Viewer stole from my house?

[Calcaata]

I have a Diptique candle, 3 wick and cost £180. I’ve had two house viewings today, not done by myself but by the estate agent. I’ve come home and it’s missing.

Aibu to expect the estate agent to reimburse me?? I won’t be able to contact them now until Monday.

If you want a change but not over £100, these are both excellent

https://eaudeboujee.com/collections/all-our-candles?srsltid=AfmBOorkXipJU7h9zasqG9FP_3UkFIUtBVIH08xaVteqgYw5diolwrDe

https://meadowfarmlifestyle.co.uk/category/candles/

😂

I bet it was the state agents, since (as others have said) that candle is heavy, not something you can fit in a pocket easily? About 4"-5" width/height? I would ask your neighbours, if they have ringbell cameras, if they can see anything.

It's ridiculous that some people cannot understand your spending choices. The logic is absurd. Would have people reacted the same way if they had stolen a Crème de la Mér moisturiser? Clinique bundle? A big bottle of Channel n5 perfume? A Kate Spade wallet? There are cheaper alternatives for all of those, even £5-£10 versions at Aldi. Some pople spend that much in a hairdresser appointment that you have to rebook 8 weeks later. A few drinks and a taxi on a night out. Why judging so much?! The candle will give a pleasant smell for months, both when lit and when uncovered, plus it functions as an ornament. Nice smells can create a comforting and welcoming ambient in a home.

This. I've tried many brands of scented candles and my favourites are Jo Malone, Diptyque and White Company. I'm always buying cheaper ones in the hope of matching the quality but I'm always disappointed. DH bought one of the Aldi dupes today (he said it smelt nice and it was only £9) and guess what? There's barely any scent.

I find the scent to be deeper / stays for longer even when the candle is not on.

Not sure why it's hard to understand that people are happy to pay for the brand name, it's their money and clearly don't feel like a "mug" doing so.
If you're happy buying cheap candles, what is it to you that others want to spend more?

Someone might buy an apple from Selfridges instead of Sainsbury's, nothing wrong with it as long as they can afford to.

What makes you so unhappy about OP spending her own money to her choosing?

I've read some mind blowing threads on here before but this one truly has been a shocker. I can't believe some of the criticism aimed at someone spending their own money on something they like.

Poor OP for daring to spend £180 on a candle and having it stolen and then being slagged off for spending so much money on it.

It's her money, how she chooses to spend it is entirely up to her, the thread is about it being stolen by someone who came to her house not how appalling some of you think it is to admit to spending that amount of money on something so frivolous.🙄

Don’t be silly. It could have been the estate agent, which would have huge implications for the professionalism of the company and the OP’s faith in the ongoing relationship.

I sometimes buy myself a treat. Doesn’t then mean I can easily replace it.

Did your keyboard get stuck on the "hilarious" emoji? Not a good look. You buy rip offs.

“You can afford a car, in which case you can afford to replace it easily”

And I think that’s where other posters are coming from too.

I’d say most of them sound sanctimonious and mean spirited, but maybe that’s just me.

Pretty much a choice. It comes down to two things: the wax they use, and the fragrance 'load.'

Soy is typically best and provides the best 'scent-throw' (i.e. how far in the house it will spread). But lots of big sellers don't like to use soy as it's tricky to work with and quite expensive. It also really needs to be hand-poured and have the temperature carefully maintained etc, otherwise the risk of 'frosting' is higher. And whilst frosting is normal, it's not pretty to look at. Therefore, lots of big companies (i.e. that don't hand-pour their product) will use parrafin (Jo Malone and Diptyque do) which can give a slightly clinical smell underneath the fragrance - that's probably what you've noticed. Parrafin wax is also incredibly bad for your health. Soy wax is not.

So that's the first corner big companies cut that makes the product worse.

And then the fragrance load is the trickiest bit. Under legislation you can have a maximum of 10% of the product being 'fragrance oil.' So if you have a 100g candle, 10g of that is fragrance. The more fragrance that is used, the stronger the scent. Lots of places (Jo Malone, Dyptique) etc, use about 8%. That's because the more fragrance, the higher the cost. Fragrance oil is more expensive than wax. Some can cost £70 for 1kg. But, if you use too much fragrance oil, it can become overpowering and you also lose part of the scent.

