B&H No Longer Shipping Chemistry

[faberryman]

Perhaps B&H is just trying to get us to order in larger quantities and helping us save money at the same time. As shown, 500ml of Ilford Multigrade paper developer is "Available for In-Store Pickup Only", while 5000ml (5L) is "Free Expedited Shipping on Orders Over $49".

[xkaes]

HOT TIP!!!

If there is a College or University in your area, they probably have a Chemistry Department, a Medical School, or some other division that teaches students or does research that uses chemicals. In order to do that, they need to buy a LOT of chemicals. At the end of their "project" or "research period", what do you think they do with all those chemicals -- some used and some completely untouched?

Let me give you a hint.

THEY THROW THEM OUT!!!

I'm NOT kidding you at all. I was on the faculty of the Medical School at the University of Colorado for 20 years. They, unlike many "schools", had a central "drop-off" office for all of the left-over chemicals -- that professors in all of the various departments on campus -- needed to get rid off. The coordinator of my campus's drop-off office would contantly email all of the other faculty members each month listing all of the chemicals he needed to get rid off. He wanted to give them away to other faculty members who could use them because that is a LOT cheaper than paying some company to "dispose" of them. Admittedly, I was one of the very few who paid attention and took him up on his offers.

But most professors don't have time or interest in photography, like me. I can't tell you how much Glacial Acetic acid he gave me! Everytime I would go over to pick up some chemicals I could use, he would try to pawn some other stuff off on me. But he was very nice. Some of the stuff he had was NASTY. Most of it was perfectly harmless, and MUCH of it was useable in photogrpahy. I once got TWO POUNDS of REAGENT GRADE Silver Nitrate. TWO POUNDS -- worth about TWO GRAND!!! I also got lots of chemical containers (used) and other useful, non-photographic chemicals.

AND IT WAS ALL FREE!!!

The University of Colorado campus in Boulder has a similar program to get rid of "old" chemicals. The chemicals there are free, but they will only give away no-hazardous stuff and you have to pick it up and MAYBE sign a waiver. In short, the Colleges and Universities in your area will have different rules and regs, but it's free to check out and believe me, if they have someone with their head screwed on right they will GIVE you the stuff. Start out by seeing if they have a central chemical disposal office. If not, you will have to contact the various departments that use chemical -- chemistry, medicine, geography, physics, earth science, etc.

YOU PAID FOR ALL OF THESE CHEMICALS TO BEGIN WITH. YOU JUST DIDN'T KNOW IT!!!!

WHO NEEDS B&H?????????

[HMG]

If we've offended you by trying to get some believable clarification on why I can no longer get my normal regular deliveries I sincerely apologize. Despite having received UPS Ground shipments of chemistry from B&H repeatedly over the last twenty years, and repeatedly over the last year and even as late as this week, I find it hard to understand why Henry has denied B&H ships by UPS Ground, and uses this as a rational for why they won't ship something like Perceptol. And if he continues to ignore the question I have posed I will continue to repeat it. If this is bringing the forum to a new low I suggest you read this thread: http://www.largeformatphotography.in...-board-drilled to get a sense of how the collective body treats one of our own who asks a reasonable question.

I believe the capacity to engage a representative of a longtime trusted supplier as a useful benefit of the forum (that we do not get an answer is perhaps telling that my notion that this is a benefit is in fact a fallacy, but I remain optimistic). I understand that you may not care if those of us who live outside a major metropolitan area can no longer get chemistry in a timely fashion, and that our attempts to understand why this is so might be seen as nasty or self serving. But having this change happen without warning and without any clear reasonable explanation (the oft cited 1996 plane crash has had ZERO impact until last week) does matter to many of us. I have not hung B&H out to dry. I ordered paper from them last evening to fulfill an order I have coming in Monday, and added on $60 worth of film for my own use. I am trying to understand how B&H can ship everything I order from them by UPS Ground yet have Henry claim that they do not ship by Ground, period. I am not the only one who has this question, nor am I the only one who has not gotten an answer to this question. In fact the question has been completely ignored by Henry. Perhaps it must be asked directly?

henryp, why do you say B&H does not ship by Ground when so many of us here have received packages from B&H via UPS Ground many times over the last year?

Precisely the attitude I objected to. Where did I ever say anything to suggest that "you may not care if those of us who live outside a major metropolitan area can no longer get chemistry in a timely fashion"? Or that " that our attempts to understand why this is so might be seen as nasty or self serving."? Where, when, or how did I imply anything about nasty or self-serving? You put words in my mouth and then objected to them.

I did use the term snide, so here are a couple of quotes from your posts:

"He will ignore this as well. If it can't add up it is ignored."
"Remember: Repeat the lie until you believe it is true. We are in the post-fact era."

[denverjims]

HMG & sepiareverb

You two wouldn't be Trump & Hillary using alter-identities, would you? Kind of sounds like it a bit the way you're going after it.

Look, we're all upset but "can't we all just get along" and focus our wrath on B&H - where it belongs?

[Duolab123]

HMG & sepiareverb

You two wouldn't be Trump & Hillary using alter-identities, would you? Kind of sounds like it a bit the way you're going after it.

Look, we're all upset but "can't we all just get along" and focus our wrath on B&H - where it belongs?

I smell a Libertarian Rat
LOL Mike

[denverjims]

I smell a Libertarian Rat
LOL Mike

Busted!
Jim

[Sal Santamaura]

...can't we...focus our wrath on B&H - where it belongs?

Here's the essence of the problem. B&H is a business. It earned no wrath. It either gets/keeps customers or it doesn't. We ought not focus wrath on anyone/anything, but rather throw it completely out of focus and allow it to dissipate into the ether. How about we get back to photography and let the merchants decide what they do or don't want to sell?

[Drew Wiley]

If we managed to shun or boycott each remaining supplier for traditional photographic supplies, given the fact that somebody always seem to have a grudge on
one supplier or another, it would be like shooting off a foot to compensate for a sore toe on the other. Pretty soon nobody would be left.

[Kirk Gittings]

If we managed to shun or boycott each remaining supplier for traditional photographic supplies, given the fact that somebody always seem to have a grudge on
one supplier or another, it would be like shooting off a foot to compensate for a sore toe on the other. Pretty soon nobody would be left.

[djdister]

If we managed to shun or boycott each remaining supplier for traditional photographic supplies, given the fact that somebody always seem to have a grudge on
one supplier or another, it would be like shooting off a foot to compensate for a sore toe on the other. Pretty soon nobody would be left.

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