Bulk Apothecary

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Order came today 4/3 was ordered 3/27. The FO that I ordered had crooked labels on the bottles & the packing slip looked like the ink was on the last leg, but no other gripes. Glad I ordered mine a wk ago. Todays price shows 8lbs lye $16.99 + shipping
 
I ordered from ED on Amazon this week and got 10lbs for $27 total, including shipping. Just heads up, I've never seen it cheaper anywhere.
 
I had the same thing happen with Bulk Apothecary that Genny mentioned. It took two weeks to get my order (and I wasn't notified when it was shipped; I had to keep checking my account). When I got it, half the items were missing, on backorder and it took another week or so to get them. And their customer service was terrible. When I contacted them about it, they were basically like, "Oh well, you'll get it when we do." Even though they have great prices, I will never use Bulk Apothecary again.

ETA: I have used ED for lye and I really like their prices. A lot of times they will have 2lb jugs on sale for 2$.
 
Essential Depot usually has a discount code for a % off the entire order including shipping. Try http://www.retailmenot
to see if they have a current code for Essential Depot. I think the last one I used was 10%.
 
Just a heads up, WSP is soon to carry lye, no pricing up yet, but keep in mind when they do put it up the price includes shipping but you have to spend at minimum of $30 for that "free" shipping:

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.co...ryID=2554&CategoryName=Sodium+Hydroxide+-+Lye

So far I've been buying lye from ED. I only ordered once from Bulk Apothecary and while shipping was slow, (only ED is fast shipping for me), all went well. I've not been price comparing with BA and anyone else lately so...Also when WSP has something on backorder, they do the same, you get it when they do. Nothing a supplier can do about that. They don't know that 49 people are going to buy something on the same day and they only have 48 in stock. No complaints from me except all soap making supplies take forever to get here other than ED. ED has that part down pat.
 
I've been waiting to see the price on wsp but think it could be higher due to low cost and free shipping they offer.
I buy lye at my local Ace Hardware for around $3.25 a pound since I have tax.

As for Bulk Apothecary.. Yeah I will never never order from
Them again. One of the not too nice reviews out there is from me. They were slow and lied several times. Too bad since price is good. Likely because they don't have enough employees. :/
 
Duda diesel sells lye for bio diesel fuel purposes but its the best price I've found for lye.

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I just ordered 8 pounds of lye from Essential Depot and it was under 20 dollars with shipping and I was very pleased to find out it will arrive on Thursday so they seem to be pretty fast as well. I checked around and they seem to be cheapest even with shipping. If anyone finds cheaper please let me know I am always looking to save a dollar :)
 
I just ordered 8 pounds of lye from Essential Depot and it was under 20 dollars with shipping and I was very pleased to find out it will arrive on Thursday so they seem to be pretty fast as well. I checked around and they seem to be cheapest even with shipping. If anyone finds cheaper please let me know I am always looking to save a dollar :)

This has been my experience too, I'm a big fan of Essential Depot. Prices vary with the deals of the week, but I've always been able to find a BOGO, free or discounted shipping, or great deals on EOs when combined with a lye order. Have also heard great things about the LyeGuy, but don't tend to buy just lye.
 
I get mine from Essential Depot except I order directly from their website and not Amazon. They were the cheapest I found with shipping on the east coast
 
Hey there!
I have been buying from Wholesale Supplies Plus for 4 years now...since the beginning of my business. Yes, I would say I have been a faithful customer. :) There prices are pretty good...they have gradually risen over the months/years, but then again everything has in this US economy. I love the free shipping and since they are located in Ohio and I am in Pennsylvania, it is (well used to be...waiting for my recent order!) almost 2 day or less shipping. Nice. They eliminated the 8oz and 32oz of essential oil - bummer - I was ready to take my "main oils"(lavender, orange, etc) up to 32oz and my "special oils" to 8oz (ylang ylang, etc). It set me back and I am sure other "soapers" out there can relate. Also, WSP's selection of essential oils went from VERY MANY to BARELY ANY over the years. I understand eliminating unpopular oils, but....?

However.....I couldn't resist shopping around....and I found BULK APOTHECARY. I am sure other soapmakers have done the same.
I have not purchased from them at all...seemed a bit pricey on some things....and the reviews seemed to be too good to be true. I really liked the variety. But then I noticed how much the website looked like WSP website....and after MapQuesting it I found that they are located 40 minutes from each other. HMMMMMMM. Coincidence or could the 2 companies be connected? WSP is less natural and BA is more natural (I am the natural soap only type :) ) I buy pure essential oils and few fragrances from WSP. I have noticed that WSP has a TON of fragrance oils and barely any essential oils. On the other hand, I have found BA to carry TONS of essential oils and barely any fragrance oils. The list goes on....

I am just confused.....am I the only one around here that has noticed similarities between BULK APOTHECARY and WHOLESALE SUPPLIES PLUS??? What do ya' think?

~Emma
 
Newbie to the forum but not to soap making. I have been buying Food Grade lye from ED for about 3 years.. never ever had a problem. I had to order something that ONLY BA had and I needed lye so I bought their 8lb special. It came relatively quickly. BUT as soon as I opened the lye to pour it, it came flying out of the bottle like a volcano, I measured how far the beads went and the farthest one was 26.5" from where I was pouring it.

It stuck to my arms above my gloves and beneath my sleeves, up on my chest, neck and face. Thank God I was wearing goggles and gloves.

So, I decided to make a 2nd batch of soap and I decided to pour it into my container while in the sink, same thing. Lye was flying out of the bottle.

I called them, the receptionist said "yeah, we had a lot of complaints about that".. she forwarded me to the manager, left VM. he called promptly back, I told him what happened and he said. "hmm, we haven't heard that complaint before" after stating his receptionist stated otherwise, he said he would give me a full refund and that he would contact the chemist to find a solution.

Has anyone else had this problem? It's unbelievable! I have NEVER experienced anything like it! I can't and won't even use it... it's too darn dangerous! I went back to ED food grade lye!
 
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I bought lye from Amazon that tended to get static-y. The beads would stick to the sides of my container and even rolled a bit on the table. I never bought it again. I use the Lye Guy, and his is great. Never had a problem. It doesn't fly anywhere, and his prices are reasonable.
 
I bought lye for years from a local hardware store, and had WAY too much staticky lye. Since switching to ED's I haven't had any problems with 'flying lye'. I hear great things about the Lye Guy too, but I love being able to try new EOs combining a lye sale with an EO sale at ED. Big fan!
 
I just bought 32 lbs of lye from ED for 3.76/lb with shipping. Love the 2lb packaging


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