Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Suppliers/retailers not listing prices for labware/chemicals?!

fusso - 7-9-2018 at 04:55

I was browsing local retailers' sites to look for some hotplates they sell. I found their brands, models, desciptions etc but almost none of them put the prices onto the pages. I did find one retailer which has the prices but I've heard that it only supplies to education institutes. Is it really that hard to also put the prices there???:mad:

[Edited on 07/09/18 by fusso]

Loptr - 7-9-2018 at 06:02

This is their attempt at fishing for customers. Businesses hope to make a personal connection with you in the hopes that it will keep you.

Tsjerk - 7-9-2018 at 07:00

The prices don't exist. You have to request a quote and you will get a customized price, depending on who or what they think you are.

WGTR - 7-9-2018 at 08:07

In the commercial world, it's more important to have a good relationship with a supplier who can get you what you need, when you need it, with no hassles, than it is to save a few bucks. The decision to order something from your favorite supplier is often made before even knowing the price, and then it's normal to pay whatever they ask. The difference is when things get expensive. Then it's normal to get more than one quote. It's easy to spend way more in labor than the cost you save by shopping around.

[Edited on 9-7-2018 by WGTR]

monolithic - 7-9-2018 at 10:43

If you're a hobbyist it's probably easier to order private sales, eBay, or even from Alibaba. I haven't found a single chemical supplier that will sell to individuals. They all require business names, corporate credit cards, and business/institutional affiliation.

Herr Haber - 10-9-2018 at 05:28

No prices on a public site? Not surprised. Get registered and then get the prices.

woelen - 10-9-2018 at 05:56

Most of these suppliers do not want to sell items to individuals. They don't want the hassle of small orders, the risk of individuals who might abuse their products or who use them in an irresponsible way.

More and more sellers are going this way. I recently even had this with a computer supplier, who sells separate CPUs, mainboards, RAM modules and the like. He did not want to sell these to me, he had too many issues with customers who come back to him, telling that something is broken. These customers, however, made mistakes in selecting, or connecting items and broke components, or purchased incompatible components. In order to avoid this hassle, the company decided to sell to professional customers only, who are working for a company. Besides that, such professional customers usually buy many components at once, making the orders more profitable in terms of effort per sold unit.
With chemicals, or hazardous lab equipment, or glassware which can be used for making drugs, companies are even more reluctant to sell to individuals.

fusso - 10-9-2018 at 07:20

Quote: Originally posted by Herr Haber  
No prices on a public site? Not surprised. Get registered and then get the prices.
No, they're the retailers near me, not the producers, and don't have the option to register.

fusso - 10-9-2018 at 07:29

Quote: Originally posted by woelen  
Most of these suppliers do not want to sell items to individuals. They don't want the hassle of small orders, the risk of individuals who might abuse their products or who use them in an irresponsible way.

More and more sellers are going this way. I recently even had this with a computer supplier, who sells separate CPUs, mainboards, RAM modules and the like. He did not want to sell these to me, he had too many issues with customers who come back to him, telling that something is broken. These customers, however, made mistakes in selecting, or connecting items and broke components, or purchased incompatible components. In order to avoid this hassle, the company decided to sell to professional customers only, who are working for a company. Besides that, such professional customers usually buy many components at once, making the orders more profitable in terms of effort per sold unit.
With chemicals, or hazardous lab equipment, or glassware which can be used for making drugs, companies are even more reluctant to sell to individuals.
The retailers I'm mentioning have physical stores and I'm willing to visit their stores to buy the equipment or chemicals so I don't need to pay the shipping. I think this would minimize the hassles for them.