A good example of the above is Jo Malone's grapefruit candle gets lots of negative reviews because not only is it parrafin wax (which gives a horrible after-smell) they also mucked up the fragrance load and poured their latest batch too strong. So they've got a tonne of reviews complaining about the shitty smell (the parrafin wax) and overpowering grapefruit - which has happened because they poured too much fragrance oil and therefore the other scents within the scent were lost.

Candle making is really difficult (which is why even though I know a tonne about it, my business decided to stick to soaps) when done properly. It's why big companies aren't necessarily that reliable. Ultimately, hand-pouring with soy wax will always yield the best results that mass produced parrafin blends.

@AndeanFlamingo - the above might be helpful for you as well.

Parrafin Wax

But it might be her whole personality and then what would she have left?

I’m not commenting on the cost of the candle - it’s entirely up to OP wjat she spends her money on. Personally I don’t like candles because I’m always worried about the potential fire risk but I’m sure there are lots of things I buy thst give me great pleasure but other people would find wasteful. But I’m horrified to hear about things being stolen during house viewings. We are thinking about moving for the first time in over 30 years so the process seems to have changed since we last sold a house. Is it expected now that you go out when people are viewing your house and you leave the agent to show people around? I can’t imagine feeling comfortable leaving a stranger in charge of my house, or that they would be vigilant enough to stop someone popping a valuable little collectible into a pocket when they were looking round the house. And what do you do with pets if you’re expected to go out for hours? I assume that some people still insist on showing prospective buyers round themselves?

I’m sure this type of thing must have happened before, so the EA will have some sort of policy in place.

Once OP has paid all of her bills, it is down to her, and her alone, how she prioritises her financial priorities. Her choices will be different than mine. She might think that my financial priorities are ridiculous. It doesn’t matter.

The bottom line is that OP bought something that brought her joy, and it was stolen. That’s wrong regardless of value. For all we know, OP could have been coveting this candle for ages and saved £10 a month for 18 months until she could afford it. Some people prioritise Botox, vapes, nails, hair extensions, cars, holidays, meals out, clothes, hobbies, etc. It’s up to each person to decide what brings them joy, and they should not be shamed if it is stolen.

I would be speaking to the manager at the EAs, not the person who attended the viewing. E mailing ahead and then calling to speak to them in person.

This is an appalling breach of trust. I hope that all the nonsense posts about costs and candles don’t stop you from updating us with what the EA has to say.

It did.

It's not a rip off if the source ingredients - except the wax which dyptique can keep because their candles are made from parrafin wax (which is not only sourced from petroleum but also contains carcinogens) - all come from the same wholesaler.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I'm very much of the opinion I'd prefer small sellers who handmake good quality to sellers like diptyque who make their candles from the cheapest possible wax and sell for the highest price. 😁

It's knowing what quantities to use and quality scents, bases/carriers, curing time etc.

Same as most things, a slight change in a recipe makes a huge difference, otherwise every lavender candle or oil would smell the same, which they don't.

Being from the same factory doesn't mean the same end product.

Also depends on purity and what other processes the product goes through after being purchased.

Unless @HeatingFiddler has worked at the diptyque factory, it's guess work based on her Etsy experiences and the soaps she makes.

@Treesandsheepeverywhere it's not guess work. It's based off the wax they use. The wax many big companies use is much cheaper and thus the quality of the fragrance is poorer. See above my detailed explanation 😊

It's usually about the wax, the type of scent they use and how the candle is poured. For good-value candle alternatives, I love Earl of East, which originates from my neck of woods in East London. The candles burn for ages, the scents are really interesting and linger on. They are hand-poured with soy wax which is a healthier option.
https://www.earlofeast.com/collections/core-line

Edit: not intending to derail the thread further, sorry OP

People would actually bother the police over a candle ! 😳

I'm very much of the opinion I'd prefer small sellers who handmake good quality to sellers like diptyque who make their candles from the cheapest possible wax and sell for the highest price.

FWIW that would be my choice too. But the OP is entitled to choose differently and spend £££ on a branded candle without being sneered at and branded a mug.

What's the name of your company?

It's the momentary value.
Change candle for a stolen piece of £180 jewellery. Would you still not want to "bother" the police over it?