B&H No Longer Shipping Chemistry

[Don Dudenbostel]

I'm afraid B&H like many other companies has forgotten why they're in business, the customers. It appears that it might be an air shipping regulation not ground if there actually is such a regulation. If they wanted the business they'd offer ground shipping for chemicals. Many of us purchase potassium cyanide and have it shipped with no problems. It unfortunately appears they simply don't care about the customer.

There are plenty of other sources fortunately that will appreciate our business. While B&H probably doesn't sell a lot of chemistry the additional items we might purchase like film and paper not to mention cameras and lenses add up to a substantial amount. I often threw in 10-20 rolls or a few boxes of sheet film and paper when ordering chemistry. I attempted a chemical order this week but B&H wouldn't ship so I ordered from Adorama and added two boxes of paper and 10 rolls of film. This all adds up over a year. My business now goes to other suppliers.

[Jim Michael]

If they ship nothing ground then ordering film would seem to be an issue due to the risk of high dosage x-rays of air cargo.

My order shipped yesterday via UPS Ground?

[dentkimterry]

Someone ships the chemicals to B&H.......but they won't ship them to us? I may have ordered only $15-25 of chemicals at a time but I always made sure my order totalled $49 or more to get free shipping. It's a shame.

[jp]

They probably get their chemicals by the pallet from a truck and never by air.

I used to order $50 worth of chemicals along with a few hundred $ in film+paper because shipping was inexpensive, quick, reliably 2 days. Now I'll be shopping around. Probably not a bad thing for the other companies, but it certainly will not be as easy or quick for me.

[faberryman]

The issue is that B&H is not being honest with us about why, all of a sudden, they decided not to ship chemicals. If they are being dishonest about this, what else are they being dishonest about. I like one stop shopping, so B&H risks losing all my business, not that they care apparently.

[faberryman]

Here is a list of the photographic chemicals that Bostick & Sullivan will happily sell and ship to you. It is not prohibited from doing so and neither is B&H. B&H has just decided it is too much trouble for the profit margins derived and wants to blame it on governmental regulations.

