Camellia Oil - best mail-order supplier

[aesmith]

Hi,

This is so silly, I meant to get some Camellia oil next time I was doing a mail-order. Now I've done my order, and forgot all about it.

Anyone know a supplier that doesn't charge silly P&P?

Is the stuff that's sold for aromatherapy and/or for Bonsai, the same stuff?

This reminds me a bit of when I needed Lanolin for our boat. You can buy it as a marine protective coating for a huge price, as nipple cream for less, and finally I found a supplier where it comes straight from the sheep (judging by the smell!)

 

[woodbloke]

Try Matthew at Workshop Heaven for Camilla Oil, p&p rates are very reasonable...there's also lots of other good stuff :wink: there to help you down the 'Slope' - Rob

 

[aesmith]

Thanks. Funnily enough I had just been looking on their web site, as they do other stuff for corrosion protection, but I thought their P&P prices high. I seem to remember they wanted four pounds something postage, which is a lot on a product that only costs £3.90. I can't confirm that, because they're one of those suppliers that doesn't actually tell you P&P until the order is almost placed.

 

[OPJ]

Axminster also sell camelia oil but then, their fixed-rate postage charge is higher still. You could try eBay, I suppose, unless you can find a local supplier?

It's interesting that you bring up the question of their postage charges as this is something I asked Matthew about a few weeks ago. He came to the conclusion that it would be best to charge postage by the parcel's weight (plus packaging), where goods are less than £100 in value. I can see the thinking behind it; the company doesn't lose money and people buying only a cap iron screw (for example) don't get ripped off.

Matthew also mentioned that he had looked in to adding a 'running totaliser' to his site (for real-time postage updates as your basket grows) but, at an horrendous cost of £18,000 for one single piece of code :shock:, it clearly isn't feasible.

If you have any other queries about this, I suggest you PM Matthew directly.

 

[woodbloke]

.. best to charge postage by the parcel's weight (plus packaging), where goods are less than £100 in value..

...which is why I suggested Olly, that if a few more shiny's were added to the total so it came to over £100, then p&p wouldn't have to be paid at all ...winner! - Rob

 

[ivan]

Use rapeseed oil from Tesco; fraction of the price and post free. Also very good on bandsaw blades. Rapeseed oil is used industrially as lubricant. Its also non staining. Commercial camelia oil usually contails a proportion of mineral (ie unscented baby) oil.

 

[aesmith]

Thanks for the comments, especially the suggestion to use rapeseed oil. I'll do that.

I understand the problems for a mail-order business, but from my point of view I know I'd buy loads more from places like Axminster if it wasn't for this postage charge. I think they used to be free P&P on orders over £20, didn't they, then changed to £50. I don't know how often I've needed something then decided to wait until I had an order over fifty quid, but then ended up buying it elsewhere or making do with something else.

 

[aesmith]

I should add that at least Workshop Heaven states their postage policy clearly in their terms and conditions. Many suppliers don't own up until you've registered, created an order and are on the point of committing.

 

[Harbo]

I have found, over time, that it makes sense to add small items to the shopping list when ordering stuff from Axminster, Worksop Heaven and the likes.

Rod (who now posses several bottles of Camelia oil! )

 

[mark w]

Ivan,
I`m interested in the use of Rapeseed oil, how long have you been using it and are there any draw backs with it, for example does it go mouldy.

Kind regards,
Mark W

 

[matthewwh]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the heads up, I did find a couple of products in the corrosion protection section that had the wrong shipping weights entered and corrected them the other day.

If you do find yourself in a 'wow, that seems like a lot for postage!' situation please let me know and I'll be happy to check them for you.

 

[studders]

I understand the problems for a mail-order business, but from my point of view I know I'd buy loads more from places like Axminster if it wasn't for this postage charge.

I'm not sure how they do it but Toolstation have for some time now offered free postage on orders over ten pounds. They've had a lot more business from me as a result as they are the first place I look for hardware etc.

 

[jlawrence]

Matthew also mentioned that he had looked in to adding a 'running totaliser' to his site (for real-time postage updates as your basket grows) but, at an horrendous cost of £18,000 for one single piece of code

WOW. I wish I could get away with charging that for a line of code - I doubt I'd even get away with charging that for 1000 lines never mind one.

Mathew, I quite often get a wow moment when it comes to shipping charges. The thing for people to realise is that it's more often than not down to the weight of an item rather than the cost. The actual cost of an item is pretty much irrelevant when it comes down to shipping costs.

 

[Martin Cash]

A very satisfactory lubricant and rust preventative is Camelia Tea Oil. This is sold in supermarkets in the health food section or the Asian Foods section.
It comes in large bottles and is a fraction of the cost of the hardware stores' Camelia oils.
I have been using it for years. It is clear and leaves no residue. Best of all it is organic and totally environmentally friendly.
Cheers
MC

 

[aesmith]

Cheers. The missus already has rape seed oil in the kitchen, but I'll see if "Camellia Tea Oil" is available locally.

 

[Vann]

A very satisfactory lubricant and rust preventative is Camelia Tea Oil. This is sold in supermarkets in the health food section or the Asian Foods section.
It comes in large bottles and is a fraction of the cost of the hardware stores' Camelia oils.

Camelia Oil is also known as Camelia Seed Oil and Tea Seed Oil (as well as Camelia Tea Oil as Martin says). In its unadulterated state it's edible; it's used in cosmetics; and of course it's good for our tools.

Those accursed Aussies can pick up a bottle at Coles (or is it Myers?) for under $A10 a 500ml bottle. No such luck here in New Zealand - I've just bought a 1 litre bottle for $NZ40 (about ₤18 UK at the current exchange rate) - reduced because it's just past its "best before" date (damn! I won't be able to lick it off my planes) :shock: :lol:

Cheers, Vann.

 

[jimi43]

This is a very interesting thread which I WISH I had read before I bought BONSAI (100ML) for a tenner on eBay yesterday!

Firstly I did not know that the Bonsai stuff could contain baby oil...that ain't good and secondly I wonder now about rapeseed oil.

I build guitars and it is vital that the handtools don't have any oil on them as this gets transferred to the wood and is a bugger to get out (not as bad as silicon!) which is a MUST for most finishes especially nitrocellulose.

Can anyone expand on the content of baby oil in the "Bonsai" Camelia Oil and also on the merits of rapeseed oil particularly as it affects wood finishes please?

Jim