Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Can anyone reccomend some good lab/chemical supply stores in NYC?

Can anyone reccomend some good lab/chemical supply stores in NYC?

Lillica - 6-2-2017 at 18:49

I've had the luxury for the last few years to have a really good chemistry supply store in my city. It was a nice storefront, I could go in there any time during the week, and pick up any kind of common laboratory things I needed. Small heating mantles, beakers of various sizes, stir bars, flasks, and many other niche chemistry items, all of which were were on beautiful display on shelves. Not only did the store keep many common chemicals in stock such as THF, Formic Acid, Potassium Phosphate, they were also able to gladly order chemicals from any major chemical supplier such as Sigma for me, which I could even pay for overnight shipping if it so pleased me. I had a really good relationship with the owner of the shop and they were very pleasant to work with, never giving me a hard time about my purchases.

The city I lived in before this had nothing like it, since it was kind of small. I am assuming New York City has to have some kind of shops like this, if not several. Problem is when I search lab/chemical supply stores in NYC, I get tons of results and the majority of them are just companies that sell stuff online, and not a walk-in store front. Does anyone here live in NYC and can suggest some stores?

Melgar - 7-2-2017 at 00:28

Okay, the thing about New York City is that all of the chemical factories moved to New Jersey when they instituted pollution control laws here like 100 years ago, and they remain there to this day. Try searching for New Jersey chemical suppliers, and I bet you'll be surprised at how many more there are than in the five boroughs. Of course, these suppliers sell mostly to businesses, who typically have various commercial uses for them.

The two best chemical suppliers I know of in the city are B&H Photo (lots of mostly inorganic salts, especially ones that are used in photography), and Zak's Jewelry Tools. Zak's doesn't advertise their chemicals online, but you can get concentrated nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide, 28% ammonia, potassium cyanide, sodium cyanide, graphite rods, clay crucibles, all sorts of electroplating stuff, precious metal plating solutions, various sizes of beakers and flasks, etc. They'll order stuff for you too, typically from their supplier in New Jersey though, who sells chemicals for commercial use, so probably all the stuff you mentioned, but not specialty stuff like from Sigma Aldrich. Drain cleaner sulfuric acid is easy to find too, in the outer boroughs; combine that with a bit of peroxide and boil and it'll clean right up.

eBay works faster here than most other places; I've gotten stuff from China in under a week before, since the customs clearing center for the Northeastern US is located in Flushing. Getting stuff shipped here also tends to be somewhat cheaper and quicker than other places.

There's also me; I have too much of a lot of things. Especially of various low-melting-point alloys containing gallium and indium, strong acid ion exchange resin, 14/20 25 mL three-neck flasks, and plenty more. I'm trying to start a chemistry Meetup group in the city, but I can't use the location I was planning on using as a meeting space, so I'm not really sure what to do on that front. I've been working on setting up a 14/20 glassware portable lab type of setup, because as I'm sure you're aware (or at least you will be soon) space is at a premium here, and right now, I'll probably have to use my friend's dad's garage for anything that isn't really small-scale, and probably I'll need to bring everything there and take it with me when I leave. U2U me for more info if you're interested in anything I mentioned.

Lillica - 7-2-2017 at 01:05

I understand your point about factories moving to NJ because of pollution regulations, but I don't see what that has to do with chemical/laboratory supply stores. The shop I'm used to going to never was producing any chemicals there, and it was a fairly small store-front. It's interesting, while the store did stock almost all the glassware you would need for a decent chemistry setup, the majority of the customers I would encounter in there were people from non-chemistry related businesses, who happened to need some unusually large quantity of some random but common chemical.

I find that fairly hard to believe that NYC wouldn't have such a shop, considering I know Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, and a few other large cities have them, off the top of my head - but NYC doesn't?

I don't really mind ordering things myself since I will have my commercial office for my business, which is fairly unrelated to my chemistry, but I really like having the ability to go pick up solvents and such when I need them and when I know a store will carry them. It's also really convenient for whenever I accidentally burn out stirbars or crack beakers, or break other things I only had one of. I could just go get them replaced within a few hours, as opposed to 3-5 days with shipping.

[Edited on 7-2-2017 by Lillica]

JJay - 7-2-2017 at 02:58

Most places like that have trouble surviving unless they deal with educational institutions and hospitals. There was one here a few years ago that catered mostly to homeschoolers and sold a lot of kits, but it didn't last very long. Meanwhile, the overpriced medical supply outlet that just happens to sell a few chemicals I might want is thriving. And of course, they're perfectly willing to order chemicals from Aldrich for me but at a hefty price. I'd start shopping around for "scientific" supply and things of that nature.

