Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Found an old Aldrich catalog.

PirateDocBrown - 6-1-2018 at 12:25

It's from 1988, and poking around on it, the prices sometimes look absurdly low. I know, inflation has halved the value of the dollar since 1988, but even so, considering the large markup that Aldrich normally imposes on its sales.

Examples:

Acetic anhydride $16/kg
Benzaldehyde $17/kg
Iodine $74/kg
Nitroethane $15/kg
Nitromethane $22/L
Phosphorus, red $18/500g
Phosphorus, yellow, stick $55/100g
Phosphorus oxychloride $17/kg
Phosphorus pentachloride $18/kg
Phosphorus tribromide $31/500g
Phosphorus trichloride $16/kg
Thionyl chloride $19/kg
Safole $35/500g
Pipronal $51/500g
Potassium, sticks, in oil $144/450g
Sodium, lump, under argon $29/450g
Sodium borohydride $58/500g
Sodium hydride, 60% in mineral oil $79/2kg
Calcium oxide $13/500g
Calcium hydride $46/500g
Calcium carbide $18/2kg
Calcium metal, shot $50/500g

Some of that stuff I mentioned, just to make the cooks out there cry. Thanks, guys, for hurting our hobby.

But seriously, why have chemical prices gotten so high?
Glassware in the same catalog is more or less the same price as what we pay today, inflation notwithstanding!

What a difference 30 years makes!

PirateDocBrown - 6-1-2018 at 12:27

Oh, if anyone wants to have me look up the price on anything, just for jollies, just ask.

I think it's amazing that direct drug precursors could just be gotten that easy, too.

DraconicAcid - 6-1-2018 at 12:49

I think I had that catalogue- I was given one in my first year of college, and that was around that time.

JJay - 6-1-2018 at 13:04

Oh how about... cycloheptane?

Fulmen - 6-1-2018 at 13:09

Could you check Zirconium powder, P.A? I managed to get my hands on a 100g tin around that time, made some very interesting incendiary bullets with it :-)

[Edited on 6-1-18 by Fulmen]

ninhydric1 - 6-1-2018 at 15:03

Acetaldehyde?

PirateDocBrown - 7-1-2018 at 09:20

Cycloheptane $31/100g
Zirconium 30 mesh $73/500g
Acetaldehyde $19/250g

Melgar - 7-1-2018 at 12:26

Could be there's less of a demand for these sorts of chemicals. Chemistry research has taken a different route in the 30 years. Now it's all fluorinated derivatives of these things, which are naturally much more expensive than the non-fluorinated counterparts. I have no theories as to why that is, but like half the organic chemicals in any given product catalog seem to have at least one fluorine atom in them.

diddi - 7-1-2018 at 12:32

i have one form about 1984. i has the mona lisa painting on the cover

zed - 8-1-2018 at 16:18

Oh, I have a more recent one. Prices still weren't horrible. Just had to buy larger lots.

In these troubled times, the small purchaser is being discouraged, by sky high prices on small quantities.

Buy an industrial or semi-industrial amount, and there is usually a big discount.

Unless you are a big time buyer, suppliers don't want your business. Too much trouble!




PirateDocBrown - 9-1-2018 at 13:34

Carbon Disulfide was $20 a liter. With inflation, it ought to be $40. It's now $182.