Fresh Bet Bits, Claire Burke Original Memories, Home Fragrance Product Updates and Commentary

We recently had an inquiry from a customer who wanted to buy a replacement stone & wick assembly for her Scentier Fragrance Lampe. I had not previously considered this, so naturally I contacted the Rep who helped us take care of this right away.

We now stock 4 different size/colors of the Scentier stone and wick assemblies:
* Silver small
* Silver large
* Gold small
* Gold large

Depending upon the size Lampe you own, you should select the large or small size in the color tone that best matches the metal trim on your lampe.
Click here for more info.

Looking for a practical and beautiful way to eliminate odors and add fragrance to your home? Scentier Fragrance Lampes are designed to purify the air with fabulous fragrance blends.

Scentier Fragrance Lampes are exquisite! Like little works of art that are collectible, yet practical. Add exceptional style to your decor with these luxurious lampes in cut crystal, hand-blown glass or lovely polished metal.

Each Scentier Lampe is beautifully presented in a black gift box with Burner/Wick, Funnel and Instruction Pamphlet. The stone has a LIFETIME warranty and you will receive one FREE 24 oz bottle of Lampe Parfum with each Lampe purchased.

Please be sure to select the parfum of your choice and add to the shopping cart. Simply enter coupon FSLP to deduct the cost when you purchase a Scentier Lampe.


We are starting with 11 different Lampe styles and 10 of their most popular parfum fragrances. These huge bottles of lampe parfume are 24 ounces and sell for $13.50 each - an excellent value!

Click here for Scentier.

I have long known of Aromatique and remember admiring it nearly 10 years ago when I started this business. Aromatique has always stood firm that they only allow brick & mortar gift shops to retail their beautiful products. For this reason, we were never eligible before to offer this fine product line.

This month, while attending the January Gift Show in Atlanta, I stopped into their showroom to try again. Voila! Success! So, I am indeed proud and excited to report that we have now been accepted as an Aromatique retailer in our area.

We are starting out with 2 new scents that have just arrived at the store:
* Fresh Fig
* The Smell of Spring

Over the next 1-2 months we expect to receive:
* Peach Pizazz (NEW)
* Citrus Plum Berry
* Summer Sorbet

We will be offering: Room Sprays, Refresher Oil w/brass ring set, Reed Diffusers and Glass Candles. They gave me a Peach Pizazz votive candle to bring home and I have to tell you I was VERY IMPRESSED with the fragrance and scent throw. For such a small candle, it did an excellent job of fragrancing my entire kitchen and even wafted into the living room. Excellent performance!

Their glass candles are 5 oz and sell for $10.00 - a great value! Their room sprays are comparable to Claire Burke and sell for $10.00. I am so happy to be able to offer you a brass light ring with refresher oil set. These are perfect for winter evenings.

We will be working hard to get all these new items uploaded to the site asap. In the meantime, feel free to call the ladies at our toll-free number (1-800-322-0525) and they will gladly take your phone order.

WOW, Wade & I had a hectic trip to Atlanta for 2 days to attend the huge January Gift Show to order new merchandise for Spring. Needless to say we were exhausted by the time we left. Here is a brief recap of what we have planned for Spring/Summer 2008:

* New WoodWick candles and Reed Diffusers.
* New Old Virginia Tarts.
* More new WoodWick car scents and Home Fragrance Oil scent choices.
* New WoodWick Fusion art-glass Candles & Reed Diffuser - simply stunning!
* New WoodWick Reed Diffuser oil refills w/new Reeds.
* NEW Olive Oil Organics in travel tin candles and large 22 oz clear glass. AWESOME scent!
* More new Hillhouse Farm Naturals tin candles and new Pomegranate Reed Diffuser.
* Hillhouse Good Dog Linen Spray and tin candle.
* NEW Greenleaf Reed Diffusers and refills. These are ceramic and so charming.
* Greenleaf has introduced a new scent called Evening Twilight which is a powdery soft scent that will be available in Aroma Decor Diffuser Oil.
* 2 New Greenleaf Aroma Decor Diffusers: Yellow Vase, Shanghai
* Greenleaf has also reformulated their lotions to include Jojoba making them even better!
* Greenleaf has a new Spa line which we will be adding soon: Bath Salts, Scrub, etc.

We are optimistically guarded that we will soon be selected to become an Aromatique retailer. They gave me their new Peach Pizazz candle to burn and it is phenomenal! We are excited to report we have ordered:

* The Smell of Spring
* Summer Sorbet
* Fresh Fig
* Citrus Plum Berry
* Peach Pizazz

Thanks to the feedback from Sandy Wood who was kind enough to share her thoughts with me regarding Aromatique!

We have also ordered several other new lines which will be arriving over the next few months:
* Baekgaard leather purse accessories in bright colors.
* Scentier Parfum Fragrance Lampes and Oils
* Lastly, we are expanding our Caswell-Massey lines due to your comments and strong interest to include: Men’s Verbena & Tricorn, Ladies: Almond & Aloe, English Lavender.

I also visited the Enchanted Meadow showroom and will be ordering a few of their new lines as well. So, it was a busy market and we expect Spring to be very busy at Freshbet. As always, if you have comments or suggestions, please email Bet.

We were all so pleased last Spring when Claire Burke brought back Wisteria. This was a highly requested fragrance from 10 yrs ago that was loved by those who enjoy a spring floral scent.

I have seen this happen before when they bring a fragrance back; often folks just don’t buy it up like they say they will and before you know it, they have dropped the fragrance again. This is what has happened with Wisteria which has now been officially discontinued again.

