where to buy biochemical consumables?

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mete
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 8:31 am
Location: Switzerland

where to buy biochemical consumables?

#1 Post by mete » Thu Sep 23, 2021 1:30 pm

I am trying to figure out what is available to individuals. I am in Switzerland and although not being in EU complicates it a bit it is sometimes OK to buy from Germany etc. It seems none of the large brands are selling directly to individuals, and small shops I could find is selling only the very basic things like propanol, some stains and a few mounting media. I am also interested in dna/pcr stuff and it seems it is even much harder to find things for that. Any links to businesses selling such consumables to individuals ? Do you know the reason behind not selling such things to individuals ? Is it only a business decision or is there a particular regulation against that ? I know there is a limitation in terms transport, eg I think max 1lt propanol can be sent without marking and sending it as a special thing. Naturally I am not talking about particularly dangerous or high volume of anything, but things actually sold by some companies in educational kits particularly in US.

MicroBob
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Location: Northern Germany

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#2 Post by MicroBob » Thu Sep 23, 2021 1:55 pm

You might post this in the german forum, there are a few swiss microscopists there.
In some cases it is possible to order chemicals after speaking with the sales department and offering a document in which you explain what you do with the stuff and refrain from using it for unfriendly things.

Leitzcycler
Posts: 254
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2019 11:55 am

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#3 Post by Leitzcycler » Thu Sep 23, 2021 2:26 pm

I don't know how easy it is in Switzerland. However, my solution was to establish a company/trade name. I paid a register fee of around 75€. That's all and after that there has been no problem to order chemicals. The dispatching costs may be rather high though.

I think the main reason is that non-registered individuals might use chemicals for criminal purposes especially these days.

I do a lot PCR and DNA work so I am the right person to assist. Please ask if I can help.

It was a pleasure reading your message :)

mete
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 8:31 am
Location: Switzerland

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#4 Post by mete » Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:20 pm

MicroBob wrote:
Thu Sep 23, 2021 1:55 pm
You might post this in the german forum, there are a few swiss microscopists there.
In some cases it is possible to order chemicals after speaking with the sales department and offering a document in which you explain what you do with the stuff and refrain from using it for unfriendly things.
Yes I think I should ask there too, hopefully without damaging too much the eyes and ears of the people there as my German is very rusty.

mete
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 8:31 am
Location: Switzerland

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#5 Post by mete » Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:28 pm

Leitzcycler wrote:
Thu Sep 23, 2021 2:26 pm
I don't know how easy it is in Switzerland. However, my solution was to establish a company/trade name. I paid a register fee of around 75€. That's all and after that there has been no problem to order chemicals. The dispatching costs may be rather high though.

I think the main reason is that non-registered individuals might use chemicals for criminal purposes especially these days.

I do a lot PCR and DNA work so I am the right person to assist. Please ask if I can help.

It was a pleasure reading your message :)
Actually I am also thinking something similar and I think it is actually legally possible to have a business/or call yourself a business without paperwork here (esp. if you do not want a VAT number), but it is not a business like GmbH/llc so not sure if they will be OK with that, I need to figure this out.

Awesome, I definitely have more question about PCR and DNA stuff than microscopy at the moment. I will get in touch, thanks for offering the help :)

MicroBob
Posts: 3154
Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2016 9:11 am
Location: Northern Germany

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#6 Post by MicroBob » Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:30 pm

mete wrote:
Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:20 pm
... as my German is very rusty.
This might be one of the few cases in microscopy where WD40 could be useful! :lol:

mete
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 8:31 am
Location: Switzerland

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#7 Post by mete » Thu Sep 23, 2021 4:06 pm

MicroBob wrote:
Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:30 pm
mete wrote:
Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:20 pm
... as my German is very rusty.
This might be one of the few cases in microscopy where WD40 could be useful! :lol:
:D I really wish a WD40 or a dozen of them could solve it for good

Alexander
Posts: 402
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:10 pm

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#8 Post by Alexander » Fri Sep 24, 2021 6:46 am

Try https://www.laboratoriumdiscounter.nl . They sell to individuals everything the laws permit. I don't have any idea about Swiss import restriction, though.

aricjoshua
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:16 am

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#9 Post by aricjoshua » Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:21 am

Leitzcycler wrote:
Thu Sep 23, 2021 2:26 pm
I don't know how easy it is in Switzerland. However, my solution was to establish a company/trade name. I paid a register fee of around 75€. That's all and after that there has been no problem to order chemicals. The dispatching costs may be rather high though.

I think the main reason is that non-registered individuals might use chemicals for criminal purposes especially these days.

I do a lot PCR and DNA work so I am the right person to assist. Please ask if I can help.

It was a pleasure reading your message :)
Actually, I was thinking something similar, and I believe it is legal to have a business/or call yourself a business here without papers (especially if you don't want a VAT number), but it isn't a business like GmbH/llc, so I'm not sure whether they'll be OK with it; I'll have to sort it out.

mete
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 8:31 am
Location: Switzerland

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#10 Post by mete » Fri Oct 29, 2021 12:34 pm

I will answer my question, maybe it helps a future reader of this post from Switzerland. I asked to many businesses (10+) about this, and only got a few positive answers. I had orders from all three below and all has easy and straightforward processing.

Reactolab, https://www.reactolab.ch/, is a general lab supplier, probably every kind of chemicals can be found here. They told me it is OK to buy as an individual as long as it is not highly dangerous (eg HCl).

Labgene, https://www.labgene.ch/, is a supplier for molecular biology labs. They also told me it is OK to buy things as an individual, and did not mention any restrictions, I guess because they do not sell highly dangerous things (not a general lab supplier).

Huberlab, https://www.huberlab.ch/, is a large general lab supplier. Not now but I asked them before, and they told me it is possible to buy only lab equipment not chemicals. It is still a good place to shop because they have everything one can need in terms of lab equipment.

Leitzcycler
Posts: 254
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2019 11:55 am

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#11 Post by Leitzcycler » Fri Oct 29, 2021 6:54 pm

I guess because they do not sell highly dangerous things
Using molecular biology methods you may e.g. modify viruses so it may be much more dangerous than HCl. Be sure you will be registered by the intelligence guys :)

mete
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 8:31 am
Location: Switzerland

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#12 Post by mete » Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:16 pm

I mean the simple definition of dangerous :)

mete
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 8:31 am
Location: Switzerland

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#13 Post by mete » Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:58 pm

Just to be 100% correct, I have mentioned to Labgene what I would like to do and what I would need (and that I am aware of the potential costs, since they are usually more expensive than general chemicals), and then they confirmed it is OK to continue.

Leitzcycler
Posts: 254
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2019 11:55 am

Re: where to buy biochemical consumables?

#14 Post by Leitzcycler » Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:32 am

To be 100% correct, I was just joking :)

Modifying virus genomes would be a bit challenging in a home lab even for professionals...

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