quicksilver
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Price of Chemicals
Due to my work and my hobby I keep tabs on the price of chemicals both within the US and the EU and the price has been going through the roof for the
last 3 years.
I am very awair that some prices are related to the material metals that are market driven (AgNO3, etc). And that has been a given but I have now seen
prices accross the board go way, way up.
I asked a collegue about this and the answer was interesting. She seems to feel tht due to NAFTA being exploitive of 3rd world labour that the time
has come for the companies that moved their operations to those countries (chem refineries, etc) to make a fast buck before those countries start
restrictive legislation on pollution. there is a lot of dumping of waste in these places that will call a halt to the wide profit margin; so they
stick it to the end users right now.
This same phenomenon exists within other fields as well who use NAFTA as a profit kicker.
Large companies like those that provide universities have puched their prices so high that the companies that used to buy the surplus from
universities have found the market has dried up.
Stocking up is not a foolish thing to to if one plans on maintaining a reserch or hobbiest interest in chemisrty, IMO. Prices in general have risen
1/3 accoss the board while labware has actually gone down!
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DeAdFX
Hazard to Others
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Well I heard on the news that oil prices are going down. I assume that chemicals in general might be going down in price(like ammonium/nitrates/other
things that use CXH2X+2)? I think it would be best to stock up on the non enviro friendly stuff like Methylene chloride before those enviro guys ban
the stuff or make it in-fucking-sanely expensive to purchase. Slightly off topic but the world was a lot better economic wise pre 9/11 which makes
sense because resources are being diverted to a war...
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evil_lurker
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I think the reason behind the price of raw materials going up in the USA is directly related to shipping costs and liability...
UPS, FedEx, and DHL all charge outrageous hazmat fees... each time a chemical goes thru a reseller and it gets shipped via parcel service that has to
be factored into the final cost.
The DOT has such fucking insane restrictions on shipping chemicals... quantity restrictions, packaging standards, etc... that in most cases on hazmat
materials if they don't go ORM-D it will cost more to ship them than what they are actually worth.
Also companies that sell to individuals have to make an ass raping just to cover their own tails in case some idiot does something stupid and/or
illegal and the gov't decides to come after the supplier.
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woelen
Super Administrator
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Oh yes, I know of the hazmats and shipping fees. Just purchased 1 kilo of NaNO2. It cost me appr. EUR 11, shipping is EUR 25! I tried to obtain this
chem from the USA from AppleScientific a year ago or something like that. They sold it for $7.50 per pound, but they charged me $151 for shipping. I
cancelled the order....
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evil_lurker
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I like www.postapplescientific.com... for the most part.
I ordered 4L of 98% ACS grade sulfuric from them a week or so ago (stuff is CLEAR!).... recently I have been going thru a supplier out in Utah for
most things... but the price was right @$13.80 per liter plus they shipped it ORM-D for a total of around $70 USD
My only gripe was that after 4 business days and a weekend they still hadn't shipped my order so I called them up and jarred them a bit. That seemed
to get them moving... cause three days later it was sitting on my doorstep.
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quicksilver
International Hazard
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It's not entirly an issue of shipping via comon carrier (UPS, FED EX, etc) - WE get stuff via the least expensive trucking firm....they are going up
exclusive of shipping. If you have chem catalogues you would freak if you compaired the last 5 years or so.
As an aside....powdered Al is now at an all time high. I don't know if this is a pyro industry issue but if you check a place like Skylighter - Al is
now close to $50 a lb !!!!
I have said this before about mil-surplus metal powders; they are the best damn deal you can find. I am sitting on a few lbs, simply because I think I
would not be able to replace them after a few years....even IF I had a lot of money. This is NOT the time to sell off your surplus chems.
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evil_lurker
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Unfortunately dedicated truck shipments are pretty much a non-option for private individuals who only need small amounts of reagents... even if you do
get one, freight can start as much as $100 per shipment.
I do however have a semi-local company that I could possibly deal with that has their own shipping trucks but problem with them is they want a $400
minimum order.
It'd be nice if the members of the board could pool their resources together and resell reagents to each other.
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quicksilver
International Hazard
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On another board (http://xsorbit29.com/users5/crucible/index.php) there was a rather indepth discussion of exactly that. the concept of a sales platform in which
individuals would sell to one another or develop a pool together, etc - or use it like Ebay. The legal considerations have stalled it thus far. But it
still exists as a possiblity. You may want to check out the discussion....(cut and paste the url; it's an open board).
The real problem is making all the transactions really private so that the host is not subject to legal presures and responsibilities; those must rest
with the patrons of the board (IMO).
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quicksilver
International Hazard
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There is a large New York Times article dated Sept 20 dealing with the security measure imposed on chem manufacturers around the world and that may
have the largest contributing factor in an increase in cost.
It seems that chemical plants are number 5 on the hit list of terror targets just behind shopping malls so that special securirty measures are being
imposed. I still think it's a good time to stock up on what may never be available at reasonable cost again. This would enclude any need for
reagent-grade chems that would be difficult to purify without a large lab environment.
The fellow that put up the chem finder web page of materials available in common usage available in hardware stores, artist supply shops, etc is also
a damn good thing to copy down. I forsee a time when amature chemistry is precticed with chems available at the local level in technical grade only.
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Fleaker
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| Quote: | Originally posted by evil_lurker
It'd be nice if the members of the board could pool their resources together and resell reagents to each other. |
Funny you mention that, I now have a good bit of sodium that I can cut up and bottle under argon or oil. Got it to work on sodium-metal compounds
(i.e. Na/Pb, Na/Hg). I should also have quite a good bit of mercury coming (please PM about that). I occasionally get things in bulk that I'd be
willing to resell, but it's more of the time factor that keeps me from doing it. If anyone's interested, send one my way. So many things on the list,
so little time!
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