Aluminum Potassium Sulfate
Ammonium Chloride
Ammonium Citrate Dibasic
Ammonium Dichromate
Ammonium Dichromate 5% Sol.
Ammonium Ferric Oxalate
Ammonium Ferric Oxalate Sol. No. 1
Ammonium Ferric Oxalate Sol. No. 2
Ammonium Thiocyanate
Ammonium Thiocyanate Sol 2%
Ammonium Thiosulfate 60% Solution
Cadmium Bromide
Calcium Carbonate
Cesium Chloride
Chromium Potassium Sulfate (Chrome Alum)
Citric Acid
Citric Acid - 40% Solution
Collodion
Copper Chloride
Copper Sulfate
Cyanotype Sol A - Classic Formula
Cyanotype Sol B - Classic Formula
Developer - Kallitype Black
Developer for Pt-Pd- Ammonium Citrate
Developer for Pt-Pd- Cold Bath
Developer for Pt-Pd- Potassium Oxalate
Developer for Pt-Pd- Sodium Citrate
EDTA Tetra Sodium (B+S Clearing Agent)
Ethyl Ether
Ferric Ammonium Citrate
Ferric Nitrate
Ferric Oxalate - Dry Pack No. 1.
Ferric Oxalate - Dry Pack No. 2.
Ferric Oxalate Powder
Ferric Oxalate Sol. 20% - (Kallitype)
Ferric Oxalate Sol. No. 1 (for pt and pd)
Ferric Oxalate Sol. No. 2 (for pd or pt)
Ferrous Sulfate, FCC High Purity Grade
Ferrous Sulfate, Technical
Formaldehyde 37% Solution
Gallic Acid
Gelatin 250 bloom
Glacial Acetic Acid
Glycerin
Glyoxal 40% Sol. in water
Gum Arabic Powder
Gum Arabic Solution 14 Baume
Gum Sandarac
Hydroquinone
Lamp Black
Lavender Oil
Lead Citrate
Lithium Chloride
Lithium Ferric Oxalate
Magnesium Carbonate
Metol
Old Workhorse Collodion
Oxalic Acid
Phenidone
Phosphoric Acid
Polyvinyl Alcohol - 10% Solution
Potassium Bromide
Potassium Carbonate
Potassium Chlorate
Potassium Chloride
Potassium Cyanide
Potassium Dichromate
Potassium Dichromate - 10% Solution (For Gum)
Potassium Ferricyanide
Potassium Hydroxide
Potassium Iodide
Potassium Metabisulfite
Potassium Monobasic Phosphate
Potassium Nitrate
Potassium Oxalate Powder
Potassium Permanganate
Potassium Sodium Tartrate (Rochelle Salts)
Pumice Powder
Pyro PMK Developer A Solution
Pyro PMK Developer B Solution
Pyro Rollo Developer A Solution
Pyro Rollo Developer B Solution
Pyrocat HD Developer - 500 ml A&B
Pyrocatechol (Catechol, Pyrocatechin)
Pyrogallic Acid
Rapid Fixer
Selenium
Silane (Glass Coating Treatment)
Sodium Acetate
Sodium Bisulfite
Sodium Borate Decahydrate
Sodium Carbonate
Sodium Citrate
Sodium Diacetate
Sodium Dichromate
Sodium Ferric Oxalate
Sodium Formate
Sodium Hexametaphosphate
Sodium Hydroxide
Sodium Metaborate
Sodium Silicate
Sodium Sulfide
Sodium Sulfite
Sodium Thiocyanate
Sodium thiosulfate
Sodium Tungstate Dihydrate
Sodium Tungstate Solution 40%
Starch - Arrowroot Powder
Succinic Acid
Sulfamic Acid
Tannic Acid
Tartaric Acid
Thiodipropionic Acid
Thiourea Practical
Tween 20 10% sol
Tween 20 50% sol

So I'd rate B&H's statements here and elsewhere as four Pinocchios, which, unfortunately, has become the new normal for civil discourse in the United States.

[Michael Kadillak]

Unsubscribed from their email offerings and contacted them to stay off of their mailing list. Blistered them with the decision and let them know I placed a large order from Freestyle this morning. The only thing that matters is what they see in lower sales. In the business world myopic decision making can be as effective as a well orchestrated add campaign sans the investment. Walking by a construction worker in the 16th street mall in Denver I saw a sticked on his hard hard that said "Stupid Hurts". Hope B&H feels the pain where it counts.

[bigdog]

B&H Foto (sic) and Electronics is no longer primarily a photo supply company. One look at their print catalog makes it patently obvious. The catalog looks like an old Sears catalog in size and fine print, and the film and darkroom section is but a couple of pages in the hundreds of other stuff. Even photo gear is not the bulk of their product offerings. Darkroom is a miniscule part of their business, and I suspect they simply don’t wish to deal with it any longer.

I could be wrong, but I bet I’m not.

[DKtucson]

I bought 2 kilos of pyrocatechol from China at 1/2 price including shipping . That makes enough obsidian aqua to develop 16,000 rolls of film. Rodinal can be made with tylenol, sodium hydroxide (lye drain cleaner) and sodium sulfide from amazon. For fixer I use sodium thiosulfate also from Amazon but you can get that from fish pond suppliers too

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

[henryp]

The issue is that B&H is not being honest with us about why, all of a sudden, they decided not to ship chemicals.

There are two fallacies here. The first is we're not being honest, when in fact we are. The second is that this is an "all of a sudden" situation when it's been ongoing for at least a decade.

Darkroom is a miniscule part of their business, and I suspect they simply don’t wish to deal with it any longer.
I could be wrong, but I bet I’m not.

Sadly, darkroom is a shrinking part of the photo industry world-wide and we're swimming in the same evaporating sea as everyone else. There's simply less demand AND less product. We will continue to offer as much in this genre as we possibly can.
BTW, I'll take that bet.