KOH Supplier

[kchaystack]

The founder/CEO of the company I work for has his critics. He's not the guy you want in there when emotions are high. Harvard School of Business uses one of his emails from back in the day as the way NOT to motivate your managers. All that being said he hired the right people to make us successful so my stock portfolio is grateful for that.

Oh, I know who you work for. The company I worked for in KC passed that letter around in one of their management training classes... I was shocked that I swore I would never even think about working for them, even tho they were the other big mainframe shop in town.

Back on topic, I do not buy from them mostly for the shipping costs, and the one time I looked at the EO prices I was put off. They are pretty crazy when I compare to WSP, NG, SC or Nurture. I had not heard about the lye debacle.

But I love Soaping 101. I do not know this other lady you guys are talking about. I must have somehow avoided her videos.

 

[LBussy]

Yeah I received that email where I was previously too ... I made the same promise to myself. Something about the money (and honestly the mission) made me change my mind.

I must be missing something because the way I had it figured, ED was hands down cheapest for lye. I'll go do some shopping cart math and see what I come up with.

 

[DeeAnna]

"... I must have somehow avoided her videos. ..."

Probably a good thing, I'd say!

Other soapers whose Youtube videos are not-suitable-for-beginners are Nancy Friday, the "Homemade soap at Marsha's" ladies, and the guy who makes soap over a campfire and stirs the batter with a stick (can't remember who he is). They all seem to be truly nice people, but their videos do not teach safe, reliable ways to make soap. If you have enough experience to follow what they're doing in their videos with an educated eye, that's one thing, but beginners just don't have that kind of perspective and experience, so I can't recommend their videos as useful resources.

 

[Susie]

Susie, here's a dirt cheap tip ... literally. Buy some old-fashioned kitty litter, the cheap granular kind that's neither clumping nor deodorizing. Bake it in the oven at 350 or so for a few hours depending on how much you dry at a time, stir it occasionally. Put that in the bottom of a seal-able container either just by pouring it in the bottom or tie it in a muslin sack. Store your lye containers in that.

That is the cheapest desiccant you will find and it works awesome. I've purchased commercial desiccant packs from ULine before only to find out they were just clay sealed in Kraft paper. By weight, clay is more effective than the other chemical-based desiccants. It's used less these days because it is dusty.

I purchased some in a plastic pail so I use that to store my lye containers in.

You can be assured that I am picking some up Saturday when I go to town! That is a wonderful idea! I already have buckets the perfect size!

 

[Susie]

"... I must have somehow avoided her videos. ..."

Probably a good thing, I'd say!

Other soapers whose Youtube videos are not-suitable-for-beginners are Nancy Friday, the "Homemade soap at Marsha's" ladies, and the guy who makes soap over a campfire and stirs the batter with a stick (can't remember who he is). They all seem to be truly nice people, but their videos do not teach safe, reliable ways to make soap. If you have enough experience to follow what they're doing in their videos with an educated eye, that's one thing, but beginners just don't have that kind of perspective and experience, so I can't recommend their videos as useful resources.

^This, and beware of anyone who does not use gloves in tutorials, or says that HP is shipped out that week to customers. There are other warning signs, but you can stop the video as soon as you see or hear this.

 

[DeeAnna]

In November 2014, I purchased 3 ea 2 lb containers of KOH and 6 ea 2 lb containers of NaOH. I got the "buy 5 and get 1 free" deal on the NaOH, which is what I normally do. I didn't spring for the same deal on the KOH because I didn't want that much KOH on hand. Total price was $75.55 including $55.50 in merchandise and $20.05 shipping.

What I see on the ED website today is the same order of 6 lb KOH and 12 lb NaOH, all in 2 lb containers, would cost me a total of $113.01 -- that's $84.15 in merchandise and $28.86 shipping. I've compared this same type of order at ED and the LG before and ended up with about the same prices for the two orders -- maybe those times were when ED was running a sale.

Bottom line for me in northeast Iowa, the Lye Guy is at least comparable if not better than ED as far as prices go. Coupled with Jim's good customer service and straightforward way of doing business, the LG is my choice.

 

[LBussy]

In November 2014, I purchased 3 ea 2 lb containers of KOH and 6 ea 2 lb containers of NaOH. I got the "buy 5 and get 1 free" deal on the NaOH, which is what I normally do. I didn't spring for the same deal on the KOH because I didn't want that much KOH on hand. Total price was $75.55 including $55.50 in merchandise and $20.05 shipping.

