B&H unable to ship PQ Universal (again)

Sorry if this has already been posted elsewhere but you can't search the forums for "B&H" (guessing it it the '&' which is the problem). Anyway...

Tried to re-order 5 ltr. Ilford PQ Universal and it is currently “Pickup Only” (in any quantity, not just 5 ltr.).
Multigrade OK to ship.

Had an order delivered earlier this year - no problem. Asked, via chat, if this was permanent or just for holidays. Got no answer, just a “check back later” with no hint as to when ‘later’ should be.

This had happened before with them and just ‘went away’ after a month or so. I believe it had to do with the shipper they use, not B&H. But the chat guy would not confirm.

Was able to order through Amazon (Adorama but with free shipping) for a couple $ more / 5 liter jug so it is not some Federal rule due to some chemical restriction.
Just FYI.

Jim

It's their play for the holiday "busy" season" and they seem to rinse & repeat every holiday season.

Same thing with Ilford Bromophen 5L, store pick up only. It may be that they are short on stock. Ilford in UK shows several chemistry items out of stock. Microphen, DD, Bromophen, and several other items. Kodak Alaris has another recall on XTOL. Virus and overall chaos, I suspect that the New Jersey warehouse's cupboard is bare. And yes they only have so many people, they are shipping higher value items. USPS in in total meltdown on Eastern seaboard, packages taking 2 weeks to move 20 miles.

I don't even try to order chemicals from B&H anymore. Since they wont ship anything I want for the last whatever, 10 years or so, I just assumed they won't ship any so I dont even bother window shopping chems there. I'm surprised to hear they ever ship any.

Interesting. I ordered Formulary 130 recently and had no problems getting that. Same with TF-5. Think Rodinal was a no go however.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fred L

Interesting. I ordered Formulary 130 recently and had no problems getting that. Same with TF-5. Think Rodinal was a no go however.

---

Was able to order 5 ltr. Hypam and could have ordered 5 ltr. Multigrade Dev. Just not PQ.

Things are a mess at B&H. I ordered a 3D printer and it shows as backordered with no arrival date - and it's been this way for a month or more. I guess shipping anything anywhere right now is a crapshoot.

I think some offshore products are stuck in cargo ships on our shores

This week I ordered some small photo accessories from B&H and Amazon both arrived in under 48 hours

Ilford Postcard SG paper is taking 2 weeks from either Amazon or B&H

https://www.ilfordphoto.com/multigra...ortfolio-pearl

I tried to order Kodak Stop Bath last year, and they wouldn’t ship it. But they would ship me Ilford stop bath.

Kodak is so last decade

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ben Calwell

I tried to order Kodak Stop Bath last year, and they wouldn’t ship it. But they would ship me Ilford stop bath.

---

Citric vs acetic. Just buy a bag of citric acid and never order again.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wayne

Citric vs acetic. Just buy a bag of citric acid and never order again.

---

yup. pretty cheap and also odourless. got a 50 lb cube of it and it's gonna take forever to use it up. have given lots away as well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wayne

I don't even try to order chemicals from B&H anymore. Since they wont ship anything I want for the last whatever, 10 years or so, I just assumed they won't ship any so I dont even bother window shopping chems there. I'm surprised to hear they ever ship any.

---

Same here - I just order from Freestyle - never a problem. I live in NYC and could pick up the chemistry - and then what? Parking in the area is impossible - a 1 hr parking fee is upwards of $20.00 plus the super-hassle of driving into and out of Manhattan (easily 2 hours when all is said and done). Lugging gallons of chemistry in the subway is also a non-starter for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tin Can

I think some offshore products are stuck in cargo ships on our shores

This week I ordered some small photo accessories from B&H and Amazon both arrived in under 48 hours

Ilford Postcard SG paper is taking 2 weeks from either Amazon or B&H

https://www.ilfordphoto.com/multigra...ortfolio-pearl

---

The product was shown to be "In Stock" and ready to be picked up at the store so that appears not to be the issue in this particular case.

With things as they are w/ COVID, however, I'm not surprised that importing / shipping into US or shipping within US is FUBAR. Every body is dealing with delays and I guess we will just have to wait it out to get back to "normal" (whatever that will be).

My issue was that they would ship some developers and fixers but not others with no explanation as to why or when - if ever - this would change back a it did a couple of years ago. Just alerting folks as to what I found.

PS. I guess I have been lucky that, for the most part, B&H has been reliable and accurate in delivery over the years for all I've ordered from them. This is an outlier.
Best, Jim

They don't ship HC-110 anymore either. I had to order it from Freestyle photo.

