Plain packaging and what arrives in the box

Plain outer packaging with no product references on the exterior. The label carries the shipping and return addresses and the carrier's tracking barcode, nothing else. A parcel that says nothing about its contents is the norm for laboratory supply; it protects the shipment in transit and it respects the recipient's privacy. The tracking number printed on the label is the same one emailed to you when the label was created — see tracking your order.

Vials are sealed and protected against light and movement. