Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Sigma-Aldrich

Sigma-Aldrich

copperastic - 24-3-2014 at 13:07

Hi were i live theres a Sigma-Aldrich building by me. Do you know if its like a store that i can walk in or is it like a factory were you can only order online?
Thanks

Chemosynthesis - 24-3-2014 at 13:34

Only ordered from them online, and never for personal experiments. I don't think they have had storefronts since the Sigma Chemical Company in the 50's. They really only deal with companies or professional labs, though.

copperastic - 24-3-2014 at 13:41

oh ok Chemosynthesis

Töilet Plünger - 24-3-2014 at 13:56

Sigma is a real nightmare. It's nearly impossible to buy from them, even if you have a business.

If you need reagents or elements, try United Nuclear, Elemental Scientific, or Metallium.

[Edited on 2014-3-25 by Töilet Plünger]

thesmug - 24-3-2014 at 14:27

Just as Töilet Plünger said, buying anything from SA is going to take months to ship (I've even seen it take years!). Be warned, the same applies to Elemental Scientific (though their quality can't be beat).

jwpa17 - 24-3-2014 at 16:44

I haven't done it for a decade or so, but Sigma in the US has been very friendly and easy to deal with. I've ordered books, innocuous reagents (like Tris base), and some enzymes on my personal credit card. No problem. Expensive shipping costs, though.
It may have changed a lot since 9/11, but I never had problems.

TheChemiKid - 24-3-2014 at 17:06

Quote: Originally posted by thesmug

Be warned, the same applies to Elemental Scientific (though their quality can't be beat).

I definitely agree with you, they are unbeatable. I did have a problem with their Iron powder, though. It was DEFINITELY not pure.

thesmug - 24-3-2014 at 18:23

Quote: Originally posted by TheChemiKid

Quote: Originally posted by thesmug

Be warned, the same applies to Elemental Scientific (though their quality can't be beat).

I definitely agree with you, they are unbeatable. I did have a problem with their Iron powder, though. It was DEFINITELY not pure.

Oh yeah, I bought a reagent kit from them and it came with some "iron" pellets. To my dismay, said pellets were actually copper :mad:

. Good thing iron's easy enough to find...

Texium - 24-3-2014 at 18:55

That seems really strange that they would mess up something that simple, particularly since iron is worth less than copper so it's not like they were ripping you off!

numos - 24-3-2014 at 21:59

Sigma Aldrich is not a bad company, but I don't understand why you would want to buy from them. They carry mostly ultra high purity products and for high prices. I had my school order from there before for my science fair project. I needed N(4-methoxybenzylidene)-4-butylaniline. It was $50 for 5 grams, it shipped beautifully and without problems - and to a high school! But they are one of the largest chemical supplier and access to their products can do alot of damage in the wrong hands. Don't bother buying simple reagents from there, it's not worth it, if you really need something you could probably ask your school, or call them, they are nice people, the guy offered to make me an account.

MrHomeScientist - 25-3-2014 at 07:33

Sigma does not sell to individuals. None of the major chemical suppliers do.

thesmug - 25-3-2014 at 15:39

Quote: Originally posted by MrHomeScientist

Sigma does not sell to individuals. None of the major chemical suppliers do.

That is, unless you can find a business to buy from them through. A lot of schools, universities and even professional labs will let people buy from SA through them, the real problem is getting them to trust you...

Steam - 25-3-2014 at 18:50

It is nearly impossible for an individual without a business address/tax ID to order from Sigma, Alfa, Finn, etc. Places I order from are:
United Nuclear (bit pricey but have a good selection of those "hard-to-find" items)
Elemental Scientific LLC (great selection, horrible shipping)
HMS Beagle (has an alright selection but only sells small quantities)
Ebay (where I get 80% of my chemicals and glassware from, cheap, easy, and fast)

Also, If your like me and have an actual business address at your disposal but not a business credit card, DEA number, blah blah blah. Lab Depot Inc has a really nice selection of the things you just cant find elsewhere. They have a really nice selection of chemical equipment to. When you order from them, do it over the phone (they don't ask for as much information if you phone order it) and make sure you know how to pronounce the names of the chemicals which you are ordering so you look more professional!

ParadoxChem126 - 25-3-2014 at 20:24

Quote: Originally posted by thesmug

Oh yeah, I bought a reagent kit from them and it came with some "iron" pellets. To my dismay, said pellets were actually copper :mad:

. Good thing iron's easy enough to find...