What I see on the ED website today is the same order of 6 lb KOH and 12 lb NaOH, all in 2 lb containers, would cost me a total of $113.01 -- that's $84.15 in merchandise and $28.86 shipping. I've compared this same type of order at ED and the LG before and ended up with about the same prices for the two orders -- maybe those times were when ED was running a sale.

Bottom line for me in northeast Iowa, the Lye Guy is at least comparable if not better than ED as far as prices go. Coupled with Jim's good customer service and straightforward way of doing business, the LG is my choice.

I have a spreadsheet I am filling out ... interesting so far. Suffice it to say there are some inconsistencies with each of the vendors I have checked so far. It's likely attributable to how shopping carts calculate things vs what they intended but some of the differences are significant.

I'll post the spreadsheet when I am done.

It will be for shipping to 64157 but it's *a* reference for folks to get some idea.

 

[cgpeanut]

In November 2014, I purchased 3 ea 2 lb containers of KOH and 6 ea 2 lb containers of NaOH. I got the "buy 5 and get 1 free" deal on the NaOH, which is what I normally do. I didn't spring for the same deal on the KOH because I didn't want that much KOH on hand. Total price was $75.55 including $55.50 in merchandise and $20.05 shipping.

What I see on the ED website today is the same order of 6 lb KOH and 12 lb NaOH, all in 2 lb containers, would cost me a total of $113.01 -- that's $84.15 in merchandise and $28.86 shipping. I've compared this same type of order at ED and the LG before and ended up with about the same prices for the two orders -- maybe those times were when ED was running a sale.

Bottom line for me in northeast Iowa, the Lye Guy is at least comparable if not better than ED as far as prices go. Coupled with Jim's good customer service and straightforward way of doing business, the LG is my choice.

hummm I didn't get that. I got 8x2# food grade 96% pure NaOh for 26.64 and 2x2# Koh for 14.84 and a single 2# for 10.09 to equal your 6 for 24.93 22.33 shipping total was $74.20. And that is with 16# of naoh. I understand the the specials between the lye guy and Ed are different. But if I were to order from Ed I would have upped my naoh get a better deal and more soap

 

[DeeAnna]

Peanut -- I agree that different orders may result in different charges, due to special rates for certain sizes and whatnot. That is so totally not the point I was trying to make. I wanted to give an apples and apples comparison for two absolutely identical orders to show that one has to shop carefully rather than assume. But, hey, whatever..... roblem:

 

[Susie]

I got it. And that is why every time I need NaOH or KOH, I check one, then the other. Right then and there. Head to head. My orders from ED alone have varied by as much as $20 for the same amounts of the same lyes.

 

[LBussy]

Yeah making these vendors line up apples for apples is challenging but I'm 75% done. It's not because there's just one vendor that does something strange. Each of the four I am checking so far has some eccentricity or the other.

 

[cgpeanut]

Dee Ann I am not saying that The lye Guy isn't a good vender. But in the volume i buy #32 at a time to Chicago Area ED is a better buy. If you buy in your quanity and do not wish to up it or down it to take advantage of the discounts that ED has then I agree The Lye Guy is a better fit for you. i can not say about customer service because I have never had to contact ED. I order, I receive in a timely manner. I soap. Lye is fine.

 

[LBussy]

I found the results interesting and I am glad I did the work. Here is a Google Doc version:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aPPOerlJplagk6PsRDF-FcT6KOQhVyE6FythojsvGd8/edit?usp=sharing

If you would like an Excel version, PM me with your email.

I have not actually verified every cell uploaded correctly to Google from Excel, and I'm not going to. :razz:

Here were some of the more interesting results.

Across the board:
* Certified Lye was consistently the highest in base or base + shipping
* WSP was the next most expensive across the board - being cheaper only in KOH and only comparing the price per 1# of KOH (and they sell in 2# quantities anyway with a $40 minimum order).

Comparing NaOH:
* The Lye Guy was cheapest across the board with no shipping.
* Considering shipping (to 64157) the "best" alternated between The Lye Guy and ED - reinforcing the "Check prices WITH shipping" advice everyone gives.

Comparing KOH:
* The Lye Guy is cheapest across the board not counting shipping
* The Lye Guy was close enough in shipping costs (again for me) to make it the easy to remember choice for all KOH orders

The clear winner for me was The Lye Guy (as some of you have said. )

So there you go. Y'all feel free to take that and edit it for your own shipping costs - or completely ignore it.

ETA: This was done figuring 1#, 5#, 10#, 50# orders by the way.

 

[reinbeau]

Toldjya so

 

[LBussy]

Yes but I'm a stubborn man and don't admit my wife was right even if she was. I give her a "you were right" on her birthday.

They were very close though, so different shipping distances since The Lye Guy charges real shipping costs would make a difference for some.