Lab suppliers

It can be difficult to find chemicals, glassware, and other suppliers, because large chemical suppliers either refuse to sell to individuals for reasons of liability, or they overcharge on chemicals that can be found at a cheaper price.

This is a list of suppliers which sell to individuals. Editors are free to insert their reviews.

This list is categorised by geographical location, however some suppliers will ship internationally. In particular, there are a number of Chinese suppliers who will ship worldwide for free.

Asia

Deschem (China)

eBay US store Aliexpress store A Chinese seller that offers a wide range of of common glassware equipment for a low price. Mostly 24/40 and 24/29 glassware, plus many other lab essentials. Ships worldwide for free

Reviews

• Quality is somewhat variable, but the pricing mostly makes up for that. Shipping to the UK is much faster than stated on the aliexpress store. They did once send a defective item, and although I got a refund from aliexpress, they seemed to have blacklisted me so I couldn't order from them - until I sent a message asking why, when they stated it was 'a mistake'. - DavidJR (talk)

Nanshin Glassware (China)

eBay US store A Chinese seller specialized in large volume glassware, but also sells common glassware. Cheap prices and free shipping worldwide

Europe

APC Pure (UK)

Lab reagent supplier. APC Pure is the same company as Atom Scientific, but the two sites have slightly different catalogues, and APC pure is usually cheaper for the same item.

Reviews

• Fast shipping & good quality products. I have used them many times - DavidJR (talk)

Better Equipped (UK)

Education supplier. Has lots of cheap non-jointed glassware and other equipment. Has a limited range of 'non-hazardous' chemicals which they will sell to individuals.

Reviews

• Good pricing on glassware - DavidJR (talk)

Scientific Glass Laboratories (UK)

Scientific glassware manufacturer. Large catalogue of jointware. They also do custom glassblowing and repairs. You need to email to place an order but the prices are all listed online.

Reviews

• High quality products, but understandably a bit more expensive than buying from China. - DavidJR (talk)

Rathburn Chemicals (UK)

Scottish manufacturer specialising in high-purity solvents, primarily for analytical work. Not an online shop, a phone call or an email is necessary to place an order.

Reviews

• Friendly/helpful staff. Very happy with my HPLC-grade methanol/acetonitrile from Rathburn - DavidJR (talk)

Jaytee Biosciences (UK)

Various parts, consumables, accessories for HPLC and GC.

Minerals Water (UK)

Chemical supplier. Often has good prices.

Reviews

• Although I have ordered from Minerals Water several times, I will not order from them again. I ordered zinc powder and although the label on the container said zinc, the contents turned out to be iron powder. This resulted in a lot of wasted time and reagents when a reaction failed. I have sent two emails explaining the situation and asking for a refund, but I have not received any reply. - DavidJR (talk)

LP Chemicals (UK)

Lab reagent supplier

Mistral Industrial Chemicals (UK)

Technical grade chemicals. Small quantities tend to be quite expensive, but they do have some good prices if you want to buy in bulk (eg 25kg bags). Free UK shipping.

Reviews

• On two occasions I ordered a 25kg sack of anhydrous sodium sulphite. Very fast shipping by DPD. Although the website states that they are business-to-business sales, they didn't question my orders. - DavidJR (talk)

Bonnymans (UK)

Focusses on cleaning chemicals, but has a selection of technical grade products including KOH, NaOH, HCl_(aq), NH₄OH, alcohols, glycols.

LiMac Science (Latvia)

Has a really big catalog of organic and inorganic compounds, can even buy in bulk. Ships worldwide, shipping costs depend on location.

Reviews

• Excellent quality products. Friendly and helpful proprietor. My order of out-of-stock items was delayed a bit beyond the initially stated lead time however. - DavidJR (talk)

Onyxmet (Poland)

Wide range of organic and inorganic compounds plus pure elements in different forms. Purity of compounds is not always mentioned, the range is 98-99,9%. Shipping costs depend on your location and the minimum order (without shipping) is ~15 USD.

Labstuff (Netherlands)

Labstuff is a chemistry online store located in the Netherlands. They ship to the Netherlands and Belgium.

Reviews

• Shipping can take a while. -Prof_genius

S3 Chemicals

Wide range of organic chemicals

North America

Rotometals (USA)

Rotometals has been around since 1939 and specializes in marine applications of non-ferrous metals. Products include Aluminium alloys, Bismuth, Gallium, Indium, Lead, Magnesium anodes, Tin, and Zinc.

United Nuclear (USA)

Sells pretty much everything an amateur chemist would want.

