Order flow
Four steps. Five minutes start to finish. No checkout-style forms, no card fields, no surprise costs at the end. This page walks you through what happens at each step, what you'll receive, and - honestly - why we ask for bank transfer instead of card.
On any compound page, pick the size you need and click "Order via WhatsApp" (or "Email enquiry" if you prefer). The button pre-fills a message with the compound name and size you selected.
Ordering multiple compounds is fine - just list them in the same message. Discount tiers (5% over £150, 10% over £275, 15% over £350) apply to the order total.
We reply within minutes during UK working hours (max same day, even on weekends). The reply is from a real person - no chatbot - and includes:
[Photo placeholder - sample WhatsApp exchange screenshot, anonymised. Shows the response is fast and human.]
UK Faster Payments to the account details we sent. From your banking app it's three taps and ten seconds. Settles instantly - we get a notification within seconds of you sending it.
Use your full name as the payment reference so we can match the transfer to your order. If you've already had a confirmation message from us, no need to message again after transferring - we'll see it.
If your transfer lands before 2pm UK weekdays, we dispatch the same day via Royal Mail Tracked 24. After 2pm or weekends - dispatched the next working day. As soon as the parcel ships we send the Royal Mail tracking number on WhatsApp/email.
Standard UK delivery is 1–2 working days. Special Delivery before 11am next-day available for an upgrade.
[Photo placeholder - outer plain Royal Mail packaging on doormat. Sells discreet shipping.]
This is the most common question we get from new customers, so it deserves a straight answer.
The short version: Mainstream payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, the major card acquirers) classify research-chemical suppliers as "high-risk" and decline applications, full stop. It is not specific to us - it's an industry-wide policy. Even Sigma-Aldrich and the established research-chemical giants typically operate on account credit + invoicing for the same reason: card networks don't underwrite the category.
What that leaves: bank transfer (us today), Open Banking flows (in setup), crypto (in setup), or specialised high-risk merchant accounts that take 2–6 weeks to underwrite.
What we're working on: Open Banking integration via TrueLayer or GoCardless - a "Pay by Bank" flow that feels like Apple Pay but is bank-to-bank under the hood (and so is acceptable to the relevant processors). Crypto via NOWPayments (BTC, ETH, USDT, etc) for buyers who prefer it. Both should be live within weeks.
What you get from bank transfer in the meantime:
If bank transfer is a hard no for you, drop us a line and we'll see if crypto via NOWPayments or invoiced bank wire works better for your situation. We'd rather find a way than lose the order.
Just message us. Add a compound, change a size, swap shipping speed, defer the dispatch date - all fine before the parcel ships. After it ships we can't pull it back from Royal Mail, but everything before that is editable.
Underpayment: we'll message and ask for the difference before dispatching. Overpayment: we'll refund the difference straight away (or apply it as credit to the next order if you prefer).
Three policies cover this:
It's a fair instinct - first orders from any new supplier are an act of trust. We'd rather you start with a small order to verify the experience for yourself than commit to a large one based on what we say on the website. Order one vial. Check the COA. Check the verification code. Decide for yourself whether the experience matches what we said it would be.