candle label on the bottom of your jar? You’d be surprised how many people do not, BUT the numbers of people that do flip it over really out number those who do not.

Most of the time people think that yellow labels are not good. Many times people prefer only white labels, however, there is a difference with yellow labels but most often it is only that there is a slight imperfection with the jar. It could be the color of the wax, or even the scent might slightly vary. Most of the time is it not visible to the naked eye, unless you are a candle guru. Yellow labels are often deemed a ‘do not buy’ jar but I tend to find great deals on yellow labels and some real bargains at Yankee Candle Outlets.

There are American labels that are white labels and these are Deerfield labels. These are sold at Yankee Candle stores but are also shipped to the outlet stores when there is an abundant amount of overflow that the store could not sell before a new seasonal group of scents make their debut.

Deerfield also puts out exclusive jars throughout the year but these cannot be bought at a local YC store, oh no., these can only be bought at the Deerfield or Williamsburg’s Yankee Candle Stores and most of the time you must be there in person to buy them. You can often call the stores to place a phone order but you will need a USA address to ship them too. You should also know that shipping can get rather pricey depending on your purchase.

What are tan labels? Tan labels are generally on jars that are European specialty candles shipped to the US for distribution at outlet stores. This is not always the case though. These are the same quality of wax as the white labels but again, people freak out when they don’t see a white deerfield label. Isn’t it just nice to smell a fabulous aroma in your home or office and enjoy it? Most of the time if you did not look at the bottom of the jar, you wouldn’t know what color its label really was. Cool your jets folks, they still smell good. Stop being so picky! At Savin Exporting we pride ourselves in helping you select the perfect scents and candles. We want you to get the most bang for your buck!

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Win or Lose with a Personal Shopper?

The Reality of Importing From Questionable Sources…

How Well Do you Trust Your Personal Shopper?

I’ve been a business owner shipping to customers for almost 10 years from a variety of businesses that I have obtained and my goal was then, and always is to be professional and to handle my businesses in a very professional manner from start to finish…but guess what? Not everyone thinks like I do, and not everyone is quite as honest as I am. My grandmother used to alway tell me “Shelly, you get what you pay for, so if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!” Beware of the not-so-trustworthy personal shoppers that you employee.

As a personal shopper at Savin Exporting, I find myself in friendships with most all of my clients. Why? Because I am a very personable woman that believes that good things come to those who wait and I prefer helping people the good old fashion honest way rather than ripping them off which is what some folks will do to you unfortunately. I have friends around the globe now as I service over 70 countries and I keep my integrity of my business high on a pedestal of being trustworthy and genuine. I L-O-V-E my clients to the moon and back!

There are facts and fictions to beware of:

Fiction: You find a super low cost seller with little experience that will promise you the moon making your costs seem too hard to pass by and you bite on this like a shark. Then you will succumb to a more real reality. Either the products are fake or the products arrive to you not shipped correctly which will cause damage, breakage or other miscellaneous catastrophies. Lastly you will find a seller that is impossible to get a hold of or then becomes what we lie to call ‘a mole’ which means that there is virtually never any follow up if an issues arises.

Fact: We here at Savin Exporting pride ourselves with 110% customer service and deal with any or all realistic topics that might pop up. We pride ourselves in the overall value of your order. At the end of the day, if your order arrives at your door in a thousand pieces (and it shouldn’t) but if it does, we work diligently to cover the cost and send out new items providing we have photos to supply our insurance company with.

In closing, Pleaseeeee…if you are searching for a good personal shopper, get recommendations and references from a handful of people that have used this personal shopper in the past to make certain that you get what you are paying for. Whether you seek candles or caviar, do your homework.

 

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Did You Know… That Yankee Candle Stands By YOU, the Customer?

Candles…People can say what they want about candles and their costs and my answer is always still the same thing. You get what you pay for. I am a firm believe in that too! Some people are super cheap and buy what they can afford, or what they only desire to pay. Thats ok, nonetheless if you have the cash to spend and you go el-cheapo it’s your own fault that you chose a real dud for a jar.

I’ve been a candle buyer on a personal level for several years. I have spent oodles of dollars per year on jars of various scents with some very strong aromas and some that I was quite disappointed in. Over the years I have learned to patronize the companies that actually stand behind their products, and there are quite a few of them.

What do I mean by this you wonder? Well, I’ll tell you. Lets say I shop Yankee Candle and I buy a Macintosh large jar. I take it home, light it and I realize that I dislike the scent. Lets say that I let it burn for over 4-8 hours and it still didn’t throw off a fragrance that you would want to burn for yet another 140+ hours.

Did you know… that if you purchase from any Yankee Candle Store in the USA and you dislike a jar for whatever reason, you can return it for a new jar? YEPPER! That’s right, a new jar. They do what is called a ‘jar for a jar’ swap because they want you (their customer) to be so happy that you will continue to come back time and time again. Not many stores that I know of offer such an incredible source of exchange for a jar. Most companies that I know of don’t stand behind their products like this.

Please know that this policy was never meant to be abused, so don’t do it. Too much returning/exchanging and you get flagged at the store and then corporate office. Please don’t buy a jar and burn it 3/4s of the way down then take it in stating it gave you a headache or you disliked the scent. Don’t buy 6 jars and burn them for your dinner party then take them back the next day and say that you hated them, shame on you! That’s not nice. Honesty is the best policy for sure! This nice exchange that Yankee Candle has created for you (the customer) was meant for those of us who appreciate the value of good wax and are avid shoppers at Yankee Candle.

Do make sure that while you have the jar you use an illuma lid to reduce any soot. This lid also helps create to an even burn. These jar toppers also help prevent the candle from tunneling. Never let your wick get too big or like a mushroom top or it will drop in the melted wax and cause smoke for sure. Keep the wick 1/8 of an inch cut at best. I recommend wick trimmers at Yankee Candle. They sell for $9.99 a pair.

Take a look at Yankee Candle or on their website when you are purchasing candles because they have really beautiful accessories and home decor to accompany your candles. If you are in search of Yankee Candles and live abroad and cannot get them you are in luck. I am a personal shopper and I buy for people and send to 70+ countries around the globe. I launched Savin Exporting so that I could assist new clients with wax purchases around the world as well as many other candle related products.  Take a few minutes and visit our website for more information. We’d love to ship to you!  Have questions? Fill out the form on the bottom of the website and we’ll be sure to get right back to you. Savin Exporting is the way to ship and we do it daily. Wax never sleeps!

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