A selection of some of their more interesting and useful supplies: Uranium compounds, Borated paraffin, Giberellic acid, Rocket nozzle mix, Pre-mixed thermite, Activated zinc sulfide, Ferrofluid, Radioactive ores, Aerogel, Spinthariscopes, Radioactive sources, Ultra-bright glow powder, X-ray components, Geiger counters, Powerful magnets

Any somewhat interesting chemical, including anything radioactive or oxidising, is not available to be shipped anywhere but America. Many other chemicals, the site claims, can be requested personally, for a higher price. Due to the fact that the site is owned by Bob Lazar, a UFO theorist, the entire site cannot be taken seriously, though it is a wonderful source for all chemists.

US Pigment Corp. (USA)

US Pigment is a pottery supplier based in Illinois. They will ship to the United States and Canada. For each chemical, the minimum order quantity is one pound, except for various expensive materials such as europium oxide and silver nitrate.

Products include:

• Various rare earth oxides
• Many transition metal oxides and carbonates
• Elemental tin, cadmium, and selenium
• Alkali and alkaline earth carbonates
• Tungsten and molybdenum compounds
• White and Red lead

Reviews

• Shipping was really fast, ordered on a Friday came the following Monday. Some things are sold at a great price (CoCO₃ for $20/pound) others are rather expensive considering the grade (NiCO₃ $30/pound). -gdflp

American Science and Surplus (USA)

American Science and Surplus, or AS&S, is a surplus supplier. Although they supply surplus, their inventory stays relatively constant, lasting at least 3 to 5 years for most items. They do not focus on chemistry, but are a good source for some cheap chemistry lab equipment, and microscope accessories. Products include:

• Inexpensive China Borosilicate glassware (beakers and Flasks)
• Lab stand hardware
• Lots of storage containers (Glasses and Plastics, bulk or not, and cheap)
• Reagent bottles
• Two distillation rigs
• 'Essential Oils' Distillation kit, ground glass
• Microscope Accessories
• Microbiology equipment - Agar and Petri dishes
• Inexpensive boxes of Kimax ampoules
• Cheap separatory funnels

Cynmar (USA)

Cynmar is a science supplier based in Illinois. They will ship to anywhere, but extra charges apply for shipping outside of the contiguous United States. Although they state on their website that they no longer sell to individuals, this is not true. Products include:

• Glassware (of various quality levels)
• Lab equipment
• Reagents
• Books
• Lab furniture
• Lab appliances
• Biology supplies
• Homebrewing/winemaking supplies

Reviews

• I've bought most of my equipment from them. I'm quite happy with all of it. The only downside I've encountered is that shipping can be slow sometimes.

Duda Diesel (USA)

Duda Diesel is an Alabama based alternative energy company specializing in biodiesel. They sell a variety of industrial chemicals. Products include:

• Industrial Chemicals
• Bulk Industrial Chemicals
• Limited lab equipment.

Reviews

• I bought a few pounds of sulfur from them a while ago. It shipped fairly fast and seems to be of good quality. -zts16

Elemental Scientific (USA)

Elemental Scientific is a science supplier based in Minnesota. They have one of the largest selections of lab supplies available to amateur chemists. One great thing about Elemental Scientific is that they interact directly with the amateur chemistry community. The owner is on the Sciencemadness Discussion Board as the user tomholm. Products include:

• Glassware
• Lab equipment
• A wide variety of chemicals
• Chemistry Sets

GalliumSource (USA)

GalliumSource is a California-based company which has received consistently positive reviews from YouTube, including NurdRage. Products include: GalliumSource sells metals and alloys, as well as some nonmetals and metalloids, and ships them internationally.

• Gallium
• Magnesium in numerous forms, including ingot, turnings, and ribbon
• Galinstan
• Sodium. Lots and lots of it.
• And even more strontium.
• Ferrocerium
• Arsenic
• Molybdenmum
• Cerium
• Tungsten
• Niobium

Metallium (USA)

Metallium is an online store for element collectors based in Massachusetts, founded in 2003 by Dave Hamric. He has supplied some materials to Theodore Gray (of Periodic Table Table fame). Ships internationally Products include: ALL of the stable elements, as either bulk form or stored in ampoules. They also sell element coins for collectors. This is one of the few sources of rare earth elements. Turnings and powders are available by request.

Reviews

• Quick shipping and a very nice selection, but you may not get a quick response to your emails and calls. For a 5 gram sample of terbium metal I got about .75 grams extra. A REALLY good deal. Brain&Force (talk) 23:35, August 12, 2014 (UTC)