I use several different suppliers online and 2 local. Any costs you can save skipping shipping it is worth a try. Just a word of caution... I have been doing this over 20 years, and yes, I started out with a child's candlemaking kit from a hobby store but! there is a huge difference in quality between a hobby store and a professional supplier. Also keep in mind... typically, not all, hobby stores are also paying for pretty packaging. As a chandler, I could care less about fancy the packaging, just the quality of the product.
Last but not least, for most serious chandlers research and development takes quite a chunk of time. Remember, you are creating something that you either plan to eventually put a flame to or set on a heat source... it's kinda serious to test test test!
Best to you!