RogueRose
International Hazard
Posts: 1594
Registered: 16-6-2014
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Chemicals and Glassware from India - anyone order anything?
One of the owners of a store I go to is from India and they have a lot of family still there and one of them deals with import/export and helps the
family I know get a lot of their inventory from India at VERY good prices (so I'm told). The interesting thing is that they have a HUGE selection of
glass "tobacco" pipes and I'd guess 60% of it has ground glass joints and many are extremely complex.
I've been told that most all of the glasswork is done by hand, some parts are somewhat automated but it seems like the person with the company has a
great deal of skill.
I asked if it would be able to do science or lab glass ware and was told that they do and they work with another company that does this specifically.
In addition I asked about chemical import and the relative said that he works in that field. I'm waiting on getting contact information from this guy
to see what might be available.
Has anyone ever ordered glassware or chems from India and if so, what have your experiences been like.
I was specifically looking for KMnO4, min 97% in crystal form. I looked at EVERY China based export site and not one of them offered pure crystal
KMno4. All they offered was permanganate on activated alumina spheres, which I have never seen before. I find that really odd that no one in China
would produce pure KMno4 since they produce everything that is needed to make it. Pretty odd IMO.
Has anyone ever had experience in importing large quantities like 10-20 tons of a chemical? This is specifically for (and entirely) resale to a
number of businesses that use this product in large quantities year round, but after looking at domestic pricing, wow, what a difference (250-500%
difference depending upon quantity).
I'm trying to find an export broker in India & import house/broker in the US that can handle something like this - a full 20ft cargo container.
Seems one of the biggest issues will be transport once it clears customs as it is a hazmat shipment and that is a nightmare to navigate (and I'm sure
the pricing might not be so attractive),
I'm curious how shipping (time/speed/packaging)of things like glassware will compare to how the shipments are from China
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Reboot
Hazard to Others
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Well, good thing I wandered by. :-)
Potassium permanganate is regulated in the US as a drug precursor (I believe it's specifically used to digest coca leaves for cocaine extraction.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEA_list_of_chemicals
If you try to import a shipping container of it into the US without the proper permits (which may not be too hard to get) something bad could happen.
(Seized shipment, fines, maybe even arrest.)
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Dr.Bob
International Hazard
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Location: USA - NC
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Having dealt with China and India and knowing people that do that for a living, you should run screaming from that idea. Importing anything, whether
chemicals, toys, electronics, etc is a risky business. You have to prepay for things before they are shipped, you have no way to enforce a contract
if they fail to provide the chemical, and once it is out of their hands, you must self insure it. If the container falls into the ocean on the trip,
gets wet, explodes, or is otherwise lost, there is no paypal refund or way to recover your money. And the insurance is mostly sold in huge amounts,
so you can't easily insure one container of anything.
Secondly, as pointed out, shipping chemicals, especially hazardous or listed ones requires many regulatory licenses, permits, paperwork and training.
Again, if the container is impounded, the insurance does not pay, if you can get it, as they assume that you did something wrong. The Feds don't
trust many individuals to import things legally, so you will be given much more scrutiny than Dupont, Walmart or Amazon would get. I know of many
cases of people loosing their shirt trying to import regulated items, many of them were experts at it. Even large companies lose containers often,
have them delayed, or find that they have the wrong thing in them. The big guys have lawyers, import staff, and other experts to make the seller fix
the issue. You can call lots of people and find out that you don't matter. Even the big companies have had containers full of Christmas goods show
up in Jan, Fireworks show up on July 5th, and Easter bunnies come in May. They can afford to write it off, you likely cannot.
I just spoke with an unemployed friend who has many of the same ideas, most of which would cost a million dollars. I was asking him why not start
easy by working for someone that does this or that task and learn how it works and then decide if he wants to work in that business, maybe then he
would know if it is a good idea, having some clue of the details of that task. Go work for a chemical distributor and see how they do things, where
they import things, and what work is involved. Or find a job in import/export (not that the US exports much now), but most of those require language
skills, lots of travel, and great negotiating skills. But I know people who do that, and they are doing pretty well, but they started small and
worked their way up. 20 tons of KMnO4 is not starting small, and unless you have thousands in cash sitting around, I doubt a bank will just loan you
enough to buy and ship it.
I'm not trying to rain on your parade, just keep reading posts about how to get rich quick by doing X or Y, and while it does happen sometimes (the
people who bought bitcoin years ago, for example and sold at the peak), most people have to work some, get some real life experience, and then invest
some cash to make it happen. I bet Bert and a few others here can agree that starting a business without some experience in that area is a tough way
to win. My favorite quote about small businesses is "How do you make a million dollars in the xxx business?, the answer is "start with two million
dollars." xxx - chemical, software, electronics, any other small business.
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Bert
Super Administrator
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Registered: 12-3-2004
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Mood: " I think we are all going to die. I think that love is an illusion. We are flawed, my darling".
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Dr. Bob knows what he is talking about.
We have three 40' high cube containers of HazMat coming in this Spring and have been doing the China import dance for about 12 years now. We do
understand the process and are legal and compliant...
And I am fairly certain the first 3 years we did import, before attending one of our major industry trade association seminars and getting smartened
up would have been the end of our business, if they had been looked at more closely by regulatory agencies.
Also: If you are going to import from China and do not have Chinese relatives to represent you in country? You MUST go there yourself and meet with
the people who you are buying from. If you don't, and don't have someone in country to chase details and sweat the supplier about his production
meeting your specification and general quality, you will never know what you are going to get (or NOT get!) when those container doors are opened and
the bulkhead pulled out. People who don't closely attend the production and container loading may well get the stuff the other customers inspected and
rejected.
If you want to learn how on your own, it is school of hard knocks. We did it that way, and were lucky enough not to flunk. Did lose money and a lot of
hair over some of the crap that happened for sure, don't invest more in such a venture than you can afford to LOSE.
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zed
International Hazard
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Registered: 6-9-2008
Location: Great State of Jefferson, City of Portland
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Mood: Semi-repentant Sith Lord
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A lot of us buy glassware from China. We know a few reliable distributors, and use Ebay/Paypal. This can work quite well.
Importation of Chemicals? Very different story.
Importing a large load of KMnO4, might be interpreted by regulators, as a criminal act. Or, not.
It should be further noted, that the Chinese are the unequaled masters of adultration. It is an ancient tradition. It is very profitable. Many do
it automatically. Watch out.
I noticed recently, that folks were buying prills of Iodine, retail, from China, via e-bay.
Regardless of popularity, this cannot legally be done... without a permit.
To purchase this material from a US vendor, is not illegal. To purchase it from a Chinese vendor, with shipping into the US, is deadly perilous.
Importing this restricted material, without a permit, might be a very serious offense.
India? You could visit. Folks there, generally speaking, understand English. Something, that is far less certain in China.
Used to know a guy who did business in the far East. Paperback English language books are a "commodity" there. My buddy was here... his dad was at
the other end of the pipeline; in China somewhere.
They did OK. Without that family connection, business would have been impossible. Mmmm. What did Leonard Cohen say, in his bare knuckles kind of
way??
And if you call me brother now,
Forgive me if I inquire,
"just according to whose plan?"
When it all comes down to dust
I will kill you if I must,
I will help you if I can.
When it all comes down to dust
I will help you if I must,
I will kill you if I can.
And mercy on our uniform,
Man of peace or man of war,
The peacock spreads his fan.
[Edited on 29-3-2018 by zed]
[Edited on 30-3-2018 by zed]
[Edited on 30-3-2018 by zed]
[Edited on 30-3-2018 by zed]
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