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B&H not shipping chemicals anymore?

I appreciate the response Henry. But I'm looking at your shipping options at checkout and UPS ground is an option. Am I missing something?

I would think that their system currently isn't able to restrict certain items to just ground shipping - meaning that a user could buy a package of ID-11 or D-76 and select overnight air delivery, which violates these restrictions.

Begs the question why Dektol and Kodak Fixer are not subject when everything else is, including things like Photographer Formulary and Ilford equivalents of these Kodak products.

I hope that B&H revises this policy to do as Freestyle has done for years - restrict chemistry to ground shipping only.
 
Another good option is Unique Photo, they have been great to deal with, getting liquid C41 chemsitry of various types. Even got the big (yeah, the huge ones) containers of Bleach III shipped from them.

-Ed
 
G'day... It is a "dark day" in Oz... Woken to the realisation B&H no longer shipping chemistry other than Kodak product! My annual spend is normally around U$2000 with them most of which has been delivered to me via Chicago. I am fortunate to be able to include my photographic product together with other business imports in a container for sea shipment to Australia. Although the lead time needed for supplies was considerable this transportation program has saved heaps! So, if I cannot get my chemistry photo supplies shipped together with other consumables in the USA then unfortunately it is BYE BYE B&H... Fred.
 
I just ordered Microphen last night, it is arriving Friday. Looks like I got in just under the wire, as everything is now in store pickup only. pretty effing ridiculous. But we have a new regime starting soon, with promises of reducing regulation.

I just emailed to ask why. I've been getting 75%+ of my chemistry from them via UPS or Fed-Ex since 1995.
 
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I am sorry, but no matter how polite the explanation, I can only read this as "we don't want to put the effort into serving our darkroom customers anymore".
 
Another good option is Unique Photo, they have been great to deal with, getting liquid C41 chemsitry of various types. Even got the big (yeah, the huge ones) containers of Bleach III shipped from them.

-Ed

Or APUG sponsor Ultrafine. It seems they also are willing to ship chemistry.

I am sorry, but no matter how polite the explanation, I can only read this as "we don't want to put the effort into serving our darkroom customers anymore".

Seems to be the case considering other retailers are able and willing to ship us the chemistry we need.

I suggest that APUGers give their money to the folks who sponsor the forum and have made commitments to our chosen medium - Ultrafine, Freestyle, and of course ILFORD.
 
Just placed a big order with Freestyle. $200 in developers and selenium toner. $15.00 shipped to Vermont. I liked B&H for their lower pricing and free shipping, but have long used Freestyle as my second supplier. So now it is film and paper from B&H, chemistry from Freestyle for me. I also occasionally order from Moersch directly, and from FotoImpex.

I have found Adorama to be extremely difficult many times, because they don't tell you if something is not in stock until after you have paid. Don't know if this has changed, but after being burned too many times by their bait and switch I packed it in with them.

I have no local (within an hour) option for 95% of my materials.

Ill be honest, this crossed my mind as well. Haha

I don't believe anything has ever trickled down to help me before, so perhaps this is my time.

Anyone else recall a shutdown of developer shipping some years back?
 
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We don't ship ground...
Why not?

Regardless of the selected carrier, the products leave your warehouse in trucks.

Ground transport is much more economical for heavier items than air.

- Leigh
 
Well, that certainly changes things. B&H has been my go-to retailer and I was just getting ready to place a big order in the next week or two...sigh
 
I am sorry, but no matter how polite the explanation, I can only read this as "we don't want to put the effort into serving our darkroom customers anymore".

This is also how I read it. Freestyle can do it, why can't B&H unless they don't want?
 
Well, that's a shame. I was about to place a large order of christmas stuff for shipping to Canada in the next while and was planning to tack on more chemistry as well. I liked ordering from B&H because they went the extra mile to reliably cover the import correctly rather than me having to deal with surprise fees. I liked that the company put the extra bit of effort into making my life easier.

However if they're going to stand by this change and not make an attempt to continue to make my life easier, then I'll take all of my photo related business elsewhere.
 
Very sad news indeed. I agree B&H was always perfect in their practices. If they are going to really follow the regulations tho Lithium batteries are verboten now as well, so no more camera sales...
 
I'm more worried about side effects. For example, I wonder what proportion of Ethol LPD is sold through B&H? If B&H won't ship it, they won't sell very much of it either, and some people will move to other products when it becomes harder to get. This could push some products over the edge.
 

Hadn't even considered that. Ugh.
 
One of my worries too. Looks like Adorama is carrying it now and will ship.
 
I used to be a HazMat guy decades ago, and the problem I believe has to do with ORM-D and the certifications required to be able to ship it. And while they do ship ground, they also ship air, and they use different carriers (USPS & UPS, not sure if B+H uses FedEx). But, when you have as large of an operation as B+H and Adorama, it's probably more challenging to have a HazMat certified person in all the shipping locations, (I believe both B+H & Adorama have multiple warehouses they ship from) at all times, to sign off on each ORM-D package. If by mistake a chemical listed as ORM-D gets packed in a box and gets sent by air without the proper paperwork, it can be a huge fine for the shipper.

They have probably weighed the benefits (sales) vs pitfalls (potential fines), and found that from a business standpoint running the risks of shipping ORM-D's is not worth it. One or both may have already gotten hit with a fine, and that may have shut it down. Freestyle on the other hand, is relatively smaller, and as the types of product we're talking about make up a larger percentage of their gross sales, it's probably cost effective for Freestyle to have multiple (all?) shipping dept personnel certified. The good thing is that there really is no additional charge when purchasing from Freestyle because of the ORM-D shipment.

I buy from all three, and I just make sure that when I'm buying from Freestyle I load up. The difference in price doesn't bother me much, since if I had to buy it locally, the local price is double Freestyle's price (absurd).

Look at the upside - it'll give Freestyle that much more business, and keep their doors open to promote film & darkroom!
 
Very sad news indeed. I agree B&H was always perfect in their practices. If they are going to really follow the regulations tho Lithium batteries are verboten now as well, so no more camera sales...
Very sad news indeed. I agree B&H was always perfect in their practices. If they are going to really follow the regulations tho Lithium batteries are verboten now as well, so no more camera sales...
This occurred to me as well. I think this sheds the light of truth on the situation, if they can ship big ticket items with restrictions, there must be another reason for not shipping chemicals. I believe they just won't put a little bit of effort into identifying and shipping the chemicals by the appropriate method. Just being quite fisted - follow the money and you will be rewarded with the truth every time!