Sheer Vanilla has been around for 2-3 years and because it wasn’t a vigorous seller, it has also been discontinued.

Mocha Silk is also officially retired now. When I spoke with Mark this week, I inquired about the new Pomegranate Plum that was supposed to be available this Fall. He tells me it will indeed be released for Fall of 2008.

I have attempted to stock up on some of these items. However, the Factory rarely gives us much notice and often these items are already depleted by the time they tell us they are dropping them. So, if you love any of these scents, stock up now because soon they will all be gone!

As we all do more shopping on the internet, you realize what a wonderful convenience it can become with high gas prices and personal time at such a premium. Plus, the other night as we were watching the news, I realized how much safer it is to shop from home vs. driving to the Mall these days. Criminals seem to frequent the malls during the Holiday season preying on distracted shoppers…it’s simply awful.

Anyway, this is just a quick post to let you know that all orders received by December 13th can be shipped via regular UPS or FedEx ground and arrive in time for Christmas. If you live on the West Coast, after the 14th you will need to chose UPS 3-Day Select to be sure your shipment arrives on time.

After Tuesday the 18th, if you live on the East Coast, you should choose UPS 3-day Select. Or, if it’s easier, just call us and we’ll be happy to make sure your package arrives on time.

Remember we are not allowed to air freight any pressurized sprays like TC Aerosols or Claire Burke Vapourri. This DOT restriction also applies to flammables like Lampourri or Greenleaf Diffuser Oils.

Sadly with today’s high fuel prices UPS is raising our costs by 5% for 2008 for all ground shipments. These new rates will go into effect on December 31, 2007 for calendar year 2008. Below is an excerpt from their notification:
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As 2008 approaches, all of us at UPS would like to express our appreciation for your continued business. To help you plan for the coming year, we want you to know about new UPS rates and services that will take effect December 31, 2007.

UPS published small package Daily Rates will change as follows*: UPS Ground and UPS Standard to Canada services will increase 4.9%. Air and International express services will increase a net 4.9% through a combination of a 6.9% increase in rates and a 2% reduction in the air and international fuel surcharge.

Changes will also be made to accessorial charges. Delivery Area Surcharges and Residential Surcharges will increase by $0.10. The Additional Handling charge will increase by $0.50 and the charge for Address Corrections for UPS Ground packages will increase by $1.00. The charge for Declared Value will increase by $0.05 per $100 of Declared Value, with a minimum charge of $1.80, and you, as the shipper, will have the option to bill Declared Value charges for Freight Collect shipments to your account. To see the complete list of accessorial changes, please visit ups.com/rates.
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Please know that I absolutely HATE having to raise our shipping costs to our customers. But, we are a small business and we try to keep our rates evenly matched to our actual costs. Therefore, we will most like have to increase our shipping costs as well.

Fresh Bet will continue to shop between the US Postal Service, UPS & FedEx to try to find the best shipping rate for our customers. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this area.

We had a Rebate Program in 2006 that was so well received, I thought we should repeat it again for 2008! The basics are the same. The result is essentially a 10% rebate for our loyal customers who choose to make Fresh Bet their home fragrance retailer of choice.

Here’s how it works:

* You will receive a postcard with your next shipment that explains the program on the front of the card.
* On the back of the card you simply record each purchase by Sale # and dollar amount.
* When you reach the desired level, simply mail it to us and we will mail or email you a rebate coupon. Simple enough!
* The program will end in the 4th quarter of 2008, so be sure to mail your postcards back to us by November 2008.

Now you can accumulate your purchases with Fresh Bet Home Fragrances over the next 6-12 months and use your Rebate Coupon towards FREE Stuff!

Here are the rebate levels:

* $200.00 - $249.99 - $20.00 off Coupon
* $250.00 - $349.99 - $25.00 off Coupon
* $350.00 - $449.99 - $35.00 off Coupon
* $450.00 - $549.99 - $45.00 off Coupon
* $550.00 or more - $55.00 off Coupon

So keep an eye out for the lavender Rebate Postcard in your next order! As always, thanks for shopping with Freshbet.com.

Bet

Earlier this summer we decided to offer the Lavender Lil Bunny and your response has been great. While attending the Market this past July, I noticed that Sonoma Lavender had two great new “heated pets” available. They are so cute! So, we are now stocking LuLu the Lavender Poodle and Lou the Lavender Teddy Bear.

All of these heated pets are cuddly and come with a removable lavender insert. They can be warmed briefly in the microwave and are machine-washable. Sonoma Heated Pets are handmade in the Napa Valley or California and utilize organically grown Lavender.

Lavender relaxes and encourages sleep as well as lifts mild depression and elevates your mood. It relieves pain; from headaches to achy muscles. Pamper body and senses with this age old remedy.

Click here to see all of our natural, beautiful products by Sonoma Lavender.

I have just created a new page on the Fresh Bet site that is solely dedicated to all-natural and organic goodies. Our Sonoma Lavender/Eucalyptus/Rose has always been organically grown in the Sonoma Valley of California. These products are beautifully created by hand by local artisans.

Now, I am pleased to introduce one of our newest lines by Natural Spa that is produced in the USA by ECOS who pledges to create healthy indulgences that are entirely botanical to refresh, restore and enhance your personal environment.

Made with simple, uncomplicated ingredients that never contain parabens, dyes or synthetics. Choose from Lavender Glass Cleaner, Parsley All-Purpose Cleaner and Pomegranate Dish Soap. We also offer Hand Lotion and Hand Soap in Black Currant, Grapefruit, Pomegranate and Lemon Grass. YUM!

Click here to visit our new Natural/Organic page.