Oh and Grainger has storefronts in most towns in the U.S. and Canada. They are a diversified industrial supplier and sell a lot of chemicals and equipment for lab use.

[Edited on 7-2-2017 by JJay]

Melgar - 7-2-2017 at 06:28

Quote: Originally posted by Lillica

I understand your point about factories moving to NJ because of pollution regulations, but I don't see what that has to do with chemical/laboratory supply stores.

I thought it was strange too, but come to find, practically everything related to chemicals or chemistry is located in New Jersey. That's just how it is, for some reason; I guess it's just a cultural thing at this point. And Zak's and B&H are actually quite good places to go to buy Pyrex and polyethylene beakers and such. I mean, you won't find glassware with ground glass joints or that sort of thing, but considering these places are located in midtown Manhattan, their prices are actually quite good, and at least at Zak's, are lower than what's shown on their website. They have solvents at both those places too, although I usually get solvents from hardware stores and the salon supply store near where I live because they're cheaper.

The customers of the kind that you describe running into at the chemical supplier near you, would almost certainly be able to get whatever they needed in New Jersey if they were based in NYC. The companies located there all deliver too, if you have a business address in NYC, and don't mind opening an account with them. It's typically easier and cheaper for them to do their own delivery than to pay hazmat fees and whatever else they'd have to do. I looked into it one time, because I have a business address in midtown, but all I needed was a liter of acetonitrile and it seemed more trouble than it was worth to open an account with the one place I dealt with, just to order that. Maybe it's easier than it seemed at the time though, who knows?

[Edited on 2/7/17 by Melgar]

Db33 - 7-2-2017 at 07:59

id like to find a place like this, does ANYONE know of a place like this in the Washington DC, Baltimore, MD, Northern Virginia, middle virginia, West virginia, Pennsylvania area that is a chemical supply store? Ive never seen one but always wished there was one around here.

Lillica - 7-2-2017 at 15:06

Quote: Originally posted by JJay

Most places like that have trouble surviving unless they deal with educational institutions and hospitals.

That's what I thought as well, but 80% of the time I go in there, there was a line, sometimes of up to 3-5 people during peak business hours.... that's a lot for this kind of shop. Some of the people I've met in there claimed to have driven over an hour to get there. Majority of these people work in random industries and needed random chemicals, seldom do I encounter other people in there doing actual lab work, which is somewhat ironic. I even asked the shop if they do a lot of business with the university since they were right near it, and surprisingly they claimed they didn't.

They do well for themselves. Many chemicals sold at an almost 2x or more markup, stirbars for like $10-20 each and so on.... I spent $30 on a flask that I urgently needed, and on the receipt the entry was for a "6 pack of" those flasks..... meaning they bought 6 of those flasks for $30 and turned around and sold one to me for $30.... that's a 6x markup. It's a relatively small business but clearly does well for itself. I've often thought about setting up such a shop in my home town which has a heavy research/science business presence.

The fact is, most businesses out there will pay extra for the sake of convenience rather than having to wait for shipping. When a business needs some product/chemical in order to do their next task, any time off is essentially being money lost.

Quote: Originally posted by Melgar

I usually get solvents from hardware stores and the salon supply store near where I live because they're cheaper.

What kind of solvents can you get at a salon supply store? Acetone? Ethyl Acetate?

Melgar - 7-2-2017 at 17:34

Quote: Originally posted by Lillica

Ah, I see. Yeah, here in NYC, if you were in the chemistry business in any capacity, you'd either have a New Jersey supplier or a New Jersey address. Most of the northern part of that state is considered a de facto extension of NYC anyway. Southwestern Connecticut too, to a lesser extent. And like someone before me mentioned, there's always Grainger if you enjoy throwing money away. There's one in Brooklyn, but you'd be much better off working with a New Jersey supplier before paying those kinds of prices. If they know you and you have an account with them, I'm sure you could pick things up there. Heck, that's where Ace Glass is located, which I'm sure you've heard of. I'm not sure why you're adamant that the supplier has to be in New York, when the chemical hub for the Northeastern US is right across the river. It's certainly caused them to be the butt of jokes for long enough that I'd think their reputation would have spread. (To quote an old one: Why does New Jersey have all the chemical waste dumps and New York have all the lawyers? New Jersey got to pick first.) And if you're in Manhattan, Zak's and B&H are actually pretty good stores with good service and selection. You should at least try going there, because both places are... an experience... visiting, though for very different reasons. To give an example, if you needed a 4-liter beaker with a cover, and some sort of heater/stirrer for it, I'm sure they could help you at Zak's, even if it's not on their site. Blick's art supply is another one that's actually quite good for certain types of solvents, thinking about it. I just haven't been there in a while:

http://www.dickblick.com/search/?x=0&y=0&sp_cs=UTF-8...

