Buy a full case and the price per unit drops automaticallyRequest a sample
AccountCart0
All ContainersBottlesJarsCaps & ClosuresPumps & SprayersTubs & PailsJugsDroppersTinsTubesAccessories
Industries
Personal CareShop all 934 items →
AromatherapyBathBath →Body careBody care →Color cosmeticsColor cosmetics →DeodorantDeodorant →FragranceFragrance →GroomingHair careLip careLip care →NailNail →Oral careOral care →Skin and faceSkin and face →Soap and washSoapmaking →Sun and protectionSun and protection →
Learn:BathBody careColor cosmeticsDeodorantFragranceLip careNailOral careSkin and faceSoapmakingSun and protectionEverything we have written →
Learn
Beekeeping100Hot sauce making90Jam and preserves96Pickles and ferments64Sauces and condiments36Syrups36Oils and vinegars34Nut butters and spreads33Dairy and alternatives33Coffee and tea36Confection31Resin and casting27Supplement liquids23Laboratory17Dispensing13Photography and darkroom14Industrial chemical14Prepared and deli15Body care14Color cosmetics13Bath14Pet health15Toiletry decanting14Oral care14Capsules and tablets14Nail14Fragrance15Deodorant17Fossils16Janitorial16Baking and dry goods16Seed storage17Specimens16Paint and ink18Automotive fluids18Wax melts17Diffusers17Detailing15Sun and protection18Dish and hand16Soapmaking91Candle making93Beverages92Cleaning products92Lip care89Minerals and rocks93Powders91Skin and face91Spices and seasoning91Findings and components16
All 1,895 pages we have written →
Candle making
All Containers›Shop by use case›Candle making›Vessels and lids›Case packing and shippingShop all candles →
Vessels and lids

Case packing and shipping

By Dwight Davis, Founder

Updated

On this page5

A glass candle is the worst shipping proposition in the estate: heavy, breakable and heat-sensitive at once.

Heavy and fragile

A 9 oz glass candle in a carton is most of a pound of glass around six ounces of wax.

Which means shipping cost is a large fraction of the order value, and breakage is a real rate rather than an occasional event.

Packing a case

Dividers, always. Glass against glass in a carton does not survive a courier.

Upright, with the lid on, and enough fill that nothing moves. Movement is what breaks things, not impact.

Double-wall outers for wholesale quantities, and the batch code on the case so a problem is traceable without opening it.

Work out the case count against a weight a person can lift. A case of twelve 9 oz candles is heavier than it sounds and a warehouse will not thank you.

Heat in transit

A delivery van in summer goes well above the melt point of any container wax.

A candle that melts and resets in transit arrives with a collapsed, uneven surface, often with the wick leaning. It is not damaged in any way that matters and it looks ruined.

Ship early in the week so nothing sits over a weekend, avoid dark outers, and say something honest about warm weather rather than waiting for the complaint.

What it does to online

Weight and breakage together mean the economics only work at a basket size above a single candle.

Which pushes the online business towards sets, multi-packs and gift boxes, and away from selling one candle at a time. That is worth knowing before designing the packaging rather than after.

References

No published source. This page is written from practice rather than from published guidance. No extension service or agency publishes on this question for candles, so nothing here is cited, and it should be weighed as experience and not as a standard.
Written from the federal regulation, the CPSC material and the published scope of the ASTM candle standards. The standards themselves are copyrighted documents that must be bought; what is described here is their scope and requirements as published, not their text. Your own burn testing against your own vessel and wick is what establishes whether a candle you made is safe.