mr_bovinejony
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small companies disappearing
Does anyone know what has happened to LabDIRECT and Synthetika chemicals? These are the last 2 companies I know of that really cater to hobbyists but
they both seem to have disappeared. Not responsive to emails or inquiries, synthetika doesn't even have a website anymore.
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dettoo456
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I believe Labdirectllc had some accident (a chemical spill or fire) a few years ago and probably got reamed out so much by the local regulatory
organizations that they just shut down. Someone claiming to be involved actually posted here not too long ago saying that they were back in business
but I don’t know what came from that.
And I didn’t even know Synthetika disappeared, I just checked their Etsy and that looks like it’s completely gone. I know the owner was trying to
push everything to his own site but I don’t know if that’s still running either.
Sadly, hobby chemists aren’t growing consumer demographic, and most of the sellers are forced to market to kewls or cooks (both of whom don’t
actually know what they’re doing), and most online marketplaces will shut down anything that may spell legal trouble.
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mr_bovinejony
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Yeah I was talking to the owner of labdirect after he got raided and was able to buy products until about 6 months later he was just gone. And the
owner of synthetika was in the process of getting a new building and had apparently gotten a larger stock of chemicals, but then also disappeared
without a trace. Kinda strange
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Cendre
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Synthetika chemicals is still up and running I believe, I bought some Mercury from them a few months ago. Chemglass (the owner) was saying he was in
the process of updating the site and such. At least from my experience they still are up and running, you could still try U2U him.
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charley1957
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Lab Alley out of Austin, Texas is still around. They have most common chemicals. And I thought Lab Supply Outlaws was still around, but couldn’t
find them in a short search. Home science tools.com is still around too.
[Edited on Mar03-20-2024 by charley1957]
You can’t claim you drank all day if you didn’t start early in the morning.
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mr_bovinejony
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Lab alley doesn't sell most of their stuff to individuals unfortunately
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Texium
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Not to mention, they're also hugely overpriced. It never occurred to me that Lab Alley's physical location was actually really close to where I grew
up, because I never had the slightest desire to buy from them. 
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myzel9
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Quote: Originally posted by Cendre  | | Synthetika chemicals is still up and running I believe, I bought some Mercury from them a few months ago. Chemglass (the owner) was saying he was in
the process of updating the site and such. At least from my experience they still are up and running, you could still try U2U him.
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I placed an order with Sythetika that I had been procrastinating. I finally reached out after a week with no communication nor product. The owner
finally responded and apologized. He said someone purchased his entire inventory after fulfilling his Etsy orders. He said he was moving on to
different ventures for personal reasons. He did refund and shortly after his website was down. It’s unfortunate since they were great for certain
items. They also just recently added a bunch of Htf chems. Maybe that had something to do with his departure.
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mr_bovinejony
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Yes he also mentioned to me about selling his entire stock but never mentioned leaving the business completely. What a shame. I wonder if one of those
virtual business addresses would be enough for some companies, I had an LLC at one point and a business mailbox but no actual business address. Seems
everyone that can buy from tci is gone
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