kebechet

DONE!

They aren't up yet. Still trying to proof it, but my eyes are getting all bleary. It'll be up just after midnight PST. Prolly closer to 12:30.

This is a bad, bad omen.

Thanks for the kind words. =) I'll pass the Kindly Luv onto Brian... those three are his babies. I was uploading the new sku info, so that might have been the problem. I gave it a go and got through checkout. [crossing fingers!]

Due to an internal disaster we cannot switch from CcNow [insert colorful profanities here] for at least a few more weeks. The good news is... ... the update will be live at the beginning of next week. A few changes are being made due to necessity, but we'll cross that rickety-ass bridge when the update is ready. I apologize for being out of communication for so many days. It's been f*ckall screwy here. Really, really screwy. ETA: those smileys are making me kinda dizzy.

If you guys want, I'll post the shell of the new scent info when I'm done with the sku coding tonight.

Ted and I used to play MTG. Haven't had time in so long... It's been even longer since we played AD&D. No wonder I'm going bugshit.

Thanks for the help, guys. =) I'd love to use osCommerce, but I'm not well versed in it, and I need to make sure that whatever cart we use will allow me to keep the design of the web site 99% of what it is now. I don't want to use any one else's templates or anything like that... I'm happy with how I designed the site, and I don't really want to change it at all.

I know a lot of you lads and ladies out there are well-versed in e-commerce. I'm not familiar with any of the shopping cart systems that we can use with AuthorizeNet, so I'm asking for opinions / reviews / comments before I have to shell out cash for this. Compatible Carts The quicker I can get this set up, the sooner the update will happen. =P

Can you believe it? I actually have a day off from the theatre. I'm working on the site update today and trying to finish all the last emails. The postal issue has escalated a little -- Brian lost it yesterday trying to post everyone's order through Click & Ship for the upteenth time in three days. When I say lost it... I mean lost it. I think we may be switching to UPS or FedEx after all. The USPS implemented a new batch order system that is faulty as hell. I won't bore you all with the details, suffice to say it doesn't freakin' work and as a result nothing has gone out into the post since Friday. Now, if we switch, there's good news -- orders will be easier to track, and the tracking info will be more precise. The bad news is that UPS and FedEx are both more expensive, and it'll cost a bit more as we're going to have to purchase boxes for shipping [as opposed to using the free ones that the USPS provides]. I will keep everyone posted as we go through the transition. More bad news: due to the escalating cost of producing the oils [several key oils have shot up in price, as have their herbal counterparts], the increase in the cost of the damn bottles [the manufacturer raised the prices, and the distributors we deal with jumped up with it] and the cost of having to hire two more people, I'm going to have to bump up the price of the oils slightly. As always, we're doing our best to keep the prices as low as possible, but I have to do something since our profit margin on the oils is now just under $0.50 per bottle in most cases, and we're losing money on some scents. I love you guys, but I do have to make some money doing this. If I win the lottery, you'll all get a buttload of oils for free. The price of the sample packs will NOT increase, but the price of the 5ml's will likely have to go up about $1-$2 per bottle. I swear I will keep it as low as possible. The slightly good news: prices won't change til May 1st. News that is neither good nor bad: until we can get ourselves a proper credit card system, we're still stuck using third part processors. I cannot afford CcNow any longer -- the 9% is simply TOO high for us to bear, and is causing us to lose money on 4 out of 5 orders -- we will likely be switching to PayPal in the interim. This change will not take place until some time in May. I will, of course, keep everyone posted. The good news: new smells in progress! A peek at the scents for the next update -- Arcana Frankincense, rosemary, lavender, neroli, and lemon verbena. Danube Rhododendron and bellflower petals swirl through deep, cool, dark aquatic notes. Kali The sacred blooms of cassia, hibiscus, musk rose, Himalayan wild tulip, lotus and osmanthus swirled with offertory dark chocolate, red wine, tobacco, balsam and honey. Lex Talionis Dark myrrh, vetiver, cardamom, violet, black pepper, sage, cedarwood and black patchouli with a clarion note of sharp white grapefruit. Nephilim Black patchouli and vetiver with red sandalwood, black amber, rosemary, lavender, oakmoss, white cedar and pine. Old Prague Crocus with snowdrop and three lilies. Ouija White sandalwood, redwood and teak notes with wispy blue lilac, tea rose, white rose and ethereal osmanthus. Queen Gertrude Violet, delphinium, wisteria and chrysanthemum. Rage Black amber erupting with a dark volcanic surge of fiery dragon’s blood and a burst of melati, rose geranium, mandarin and black currant. Schrodinger’s Cat Bitter orange, violet leaf and basil with pink pepper, nutmeg, white and red sandalwood, dark musk, cedarwood and orange blossom. Szepasszony A chilly, tempestuous whirlwind of clear, airy notes, slashing rain, and a thin undercurrent of white flowers. Ulalume Starry white lilies lend an eerie brightness to the deep black wooded scents of cypress and oak, layered with a touch of crushed dried leaves and the faintest aquatic note. Also working on: Chaos Mata Hari Midnight Mystery Nemesis Pandemonium Pele Savage Scarecrow Vitriol Plus others mentioned in the last site update, and a few that I'm not quite ready to mention. The last of the good news: A special edition scent is coming out for May Day -- it is, of course, 'Beltane'.

