22 replies to this topic

[Miles]

Hello all,

 

I have been trying to find an affordable source of Hydrostone for a while now. The only place I have found it available is from www.plaster.com. To get a 6 gallon pail would be only ~$31, but once shipping has been added, the total price jumps to over $70. Do any of you know of a place that I could possibly get Hydrostone locally, or another online site that sells the product? 

 

Thanks!

[drtrmiller]

If you only need a small amount, you can find it on Amazon.com.  But the money you'd save from purchasing a small amount is lost in the fact that you're grossly overpaying on the per-unit cost.

 

http://www.amazon.co...ords=hydrostone

[Gregory2455]

Where do you order en mass?

[drtrmiller]

I've used www.sheffield-pottery.com, but any web vendor is going to charge actual shipping costs.  

 

I bought two, 50 lb. bags once, and the shipping costs were about the same as the product itself, so about $100 for 100 lbs of plaster.

[Gregory2455]

$100 including shipping???

[dean_k]

For 100lb?

 

If shipping was 50 bucks, I'd say it's cheap. 100lb is a lot of weight. I wouldn't be surprised it's 100 bucks.

[drtrmiller]

$100 including shipping???

 

Yes.

[Gregory2455]

If the price is 100$ including shipping, it is not THAT bad...

[Crystals]

When I asked recently, I was told to try stores that may selling sculpting supplies.

While doing a search on the nearest big city, there do seem to be a few sculpture supply, pottery, or craft stores that carry some.  Which is nice, as it avoids shipping for me.

[dspdrew]

This is what I get.

 

http://www.ebay.com/...=item259d826303

[drtrmiller]

This is what I get.

 

http://www.ebay.com/...=item259d826303

 

That's actually a very good value.  I recommend that, if you want a good amount at a fair price.

 

Forgot you shared that with me a while back.

Edited by drtrmiller, January 17 2015 - 6:04 PM.

[Miles]

Thank you all for the replies. I think I'll go with the product that Dspdrew linked. Pretty darn good value.

[Miles]

This is what I get.

 

http://www.ebay.com/...=item259d826303

Is there any way to verify that this product is indeed Hydrostone?

[dspdrew]

I'm sure there is, but I don't know exactly how. It certainly looks, and behaves like Hydrostone. The company looks pretty credible, and their Ebay seller rating is very high, so I'm not sure why anyone would have a whole lot of reason to believe it's not.

[Miles]

I'm sure there is, but I don't know exactly how. It certainly looks, and behaves like Hydrostone. The company looks pretty credible, and their Ebay seller rating is very high, so I'm not sure why anyone would have a whole lot of reason to believe it's not.

My only confusion stems from how remarkably low the prices are, and how they can afford to ship the product for free. That's why I'm looking closer.

Edited by Miles, February 27 2015 - 12:40 PM.

[Foogoo]

Have you checked local art supply stores, such as Michaels?

[drtrmiller]

It is rather interesting.  I wonder if the seller has a really good negotiated rate with UPS/FedEx, or if they have multiple distributor sites.

 

If they use a USPS Large Flat Rate box, which holds about 3.5 gallons, their shipping costs would be $18, and the eBay/PayPal commission on the sale would be about $5, a total of $23 in expenses, even before material costs. The plaster itself is very inexpensive if obtained directly from the manufacturer.

 

It is also possible that they are mixing and formulating the product themselves.  The main ingredient of Hydrostone, plaster of paris, ranges from $50 to $200 a ton if you get it from China.

 

Assuming those figures, the seller would just be breaking even, given the current sale price.

So, assuming the product is as advertised, I see 3 possibilities:

1. They are not making a profit on each sale;
2. or they are receiving a deeply discounted UPS/FedEx rate;
3. or they are obtaining the product below market price.

Edited by drtrmiller, February 27 2015 - 7:29 PM.

[Miles]

Have you checked local art supply stores, such as Michaels?

They only supply DAP brand Plaster of Paris, which isn't as strong or as mold resistant as Hydrostone is said to be.

[Miles]

I emailed them, and this was their response! 

"Hello,

 

Here is physical properties for our product: 

Use Consistency 26-28 cc/100g

Set Time 18-25 minutes

Maximum Expansion ( %) 0.25%

 -100 Mesh 99.5-100%

Dry Compressive Strength 10,000 psi

 

Yes, it is identical to USG's Hydrostone.

 

Thank you,

Yurii

Plaster Guys

215-836-2413"

Edited by Miles, March 6 2015 - 10:20 PM.

[drtrmiller]

 

I emailed them, and this was their response! 

"Hello,

 

Here is physical properties for our product: 

Use Consistency 26-28 cc/100g

Set Time 18-25 minutes

Maximum Expansion ( 0.25%

 -100 Mesh 99.5-100%

Dry Compressive Strength 10,000 psi

 

Yes, it is identical to USG's Hydrostone.

 

Thank you,

Yurii

Plaster Guys

215-836-2413"

 

 

"Identical to" seems to indicate that it is not USG's product.  Since USG owns the trademark to "Hydrostone," what they're doing by advertising it as "Hydrostone" is kind of shady, even if there's nothing wrong with the product, itself.  

 

If USG wanted, they could pretty much put these folks out of business by taking down their infringing eBay listings, making it more difficult for people like you and me to find their product.  Worse, using a registered trademark to sell a non-genuine product opens them up to severe legal action.