Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Alibaba as a source

LD 50 - 10-10-2014 at 19:08

Anyone have experience buying chems from vendors on Alibaba? Are there a lot of scammers there? Recommended vendors?

Any tips would be helpful.

violet sin - 10-10-2014 at 21:56

I have been talking with one about ruthenium powder. they are willing to sell 250g to me after a few emails back and forth explaining my situation and need. which is nice, because their Min Order Amount was 1Kg as stated in the listing. prior to contact I had made a user account and included a statement that I was not a business nor did I have a business license. after contact it was easy to come to an agreement when they understood what I meant, most the time.

they had been in business for quite some time selling precious metals and had good standing, I just haven't had the *spare* money laying around yet for 8oz of ruthenium. which after shipping, is right about double spot price. so I can't comment on a completed sale yet, but everything leading up so far has been pleasant.

hyfalcon - 11-10-2014 at 01:44

Now I have to ask. Whatcha going to use the Ruthenium for? Huh, huh? Going to try to recreate one of the DeBeers patents?

violet sin - 11-10-2014 at 01:55

nope, metal work. I have a project I wanted to incorporate a small amount of each of the PGM's. not at all chemistry related, unless you count the fun trying to process these metals to their intended form ;) figured why not start at the cheaper end of the spectrum = Ru. I have Pt and Ir already, small samples- pure and alloyed together.

hyfalcon - 11-10-2014 at 02:00

Sounds like the making of on hell of an anode to me. Something I might do. I've still got my shinny new PbO2 anode samples I got from alibaba. Still have to build my electrode pack with them and give them a drive.

violet sin - 11-10-2014 at 02:25

@ diddi: out of interest, what did you get burned on? and how was the wording to make it stick? I think the stated prices on ruthenium were $2.5/g large sale, and they quoted me $3.27/g for a 250g order. with shipping would come to ~$930. I don't really want to learn a lesson with a grand at stake ya know.

once I mad it clear that it would be a one time purchase, of a small quantity from a person with no business license, it was quick yes or no answer on moving forward towards a price

Bimseby - 11-10-2014 at 08:36

Alibaba is a fine place to make larger trades. You could just ask for a sample and they might give you a reasonable prize. Beware shipping is hell of an expense. Last time I bought a lead dioxide anode from alibaba, btw. Just make sure you can pay by paypal and you are just fine :D.

hyfalcon - 11-10-2014 at 09:32

Since they just went public on the NYSE, I would expect things to get easier. More and more, the younger generation of Chinese are learning English as a second language.



Not at all hard on the eyes either.;)


New Picture (1).png - 37kB

Makes me want to learn to speak the language.

[Edited on 11-10-2014 by hyfalcon]

aga - 11-10-2014 at 11:05

Careful with those biochem experiments hyfalcon.

See how easy it is to mutate hair into flowers ?

hyfalcon - 11-10-2014 at 12:07

This was my contact photo for the PbO2 anode samples.

aga - 11-10-2014 at 12:26

Quote:
This was MY contact photo for the PbO2 anode samples.

It is worse than i thought.
Experimenting on yourself again, and with impressive results.

What was the seller's contact photo like ?

hyfalcon - 11-10-2014 at 12:29

Sweet

Marvin - 12-10-2014 at 04:35

violet sin, would you be interested in setting up a group buy for Ruthenium? I want some and it's a pretty good time to buy.

DrMario - 12-10-2014 at 07:01

Quote: Originally posted by aga  
Careful with those biochem experiments hyfalcon.

See how easy it is to mutate hair into flowers ?


What's the conversion factor, any idea?I'm running out of hair (on the head, rest is OK) and would actually rather appreciate a nice bouquet.

Mush - 7-2-2015 at 10:07

A good thing about alibaba is that if one has registerd with them can also use aliexress as well. :D
I am searching for an overhead stirrer but the shipping is extremely costly.:(

[Edited on 7-2-2015 by Mush]

BromicAcid - 7-2-2015 at 11:16

My own experience from here:

http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=42695
Quote:
On the whole it is cheaper to order from China in industry. However it is usually not as cheap as one would expect and the timelines do tend to drag. I had some personal dealings with a metal dealer in China through AliBaba to buy some ruthenium. Their posting said that the minimum quantity was 100 grams. I asked for a quote for 100 grams and they quoted for 150. I thought, "Fine, I can go with that." So I asked them to draw up a purchase order, the purchase order was for 250 grams! Ruthenium is not cheap and I don't have a ton of money to spend so I didn't want to go that far. When I told them that they informed me that they never sell less than 250 grams and that the quotes before were valid quotes but not for valid quantities. They were a Gold seller, one of the few that I could get a payment to so I bit the bullet and bought the 250 grams. First week it didn't ship, second week it did not ship and when I asked about it they said that I was a small customer and they have other orders to fill first. Out of the blue a package arrived. They had shipped it via EMS air which is about 3 days shipping. They insured my $1100 package for $50 and the customs form on the package said that it was a customer sample of plastic. What the heck was I going to do if that was lost? There was no writing on the powder inside, no CofA. I contacted the seller about the CofA and they assured me it was good material. Then the next day they sent me what looked like a scan of a photocopy of a photocopy. I sent a sample out of X-ray fluorescence. For any reasonable price I could not get a CofA via XRF. However for $15 I was able to at least get confirmation that it was a sample of ruthenium.

macckone - 7-2-2015 at 12:06

It is very common for Chinese shippers to use a generic customs form
For everything they ship. Ie the thing that has least holdups on shipping
Is put on the form. They also routinely under value shipments to prevent
Customs fees.

Zombie - 7-2-2015 at 19:50

I found thru trial, and error you have to verify the company you are considering doing business with.
Many are fly by night "re-sellers", and you do have a certain amount of risk.

I google every source I consider. I then use the contact info found to verify the size, structure, and ability of said business to fulfill it's promises. Call the company if you can not find credible info. If you here Chinese TV or babies crying... don't order.

I've been dealing w/ Deschem for 6-7 months now, and I vetted them thru the "net". I couldn't be more satisfied. They list on Al;i Express, Amazon, and Ebay but I found them on AliBaba.

Years ago I ordered 50 aluminium cylinder heads from an Ali seller, and every one was flawed. They were all factory seconds that could not pass QC.
I lost $1,500.00 on that deal because I did not take the time to investigate BEFORE ordering, and Ali Baba does NOT work like Ebay.

Just do the homework, and it's all good.

ahill - 8-2-2015 at 00:40

I've bought maybe a dozen items via aliexpress. Very mixed experiences - even from the same vendor. Their dispute resolution process is a bad joke. I have stopped using them.

I now use banggood for miscellaneous electronic components (free shipping) and for everything else, EBay or just buy direct from smaller (local) retailers.