First, an explanation of why some oils differ slightly in scent. Bluntly put, its simply because all of our oils are organic. Many of the oils are distilled or cold-pressed in-house, and the ones that we import are all in their pure and unadulterated form. In nature, the strength of scent, the tone, and the subtle olfactory nuances of a given flower, herb or fruit differ. No two roses are ever the same. We do our best to attempt at consistency, but sometimes due to the natural composition of the blends’ constituents this is impossible. The only way that we would be able to replicate every scent identically would be to either clone the plants or start manufacturing artificial perfumes. There is a possibility that one of us simply brain-farted when we assembled the order. The probability of this increases as we continue to pull all-nighters in the Lab. If the scent of your perfume varies that wildly, please let me or Nella know and we’ll try to rectify the problem.

*SQUISH!*

Jilli: Which email did you send your inquiry to?

I'm not quite sure which orders you're referring to, Justric. If your zip code is 14223, we're holding your third order because we haven't received a reply from you regarding where to send this package. On last report to us, again -- if this is the 14223 set of orders, you did not get the last two packages sent, though we do have completed USPS delivery confirmation for both of them. We just don't want to send a third one into the abyss.

I'm an idjit. I need to redo the printable order form and I have no clue how to use this damn program. Any sites y'all can recommend?

Ok guys, as soon as everything calms down [HA HA HA HA HA -- ugh] I want to put together a section of the site that has info about all of our beloved customers. If any of you want me to put you up, please leave a message here with Name [First name only if you want. I don't want to promote stalking! ] URL, if applicable Photo, if you don't mind Sin of choice [Not the scent, the proper sin ] Virtue you embody Astrological Info How you found out about BPAL Any comments you'd like to add about the Lab or life in general I reckon I should be able to get this done in about a month, but I did want to throw it out there early. Thanks, guys!

Aw, hunny! Hellcat is staying the same. Its an old scent of ours [Hellfire] that's being redone. It's a very long story... but one of the components of the original Hellfire became impossible for us to acquire. I love the stories about the old Hellfire Club, so I was determined to rethink the way that I portrayed it in scent. Starting from scratch, so to speak.

Good morning, all! We’re in the middle of about a zillion things, so I wanted to post and keep everyone updated on the situation here. The site update has been postponed once more. The new FAQ and About Us pages are taking me more time than I’d anticipated, especially with everything that’s gone on here lately. The new scents are just about ready to go, but they won’t go live until we have fully transferred from CcNow to AuthorizeNet. We decided against using PayPal exclusively during the transition phased, based mostly on a slew of emails imploring us not to do so. As you all know, CcNow digs horribly deep into our pockets, and we don’t want to give them a cent more than we have to. The delay that they enforce with sending us payments for orders is killing us. Honestly, this month their "system" just about put us out of business. At this time, we’re hoping that the transfer over will be complete by June 1. Luckily for everyone, a delay in the update also means a delay in the price change. There’s always a bright side. On an even brighter note, more scents have been added to the future update, so it’ll be well worth the wait. Despite the fatigue and slight delirium, I’m experiencing a very random and Piscean rush of excitement. The storefront, the update, the new scents… the possibility of leaving CcNow behind us… all of it, despite the uphill climb its taking to get there, makes me feel… well, really hopeful. Thanks again to everyone for their love, patience and support. Growing pains have to stop some time, right?

Any input on what I need to add?

I've always loved the way you do that. Can't get much out of 'Beth'. =P

We're going to see our accountant [the one who bailed me out of my tax mess this year] on Thursday. Basically he's going to help us figure out how to switch from CcNow with minimal grief, and he's going to help me see if its at all feasable for me to quit my day job so I can do the Lab full time. Here's hopin', right? =P The new FAQ is about 75% done. If all goes well, the update can go live tomorrow night.

Due to circumstances way beyond my control, the new scents for Beltane are going to debut about two weeks later than I'd hoped. I'm not going to get into the details [read: I don't want to bore you guys] suffice to say that because of the way CcNow does their payouts, I simply can't afford to produce enough of the new scents to have them go live yet. The non-scent related portions of the update will be going up as scheduled -- May 1st. The new scents will not be available until at least May 15th.

Ok, this is what I meant to type: Michelle is one of oldest and bestest friends in the world, and as you know... she's also one of the Lab Rats. She has finally joined the BPAL forum as Hexe. We love Michelle!!! - - - I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I forgot to log her off andlog myself on. I was going to do the full introductions for everyone, but it looks like tonight's Lab all-nighter has fried me more than I thought.

Good question, Jazzie. I should have addressed this earlier. No orders placed through CcNow will be wiped under any circumstances, barring an internal snafu at CcNow. I have an appointment with our accountant next Thursday. We may be able to bypass having to go through PayPal, too, and actually get our own in-house charge system running. I can't tell you what a relief that will be.

Your wish is my command, P. =) Those are all excellent points.