Quote:

What kind of solvents can you get at a salon supply store? Acetone? Ethyl Acetate?

Acetone and 99% isopropanol. The main thing I like about getting it there is the high-quality polyethylene bottles, which I happily reuse when they're empty. No more looking around for a flat-head screwdriver every time I need to open the acetone can!

Ultimately though, what I'm finding is that in New York City, things tend to cost more than they do other places. Getting things mail-order though, costs the same or less, and usually with less wait time. So ultimately, I typically just take my time with various projects, since you know, it's a hobby. I'm also fortunate that I can buy stuff at Zak's that would incur hazmat fees to get delivered in other places, or are totally illegal to ship.

Another thing about New York City: people are overall less suspicious, despite, you know, being the primary destination for every terrorist wanting to attack the US. I guess people just have to put their suspicions of "outsiders" away in order to live here, because if you didn't, you'd go nuts.

[Edited on 2/8/17 by Melgar]

Lillica - 8-2-2017 at 18:42

Well the thing about driving to NJ is this... a friend of mine in NYC tells me that to cross over NJ/NY through the Lincoln tunnel, it cost almost $15 both ways, meaning near $30 round trip. I thought this sounded absurd at first until I googled it and found an article talking about the price hike. Is there no special monthly pass a person can buy for this?

I actually wouldn't mind being on the NJ side, but the thing that's been off putting me is the amount of petty crime and general low quality of the cities in North Jersey. I read about Union City a bit and people were basically saying that if you move there and drive a nice car, expect to have it vandalized at least once a week. Seems like an exaggeration almost, but I've read a great deal of bad things about that area. There is Hoboken though which I've read is quite nice.

About Grangier, I've noticed they rarely have any chemicals in stock at their pick up locations, unless it's some extremely common industrial chemical which you could just get at the hardware store. Every chemical I've ever needed which Grangier carried needed to be ordered and I would have had to wait a few days anyways. Some common chemicals they wouldn't even sell me without going through extensive paperwork and company policy for some reason, even though I could easily order it from another site no problem.

Melgar - 9-2-2017 at 10:40

Quote: Originally posted by Lillica

Well the thing about driving to NJ is this... a friend of mine in NYC tells me that to cross over NJ/NY through the Lincoln tunnel, it cost almost $15 both ways, meaning near $30 round trip. I thought this sounded absurd at first until I googled it and found an article talking about the price hike. Is there no special monthly pass a person can buy for this?

The idea is that you're supposed to use the train if you're a commuter, otherwise the streets in Manhattan would be unnavigable. There's nowhere to park here anyway, and if you think the toll is expensive, try paying for parking in midtown. For things like the NJ Transit and park-and-ride, there are definitely commuter passes available. And while I'm not sure about the Lincoln Tunnel, for the George Washington Bridge, you only have to pay coming, leaving is free! (Again, as a means to have fewer vehicles in Manhattan.) If you're really cheap, you can drive up to the Tappan Zee Bridge and pay a toll of $2.50 whenever you're entering the city, and take the GWB when you're leaving.

Quote:

I actually wouldn't mind being on the NJ side, but the thing that's been off putting me is the amount of petty crime and general low quality of the cities in North Jersey. I read about Union City a bit and people were basically saying that if you move there and drive a nice car, expect to have it vandalized at least once a week. Seems like an exaggeration almost, but I've read a great deal of bad things about that area. There is Hoboken though which I've read is quite nice.

That very much depends on where you are in New Jersey. Plenty of multimillionaires have estates there, for sure. Here's an income map; I find it interesting that the LOWEST income bracket tops out at $56k/year:

However, the chemical suppliers that I've looked at in New Jersey will do same-day delivery to NYC oftentimes, depending on where you're located, and assuming you have an account with them. That probably would actually be cheaper than driving there yourself. And faster, since there's only a one-way trip necessary before you get your goods. They can be very accommodating if you're willing to pay for it.

And re: Grainger, I'm not surprised. I've never actually been to one, but i needed some GAA once, kind of urgently while in North Carolina, and heard it mentioned as a possibility. When I saw it priced at like $150 a liter, I stopped entertaining any thought of them being a possibility at any point in the future. And for the record, if you need GAA ever, B&H carries it for $13/liter in their Manhattan store.