"I ordered a product that came nothing like expected/advertised. I've ordered maybe 10-15 oils in my first two orders from Bulk Apothecary and called to express disappointment in this oil and was told I would be receiving a new one, at no charge, of the same scent, or I can pay to return it and get a credit (and the cost to ship back would negate the refund). Hugely disappointed in this oil and as I am new to candle making, this will be my last order from BA. Now I will have 2 large bottles of something I won't use, instead of one, or instead of something I actually would use. I expressed this to the Customer Superhero - and asked that the replacement be ANYTHING but sweet grass - but there was nothing that could be done. Not sure what the difference would be to them, whether I received a bottle of crap from their shelves, or what I had previously come to know as a bottle of deliciousness, but evidently I must accept two bottles of crap and be happy. Not."
"NOT WORTH THE SAVINGS! CONTAMINATED PRODUCTS!!!
I had been a customer for several years but will not be returning after my last experience.
After waiting for organic calendula to be restocked for weeks I ordered a pound of the wild crafted. A few cups into the bag I found a used cigarette butt!!! YEP! A burnt and stinky CIGARETTE!!!!
The worst part is customer service did not seem shocked. They did offer a store credit but I wanted a refund. That's when I was informed that since it was past 30 days they would not. A company always has the option mail a check. It's not like I just wanted to return them, THERE WAS A CIGARETTE IN THE BAG!!!!
Looking back at my other inventory, I agree with several of the reviews on here that most items do not have lot numbers or expiration dates. There is no way a company could properly track inventory without them.
Profits over people is not an agenda I want to support, I hope you will choose not to as well."
"Add me to the unhappy customer list. I recently ordered 3 different butters. Two of them, the Cocoa and Mango were so dried out that they cannot be used. One I will never be able get out of the jar. I sent them photos three times because they kept saying that they didn't get them. Finally they just stopped corresponding. What I received looked nothing like the photos on their website. They told me that I could heat the butters and try fix them that way or return them. (With me paying the shipping to return a bad product.) Luckily I did not order a huge amount. I own a business myself and would never leave a customer as unhappy as I am right now. Btw, their shipping consists of throwing things (without any wrapping or protection) into a box full of peanuts. Do not believe the crap on their website about customer service and how every customer is important. It is just not true. Stay away. Oh, btw, you cannot leave a bad review on their website. they review all comments before publishing them."
"I ordered from this company once in 2013. Two years later, I have not received my entire order. What I did receive was okay--mango butter was poured into a jar and was almost impossible to get out; grapeseed oil was rotten; but whatever, it was cheap. I ordered a small amount of plastic jars and they never came, not after a phone call, not after an email. I've thought about reporting them to BBB but I know in reality that $2 worth of stuff is pointless to complain about. I just wonder, if they fail to ship $2 worth of stuff from every person who orders, how much are they making each year? I'm sure it's substantial."
"First time customer here!! Order arrived in 2 days!! Very satisfied with fair prices, quick shipping , excellent condition. Haven't used the products yet but I can't wait to.
Called customer service with a question and received a prompt, friendly answer from a real person! :-)"
"I have had a great experience with them. It only took 4 business days, ordered late on day 1 and received my products early in the morning on day 4. The prices can't be beat!!! Packaging was safe and secure, plenty of padding on the bottles. Shipping is a little high, but I still saved way more than getting it at my local store. I will absolutely buy again and probably never from anywhere else!!"
"I have to say this is the worst experience I've ever had ordering from any company. I placed an order on February 26th of this year, 2015. The order totaled $838 and some change. I was very excited about receiving the products for my small business start-up. I receive 2 disappointing emails before I made contact. Neither led me to believe anybody was doing anything to get my order out. I contacted the company by email and phone and, now, live chat. I've been told lies repeatedly. I received a small part of my order, which totaled less than $100, yesterday, March 12th. Now when I try to track it, it says that it has been delivered. Where is the rest of my order??? I'm extremely frustrated and will take legal action if they don't resolve this very soon."
"I have ordered several times from Bulk Apothecary over the last year, and have gotten good results. My orders included hundreds of dollars of base oils as well as hundreds of dollars worth of essential oils and fragrance oils. So far I have had almost all perfect shipments except for one slightly leaky bay rum FO, which might have been affected by extreme temp change this winter. Since the issue was very small, I did not complain. I am finding the quality of the base oils and essential oils to be tops. Two of the FOs seemed sharp to me, but that is personal taste. Other people seem to like them a lot.
This company ships fast, has reasonable prices, and packs pretty well. I intend to keep buying from them. I hope that they put applicable MSDS pdfs online for their products for people to download. That might help for their customers in more regulated states. "
"Bulk Apothecary is all about the quantity of crap they can schlep off on customers. Quality does not come into their business model at all. Both transactions I've had with them were abysmal. The first time they shipped the wrong products and I had to threaten to protest the charges with my credit card company before they'd make it right. Several years passed & I decided to give them a second chance. I placed a $400 order & paid for 2-day shipping. The order arrived 2 weeks later and my call to customer service was a joke. Then the oils arrived in metal containers. That is sooo risky and unprofessional. The oils are marginal at best. Poor service, rude interactions, repeat problems. Don't make a mistake with them. They are not to be trusted."
