Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Purchasing Chemicals off the Web

Murexide - 26-10-2019 at 16:40

Many amateur chemists purchase chemicals off the web for example from eBay, and through sites such as PayPal or Ayden.

Just be careful of what you write and purchase/is in the sellers description.

In hindsight it seems so obvious but never actually refer to the chemicals as “chemicals”. Use the word “products” or better yet nothing at all. If you don’t you will trigger an automatic regulatory check.

I have no idea why this system is in place, and it seems like quite the waste of time. I’ve heard of people triggering the system by writing things like “M32” or names of various games. There is no way that any person who is intent on purchasing prohibited or illegal goods would be stupid enough to make specific mention of the purchased goods.

It is rather sad the amateur chemistry community has to heavily restrict what they say and who they tell about their hobby, even though it is completely legal.

I am hoping that after their check they will realise (put the effort in to actually check) that the chemicals purchased are not restricted at all, and there won’t be a LEO visit.

G-Coupled - 26-10-2019 at 17:02

Who triggered this check - eBay and/or PayPal? How did you become aware of this check? Is this in the US?

Murexide - 26-10-2019 at 17:06

Paypal, and it notified immediately. This is not in the US.

This is not limited to just purchase of chemicals and is in fact quite widespread, causing problems for many people.

I believe they use a simple keyword search. Mentioning anything related to chemistry, wars, weapons, destruction, etc. will all trigger it I believe.

fusso - 26-10-2019 at 17:13

So what's M32? Messier 32?

Murexide - 26-10-2019 at 17:23

I believe anything with Mxx is flagged as it is "related" to the purchase of guns/ammunition/grenade launchers etc, regardless of whether it exists or not. It can also mean various highway numbers etc.

G-Coupled - 26-10-2019 at 17:51

I know PayPal haven't been happy about people paying for perfectly legit vaping gear going back a while now.

Ubya - 27-10-2019 at 11:15

one guy i know got in trouble for writing in a paypal transaction
"weed" and "bribe money"

Praxichys - 29-10-2019 at 05:49

PayPal doesn't like firearms either. Considering stun guns seem to be fine as long as they are legal in the jurisdiction, their unwillingness to accept this business seems to be more of a political statement than a liability concern. That said, I have used PayPal to buy and sell a few over the years before Venmo existed. I have never found it wise to show up to a transaction with a fat wad of cash knowing the other person is expected to have a firearm!

https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/what-is-paypal%E...

SWIM - 29-10-2019 at 08:49

Quote: Originally posted by Praxichys  
PayPal doesn't like firearms either. Considering stun guns seem to be fine as long as they are legal in the jurisdiction, their unwillingness to accept this business seems to be more of a political statement than a liability concern. That said, I have used PayPal to buy and sell a few over the years before Venmo existed. I have never found it wise to show up to a transaction with a fat wad of cash knowing the other person is expected to have a firearm!

https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/what-is-paypal%E...


You're in Detroit.

Isn't pretty much everybody expected to have a firearm?

Praxichys - 29-10-2019 at 09:04

Yes, it's quite common. This data published by the police shows the number of CPL holders at about 1.1M. The state population is just shy of 10M so about 1 in every 10 people are licensed to carry concealed. Of course, a lot of the gangster types will illegally carry stolen firearms as well but it's hard to put a number on that.

[Edited on 29-10-2019 by Praxichys]