I bought the same iron pellets a while ago and they were also copper colored. However, I tested them with a magnet and found them to be magnetic. I also found that if you sand off the surface layer, the gray color of iron is revealed. I think these are actually iron-- maybe they are copper plated or maybe it is just an oxide layer of some kind.

thesmug - 26-3-2014 at 10:44

Quote: Originally posted by ParadoxChem126

Quote: Originally posted by thesmug

Oh yeah, I bought a reagent kit from them and it came with some "iron" pellets. To my dismay, said pellets were actually copper :mad:

. Good thing iron's easy enough to find...

I know exactly what you mean. I told them about the issue and they sent me a replacement exactly as you described. The original pellets looked the same, but were definitely copper (I used them to make copper acetate as a test).

zed - 26-3-2014 at 11:52

SA? Even my college chem department didn't order from them directly. I used to order SA products via Daigger. Don't know if Daigger is still around, but back in the day, Daigger was a great place to do business. I'll check.

Yup! Daigger is still around. And, as those things go, its products are not too expensive.

http://www.daigger.com/chemicals-reagents/acids/20996

Of course, once upon a time, in Richmond, California....you could just walk in, plunk your money on the counter, and walk out with whatever you wanted. At your own peril, of course; sell to you they would....they also would share your purchase history freely with any interested government agencies.

In these modern times, it comes with the territory. Any company with a chemical handlers license, needs to keep records, and the records are subject to government inspection.

[Edited on 26-3-2014 by zed]

Elemental Scientific Shipping

tomholm - 2-4-2014 at 19:18

I am the new owner of Elemental Scientific and just want to follow up on comments about shipping. We are working very hard at speeding up delivery times and have now reduced shipping times for most chemical orders from an average of 1 month to 1 week. (There may still be some chemicals that we don't have in stock that take a little longer.) If you haven't purchased from Elemental recently, please give us another try and let everyone know about your experience.

Thanks.

Etaoin Shrdlu - 2-4-2014 at 19:29

I can confirm the shipping times are much better. I just ordered 23 chemicals on the 14th, which was a Friday; they shipped out next Friday and arrived Monday the 21st, which I thought was pretty good.

EDIT: Hey, any chance of BME offering some of its chemical stocks to hobbyists? You have some things I've been pretty interested in.

[Edited on 4-3-2014 by Etaoin Shrdlu]

Zyklon-A - 3-4-2014 at 06:21

Quote: Originally posted by tomholm

I am the new owner of Elemental Scientific and just want to follow up on comments about shipping. We are working very hard at speeding up delivery times and have now reduced shipping times for most chemical orders from an average of 1 month to 1 week. (There may still be some chemicals that we don't have in stock that take a little longer.) If you haven't purchased from Elemental recently, please give us another try and let everyone know about your experience. Thanks.

That is great! I will definitely enjoy buying from you guys again.

numos - 3-4-2014 at 06:40

I can also confirm that shipping times have been greatly reduced, my order of $90 arrived in a week.

tomholm - 6-4-2014 at 15:16

Quote: Originally posted by Etaoin Shrdlu

I can confirm the shipping times are much better. I just ordered 23 chemicals on the 14th, which was a Friday; they shipped out next Friday and arrived Monday the 21st, which I thought was pretty good.

EDIT: Hey, any chance of BME offering some of its chemical stocks to hobbyists? You have some things I've been pretty interested in.

[Edited on 4-3-2014 by Etaoin Shrdlu]

We at BME/ Elemental Scientific do offer all chemicals to hobbyists. We are in the process of merging our websites. Feel free to order from either site, www.bmelabandscience.com or www.elementalscientific.net , or call directly: 651-646-5339.

Tom

thesmug - 6-4-2014 at 15:37

Tomholm, is there any difference between the two sites at this point?

tomholm - 8-4-2014 at 17:18

Quote: Originally posted by thesmug

Tomholm, is there any difference between the two sites at this point?

Yes, products listed do vary between the sites. That said, all orders are processed from the same place. The Elemental Scientific site sells chemicals. If you have any questions about the availability of a product, you can always call our store.

Thx.

Tom

thesmug - 8-4-2014 at 18:17

Ok, thank you very much.

Etaoin Shrdlu - 9-4-2014 at 10:32

Quote: Originally posted by tomholm

Oh, fantastic. I got thrown off by the way all the chemicals are labeled as "call for price." That's usually a commercial-only indication in my experience. When the sites are merged are all the prices going to be listed like they are for Elemental Scientific now?

tomholm - 10-4-2014 at 04:41

Quote: Originally posted by Etaoin Shrdlu

Quote: Originally posted by tomholm

The plan is to migrate to only one site with all prices shown as they are on the Elemental Site. Currently, there are many overlapping products between the two sites. The Elemental Scientific site is probably more comprehensive for chemicals, glassware, etc., but there are a few items on the BME Lab and Science site that are not on the Elemental Scientific site. Hopefully, this will all get sorted out over the next couple of months.

Thanks.

Tom