Color Chemical Shipping - YIKES!!

[Pioneer]

Well, it looks like I may have to swear off of Kodak Flexicolor Chemicals. I just went to UniquePhoto.com to place my annual order and the shipping of a $60 order of chemicals turned out to be a few nickels shy of $100. Can't afford it anymore.

So I placed an order with Freestyle for a small packet of Cinestill chemicals to hopefully get through the backlog of film I have in the box but even that came to $33 for what they say is enough for 8 rolls of film. I am pretty sure I can extend that capacity a bit so I should be able to get what I have exposed developed. That will have to do for now.

I would much prefer to use Kodak's C-41 chemicals but that shipping charge is unreal. Until I can get the stuff for a bit less I will be stuck limping along with these little kits and maybe swearing off of color film altogether.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Well, it looks like I may have to swear off of Kodak Flexicolor Chemicals. I just went to UniquePhoto.com to place my annual order and the shipping of a $60 order of chemicals turned out to be a few nickels shy of $100. Can't afford it anymore.

$100? - I wouldn't have to pay a quarter of that to ship a set of Flexicolor chemicals in the UK, unless one was buying thousands worth. Is there another retailer available?

 

[NortheastPhotographic]

Unique's shipping prices are way outta wack, and their online store is not to be trusted. I've seen it increase the price of a film from the checkout page to the review page for no reason.

As long as I order developer plus bleach in one order, then fixer and stab in a different order, shipping seems to stay sane.

 

[Pioneer]

Thanks to peter k. I was able to get my kodak supplies with 0 shipping charges. That will last me another year with the Cinestill kit as a backup. Thanks peter k.

 

[Pioneer]

$100? - I wouldn't have to pay a quarter of that to ship a set of Flexicolor chemicals in the UK, unless one was buying thousands worth. Is there another retailer available?

In the past I have ordered from Unique Photo because it was one of the very few on-line sources for all my Kodak developer needs, especially color developer supplies. Though it is on the other side of the country their shipping charges were always reasonable considering that some of these chemicals require Hazardous Shipping.

This last one was completely beyond reason and really shocked me. I may have to start researching some other options. Fortunately, thanks to the free shipping code that peter k. was able to provide I don't have to do that right away.

But things do change over time and this is one of those things that may be changing as well. Its too bad since being able to do my own color developing (c41 and e6) has kept me in the color and slide film game. If I had to send film out to be developed I would have been done with color film two or three years ago. However, I don't have unlimited funds. In retirement my income does not increase when costs increase so eventually I have to make decisions regarding what I can continue to do and what I can't. This morning I felt I had come to one of those decision points. One hundred dollars a year for supplies is a pinch but still doable. Triple that cost and suddenly that equation has changed dramatically and may no longer be an option.

 

[MattKing]

I would suggest reaching out to whoever you plan on obtaining product from. It may be that they are able to provide shipping options that their web portal doesn't easily access.
It is also possible that the (hopefully just) current issues with COVID-19 are affecting shipping options.

 

[Pioneer]

Thanks Matt. That is always excellent advice.

When I ran into my problem this morning I did try to call but had no luck getting through. I do suspect the COVID-19 issues were what was causing my problems because I normally am able to get in touch with someone very quickly. Fortunately I was able to receive timely assistance here.

 

[destroya]

shipping within the USA of liquid chems is UPS ground only. they charge a Hazmut fee so the rates are over the top. if you want it, you gotta pay for it. I bought a box of flexicolor fixer from freestyle. shipping was within california and the shipping was more than the cost of the fixer itself, you gotta pay to play now.

as much as it sucks, in my mind it is still worth the extra cost.

john

 

[Adrian Bacon]

Well, it looks like I may have to swear off of Kodak Flexicolor Chemicals. I just went to UniquePhoto.com to place my annual order and the shipping of a $60 order of chemicals turned out to be a few nickels shy of $100. Can't afford it anymore.

So I placed an order with Freestyle for a small packet of Cinestill chemicals to hopefully get through the backlog of film I have in the box but even that came to $33 for what they say is enough for 8 rolls of film. I am pretty sure I can extend that capacity a bit so I should be able to get what I have exposed developed. That will have to do for now.

I would much prefer to use Kodak's C-41 chemicals but that shipping charge is unreal. Until I can get the stuff for a bit less I will be stuck limping along with these little kits and maybe swearing off of color film altogether.

What Flexicolor kit do you use? I just ordered https://www.freestylephoto.biz/3667805-Kodak-FlexiColor-C-41-Developer-Makes-20-Liters a few weeks ago, along with https://www.freestylephoto.biz/6600...d-Replenisher-Makes-50-Liters-(2-Bottle-Pack), https://www.freestylephoto.biz/1464817-Kodak-D-76-Film-Developer-to-Make-1-Gallon, and https://www.freestylephoto.biz/8751752-Kodak-XTOL-Powder-Film-Developer-(Makes-5-Liters) and my total including shipping was just under $95. The only thing I didn't order was C-41 bleach simply because I have enough bleach on hand to last until at least next year, but the developer and fixer I was running very low on.

