Sourcing test kit in International Location

[Desiato]

Moved from here.
I'm in the hunt to replace some Taylor reagents and came across this post. To update it, HornerXpress can now be found at HornerXpress | Your Full Service Wholesale Distributor of Swimming Pool Supplies and like other suppliers of pool chemicals, they seem to only want to deal with distributors. If you click on the button to request an Xpressway account you can see what I mean....the hunt continues.

 

[Desiato]

I've had to pay top dollar for some Taylor reagents in Spain so if anyone is desperate you can get some from AQMatic - Todo para tu piscina

At the time of writing here are the prices for:

R-0871 (22ml) - €23.90
R-0870 (10g) - €22.90

Postage - €4.99

I would really like to know why they are so much more expensive outside of the US and I'd really like to know how I could set up shop and sell Taylor test kits and reagents in Spain.

 

[Desiato]

Got a reply today from BEHQ and they sent me to their website Analizar Agua: Tienda online de analtítica

Similar prices but if AQMatic change their prices, here are BEHQ's:

R-0871 (22ml) - €20.34
R-0870 (10g) - €21.13

Postage €9.00

So if I was to order just these two items the total would be €50.47 compared to €51.79 with AQMatic but if you buy more chemicals from Analizaragua, it will probably work out cheaper.

BEHQ (at analizaragua.es) also have the R-0871 60ml for €24.86 which I would have bought from AQMatic if they stocked it so, analizaragua for me next time. Have emailed a few suppliers in the past including BEHQ and got no reply so jumped the gun with AQMatic, that'll teach me!

Hope this helps someone.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Any imported chemical items will face steep charges as shipping is much more costly. Add to that trade barriers (tariffs) that many countries erect to shield local businesses from competition and you have recipe for very high prices. The raw chemicals to make these reagents are cheap, the skill in making and standardizing them is not. Only a locally operating business willing to make and sell these products at retail prices will have the ability to sell them cheaply. But I suspect doing all that is simply not profitable.

 

[Desiato]

Any imported chemical items will face steep charges as shipping is much more costly. Add to that trade barriers (tariffs) that many countries erect to shield local businesses from competition and you have recipe for very high prices. The raw chemicals to make these reagents are cheap, the skill in making and standardizing them is not. Only a locally operating business willing to make and sell these products at retail prices will have the ability to sell them cheaply. But I suspect doing all that is simply not profitable.

I've seen people on this forum suggest getting a friend to bring a test kit with them when going to Europe (which may or may not break international trade laws) but the fact it's even being suggested would imply there isn't any local competition as we would simply buy from them instead. There is clearly a business opportunity here but it would require Taylor to set up an office in Europe which on the face of it doesn't sound that hard to do but I guess the fact there isn't a trade agreement between the US and Europe would make the exporting/importing of potentially dangerous chemicals a little tricky. LaMotte sells FAS-DPD kits but they are also hard to get hold of (and very expensive) so it's not an issue of the chemicals being banned. It looks to me more like a cultural thing where it's either chlorine pucks or SWG's and any suggestion that there is actually a third way is met with puzzled looks of disbelief. Oh well, I guess I'll have to keep paying the inflated prices if I want my pool to gleam like a diamond but it's worth it for the smug look on my face when people say "Wow, your pool is so clear!".

 

[Desiato]

A quick update on AQMatic, they had a couple of short dated reagents so gave them to me for free so I only had to pay for 1. I've been using expired reagents for chlorine testing without issue so this has saved me a pretty penny. It would also suggest they are not getting a lot of turnover for these products so I'm happy to give them another plug to help boost their sales.