I queried Henry Posner at B&H about this and he replied with an answer that makes sense:

"Thanks for asking and I am sorry for your inconvenience. Ever since the ValuJet flight 592 tragedy the IATA and other federal groups have imposed security restrictions on a whole menu of products. These restrictions include how they’re delivered to us, handled in our warehouse, labeled, processed for shipping and so on. Each individual product (including different quantities of the same product) has its own safety measures, and each has to be cleared for shipping individually. We could, hypothetically, have the same liquid in pint, quart and gallon containers and for these purposes they’re handed quite distinctly. The process for clearing any individual product is relatively complicated and not inexpensive. If we get sufficient inquiries about any individual product not now cleared, we will consider taking the steps and expose to have it added to our roster of permitted products."

I guess we'll just have to deal with each product as we need to order. Sounds like they could 'qualify' any given product as they see a necessity. Given the last sentence, though, a request to B&H for anything you'd like to see available to ship might be in order.
Best, Jim

As has been pointed out, Freestyle, Photographer's Formulary, and Adorama, don't have these issues.

Someone at B&H just isn't interested in putting the work into it.

Several months ago, I emailed them regarding C41 not being shippable, with quotes from the various regs, and they decided that they could in fact, ship that particular C41 kit. They might have to ship ground only, but that's a viable (if slower) option.

In the case of C41, it appears to be Hydroxylamine Sulfate, which is labeled as a "class 8A" corrosive. From the postal regs:

Quote:

---

A Class 8 corrosive material that qualifies as a mailable limited quantity or ORM-D material is permitted in domestic mail provided that all applicable requirements in 348 are met.

Section 348 says:

A corrosive that can qualify as an air-eligible mailable limited quantity is permitted via air (or ground) transportation. An ORM-D material that can be renamed with the proper shipping name, “Consumer Commodity”, is permitted via surface transportation only. Mailable corrosives are also subject to the following:

[ skips liquid section ]

A solid mixture must be 10 pounds or less per primary receptacle and must contain 10 percent or less corrosive material, with the remainder of the mixture not being a hazardous material, unless otherwise specified for a specific corrosive solid.

---

There's also some packaging and labeling restrictions to comply with.

Try finding some of the Ilford products. It's crazy, I am addicted to Bromophen, I found 2 boxes available at Adorama, no ETA on anymore, there's no Microphen. It's hit and miss. I suspect some of the pickup only is B&H may have some retail stock, but nothing in the mothership warehouse . Freestyle had a couple things I was after. Now that the PRC has Kodak's paper and chemistry division, I suspect that the shortages and screw ups will stop, lest some "quality control" firing squads be put to use.

Given the lock-downs in GB, I am not surprised that Ilford Harmon products are hard to find here. Based on a friend who lives in Southern England, things are getting tighter as the new Coronavirus variant is picking up steam. Some Ilford products are even hard to find there. I guess we've just got to be patient.

As to some competitors being able to ship some things, they may be putting out expensive efforts to see if they can take some business from B&H in hopes that it will eventually pay back if the customer sticks. Been known to happen.

As to B&H, if you care then call them about what you'd like to get. Multiple times if you are good at disguising your voice. :)

Henry did say demand will push action & grat was able to get them to move with the proper information.

Best of luck to all of us.
I'm out, Jim

For those who aren't aware: consumers in the US can get Ilford products directly from the US distributor, Roberts, through the ilfordphoto.com website. The website shows clearly which items are in stock. They don't have everything in stock all the time, but it's another place you can check if the retailer you normally use is out of stock or no longer shipping an Ilford product you want.

There has not been any Australian Sheaf Stout on American shelves since the lockdown.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vaughn

There has not been any Australian Sheaf Stout on American shelves since the lockdown.

---

I'm OK with that. :)
You might want to try Alesmith Speedway Stout.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Oren Grad

For those who aren't aware: consumers in the US can get Ilford products directly from the US distributor, Roberts, through the ilfordphoto.com website. The website shows clearly which items are in stock. They don't have everything in stock all the time, but it's another place you can check if the retailer you normally use is out of stock or no longer shipping an Ilford product you want.

---

Thanks for correcting my impression that was a UK site, Oren. Although, they are showing no 5 ltr. PQ in stock right now, it would be useful in the future.
Best, Jim

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by denverjims

Thanks for correcting my impression that was a UK site, Oren.

---

It is fundamentally a UK site, but for the shop part of it they evidently have some code that detects where the browser is coming from and displays the regionally-appropriate options. It would be interesting to know what our Canadian and other foreign members see when they look at the product listings.