You can also get the bleach III: https://www.freestylephoto.biz/66002582--Kodak-Flexicolor-Bleach-III-Replenisher-Makes-20-Liters

 

[EdSawyer]

I've had no trouble with Unique, and shipping for everything is expensive now. Being in CA or NV, shipping from Freestyle is probably cheaper for you guys than from Unique in NJ.

 

[Pioneer]

Thanks guys. I needed the bleach and fixer. I don't think the Fixer is the problem.

I did see the Bleach at Freestyle but 20 liters will last me for the rest of my life assuming it will stay fresh for that long. It took me over 3 years to get through 5 liters.

I do hope that Freestyle keeps the color chemicals from Kodak in stock, in the past it has been pretty hit and miss. I will certainly check closely for what they can provide around this time next year.

 

[Pioneer]

shipping within the USA of liquid chems is UPS ground only. they charge a Hazmut fee so the rates are over the top. if you want it, you gotta pay for it. I bought a box of flexicolor fixer from freestyle. shipping was within california and the shipping was more than the cost of the fixer itself, you gotta pay to play now.

as much as it sucks, in my mind it is still worth the extra cost.

john

You and I will have to disagree on this.

 

[Adrian Bacon]

Thanks guys. I needed the bleach and fixer. I don't think the Fixer is the problem.

I did see the Bleach at Freestyle but 20 liters will last me for the rest of my life assuming it will stay fresh for that long. It took me over 3 years to get through 5 liters.

I do hope that Freestyle keeps the color chemicals from Kodak in stock, in the past it has been pretty hit and miss. I will certainly check closely for what they can provide around this time next year.

I suspect that they will as they've appeared to recently gotten a Kodak distributor account and sell Kodak products at wholesale. If they don't currently list something, they can probably special order it.

 

[grain elevator]

There's been a lot of discussion of home mixed bleaches on this forum. Maybe it's time for you to try one of those, which can be mixed from dry chemicals? Sadly they all seem to entail some degree of chemical nastiness.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Liquid chemicals are expensive to ship so I regularly drive the FreeStyle and one I even drove to Photographers' Formulary in outer Montana.

 

[Pioneer]

There's been a lot of discussion of home mixed bleaches on this forum. Maybe it's time for you to try one of those, which can be mixed from dry chemicals? Sadly they all seem to entail some degree of chemical nastiness.

Interesting. I'll do some searching. Always interested in ways to mix things up myself.

 

[Rolfe Tessem]

If you have a lab nearby, see if you can piggyback your order with one of theirs. They order enough volume that shipping is free to them. Worked for me with my local lab.

Rolfe

 

[EdSawyer]

also be aware you can regenerate bleach almost infinitely.

 

[Rolfe Tessem]

FWIW, this is who I order Kodak color chemistry from. You might want to see what they want for shipping...

https://www.southpointphoto.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=126_158

Rolfe

 

[Donald Qualls]

I just ordered a liter sized Cs41 (two bath C-41, no stabilizer, good for 20 rolls) from Cinestill (cinestillfilm.com) -- $26 for the chemicals and $14 for shipping. Still a bargain compared to mailing my negatives somewhere, waiting two weeks to get them back, and paying $20 a roll including their standard scanning, but for the future, I'll be buying their powder version when they have it in stock, and keeping one batch on hand. Ships USPS priority, no hazmat, because not ORM-D. I just didn't want to wait for "in stock after March 31" still not in stock on April 2nd. If it comes into stock tomorrow, I'll get it and have it on hand and order one each time I mix one. Now off to Amazon or Freestyle to get some more accordion bottles, a stir stick, and a better thermometer than the one I've found (which will probably result in finding my good one).

 

[Pioneer]

Great feedback. Thank you everyone.

Just as an update, I received a 1Quart CineStill C41 kit from Freestyle on Monday which I was able to put to work the next day and have been able to process a little over 8 meters of film, That is the advertised limit of the developer in that kit but I do suspect it will develop a few more rolls.

This afternoon the chemicals I ordered from Unique Photo arrived. I do have to say I was a tad nervous when I looked at the beat up condition of those shipping boxes but everything was intact and leak free.

At this point I suspect I have enough Fixer and Bleach to carry me for the next several years since I ordered quite a bit more than I usually do as a home user. I will have to continue ordering Developer every 6 months or so.

I am happy to say that rather than being done with color film, as I was obviously afraid when I started this thread, I am now developing 3 to 4 meters per day. I won't be maintaining that pace once I have worked through my color backlog from the winter. Thanks to several people on this forum I was able to get more than I actually needed. This little group of people is a great resource to each and everyone of us.