Some bottle thoughts — feedback welcome
The last case of half oz bottles (17 ml) that I purchased has a bigger problem with slightly leaning necks than usual; the necks on some of the bottles must lean just a little off vertical, even though it is hard to notice by naked eye, because the sprayers do not sit quite vertical when you screw them on. You’ve probably seen photos of indie perfume bottles on the web where the sprayer is not quite vertical but leans to one side slightly. The reason is usually not the sprayer but the neck of the bottle itself. No sprayer will sit quite vertical if the bottle neck is not quite perfectly straight. It could be a combination of the orientation of the neck and the threads on the neck that makes the sprayers sit slightly off kilter.
I’ve found that my one oz bottles are much better than the half oz; the half oz are always more crooked but this last batch was worse and I am having to not use a significant number of these because they just look too funny to me even though they still function just fine. They do look normal when you screw on the shorter splash caps; it’s just the taller spray caps that emphasize the tilt. I’m talking with my supplier about the issue to see if switching to another style bottle would help, but I like this kind because they have a nice large area for the label and they fit my boxes. It’s normal for these to not be totally perfect, but usually I don’t have to throw out very many bottles per case and this time I have quite a pile of rejects stacking up.
These bottles are from a wholesale source that is willing to sell by the case instead of by the 10,000. The bottles are nice in that they have no seams on the sides like some cheaper bottles, but they still have this slight tilt problem. I’ve researched other bottles numerous times over the years, but the prettiest ones I’ve seen are crimp style or parfum style. Crimp pumps are the kind that are permanently crimped on rather than removable via screw threads. I’ve heard customers say they prefer screw cap to crimp because of ease of decanting and the option to use a splash cap if desired. And as beautiful as some parfum stopper style bottles can be, most people say they prefer spray bottles.
For now, I’m thinking of keeping the one oz spray bottles that I have but replacing the half oz spray bottles with 10 ml purse sprays that are identical to my new 5 ml black purse sprays but a tad taller and larger in diameter. The purse sprays are so attractive and convenient that I think this would be a nice way to go, and I’d love to be through with the leaning sprayer issue on those half oz bottles. One of the 10 ml purse sprays fits my black perfume boxes if I use a little tissue paper for padding, and two of the 10 ml purse sprays exactly fit the box with no padding.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts and it seemed like an appropriate end-of-year topic (since it is a planning for the future issue). I know this is a busy week when people are often out of town, but if you catch this post and have some opinions I’d love to hear from you. Would a 10 ml purse spray be ok with people instead of the 17 ml bottle? If I change bottles some day, do you prefer a plainer screw cap bottle or a higher-end crimp style or a very nice parfum stopper style? My ideal would be a screw cap with perfectly straight neck/sprayer, no seams, a good spot for a label, and less than 10,000 minimum; my one oz bottles come pretty close to this ideal, though the sprayers aren’t always perfectly straight on those either. Maybe some entrepreneur out there will want to fill this need for the growing indie perfume market and will come up with more offerings of this type.
Laurie,
I noticed those slightly leaning necks right away, and I was worried they would hamper the spraying. However, I haven’t had any problems. Despite this visual imperfection, I would really rather you didn’t get rid of the 17ml bottles in favor of a 10ml purse-type alternative. I want more juice than 10ml and the 17ml is great size to get to know a scent beyond a sample or two.
Good luck with the problem—and Happy New Year!
Hi Jess,
Yes, that’s my dilemma. The 17 ml is such a great size. I want the bottles to look as nice as possible though. Maybe I should send them out with the shorter splash caps on since those look nicer (straighter anyway) and then enclose the sprayers on the side. I think some other brands do that. That may be silly though if most people just toss out the splash caps.
Thanks so much for your thoughts! If the 17 m size outweighs the leaning issue I’ll stick with those for now and keep looking for some that are more consistently straight.
I did send some leaning examples back to my supplier to demonstrate the problem and will see what they say after they return from holiday break next week.
Happy New Year to you too!
I’ve been getting some feedback via email too and I’m really glad I posed the question. Looks like the 17 ml is a popular size, so I will not replace it with a 10 ml purse spray. And people don’t favor the crimp style because some like to decant and some like to dab (dabbers are in the minority, but I am a dabber too so I’m extra understanding on this issue). Most people would rather I keep the leaning ones until I can find something better. I may start sending them with the splash caps on then, just to make people more aware that those are available. I’ll keep hunting for a non-crimp screw style that has necks/threads that don’t cause the sprayers to lean, though that seems to be tough to find and they vary from case to case so sometimes the sample I get is not representative.
Thanks for the feedback!
You can send leaning ones to me–it won’t affect the scent!
I like the 17 ml bottles as well–please keep them!
Hi Kristen,
Lol! Pretty much this whole darn case of half oz bottles leans a little bit. I’m pulling out the worst ones though and setting those aside. I’m wondering if some other bottle shape might have less of this issue or if it is just common to most screw-on style with threads. I’ll talk with my supplier and see what they think.
Thanks for weighing in!
Foiled by the ol’ firewall at the office! I’m awfully glad the vast majority favor the 17ml size. Since you’re already offering the 5ml purse spray, the 10ml seems almost redundant. I’ve occassionally had issues with the spray cap getting stuck on the outer rim, but I’d just wiggle it until it fits.
I didn’t know the 1/2 oz also comes with a screw cap for dabbing! I would love to havbe that option especially since your scents are strong enough to accomodate that form of usage. If you’re concerned folks would just toss it, perhaps offer it as an option on request? Also for consideration in the future is to offer the traditional perfume stopper bottle, which still carry such an image of romance. Granted we can always decant the liquid into a bottle of our choice, it’s nice to have it come that way. But that’s for the future….
Cheers!
a:)
Hi Ann,
I’ve been offering the splash caps by request, but I’ve not made that well enough known. I’ll add that info more prominently to the site and maybe I can code a menu option choice for it in the shopping cart.
Meantime, I can get a couple to you for your bottles. 🙂 I was thinking the same thing that most of my scents are strong enough to make a dab option viable.
I have my eye on some pretty, very special parfum bottles and have been on a wait list for quite some time for the chance to buy them in smaller quantities. One day I’ll get some, one way or another. I have a small number that I’ve been saving for a special project someday, but I’d like to have more to use on a regular basis.