"I was concerned about my order after I read several of the negative reviews, but I had a great experience with Bulk Apothecary. I am very happy with the items I purchased. My package arrived in 4 days and this was in the same week the east coast was hit with a lot of snow and ice. There was no delay! My essential oils were packaged very well. They contacted me via email that one product was out of stock and submitted a credit back to my account. I will order from Bulk Apothecary without hesitation!"
"Well I ordered from here and my supplies arrived exactly a week later from the processing date. My materials were packaged well and I'm happy with the results. "
"01/18/2015
I'd first like to say that I was not asked to write this review nor am I affiliated with Bulk Apothecary (BA) in anyway other than being a buyer. I have used Bulk Apothecary for my home based skin care business for over one year now. They are my "go to" supplier for oils, butters, eco-soya wax (I also make candles), molds, and essential oils. I am surprised to read the negative reviews posted here. I have never written a review to counter the negatives, but in this case I feel I must as Bulk Apothecary products are of high quality, cost effective, and the customer service I received was excellent contrary to some of the reviews listed here. While I typically buy from three US suppliers for various items, I have found the quality and cost of BA's products has helped for me to stay competitively priced in a poor economy allowing for the average person to afford my products.
1. Price & Quality: I researched companies for three months for cost comparisons and quality before committing to suppliers for my home based business. BA is the most cost effective for raw oils, butters, waxes, and most essential oils even when calculating shipping costs. I have purchased the 76 degree coconut oil 40 lbs several times, a number of 16 oz. sweet almond oil, avocado oil, apricot kernel seed oil, grapeseed oil, and shea olein oil, 16 oz. and 8 lb. cocoa butter and shea butter, 50 lb block of palm oil several times, bulk Eco-Soya wax, 8 lb. Liquid Aloe on several occasions, as well as various essential oils: lavender 40/42, Lemongrass, Eucalyptus, Fir Needle, Cedarwood, Rosemary, Chamomile, and others and have found the quality to range from very good to outstanding. Informative descriptions and uses are usually included with all of their raw products.
2. Shipping: As I previously stated, even with seemingly high shipping prices when combined with cost break down of products it still amounts to a significantly lower price than other suppliers. I suggest buying in larger weight quantities to offset shipping costs. It is more expensive to order one or two things that are light in weight bringing your overall cost up noticeably. I use coupons from BA to offset shipping costs which anyone can use and can be found at coupon sites. You can also obtain an automatic 15% off of your order with a purchase of $250 or more.
3. Customer Service: I have always had decent shipping times. It has NEVER taken longer than a week for me to receive my order. I live in upstate NY and their headquarters are in OH. I had to call customer service on only one occasion when I ordered a 50lb solid block of palm oil, they had sent me the 40 lb pail (remarkably there is only a few cents difference between the two, the 40 lb. comes in a pail and the 50 lb. comes in a solid wrapped block boxed). I called them a few days after I received my order and they shipped the 50lb block of palm oil to me free of charge and allowed me to also keep the 40 lb. block. I'd say that's outside the norm and very fair and is why I rate their customer service excellent! I received the 50 lb. block within 4 days.
With all of this being said, you now see why I am very surprised at some of the horrible reviews here. One must also keep in mind (read their company history and about them) that they started off as a brick and mortar store, but have had exponential growth in a short period of time, which may have caused some customer service problems mentioned in some of these reviews due to a change in operations and procedures which I assume is to be expected with a company that goes from brick and mortar to a full fledged warehouse practically overnight.
I love BA and I'm sure you will too!"
"I am a very satisfied repeat customer of Bulk Apothecary. Their products are of extremely high quality as well as their customer service. And shipping is lightning fast! They are a step above the rest. I find it comforting to be able to do business with a company that still cares about customer satisfaction. It's a rarity these days. Two thumbs way up, BA!!!! I will keep coming back."
"I ordered from Bulk Apothecary during a rather busy time for them, and when I called to check on the fulfillment of the order, I was given a specific date by which it would ship. They did ship it on that day. However, when it did not appear in the UPS system for three days, I contacted them again to see how long it generally takes to get tracking info.
Since there was no record of the package after it left their warehouse, they immediately replaced the order and it went out that same day. In addition to that, they refunded my original shipping charge for the inconvenience.
Today, the original package arrived. Bulk Apothecary shipped it when they said they did, and the UPS tracking system somehow failed. I have contacted Bulk Apothecary to see how I can return the duplicate order since I did not pay for it.
They have certainly proven to be a fair and reputable business in my transaction with them.
"
"I researched their 'brick and mortar' address, which BULK APOTHECARY claims is: 125 Lena Drive, Aurora, OH 44202. On "Bulk's" homepage, they claim they've been at this brick and mortar address since 2010 but as of 2012, there is a youtube video declaring that this huge warehouse address is vacant and ready for occupancy. This company's physical address is fake so I'm guessing their products are probably fake as well. Who charges under $7 for 2 ounces of argan oil? If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true. So sorry for those who have been ripped off by this company. In fact, they probably charge so much for freight because you'll never be able to dispute those charges. This company is a rip off scam!"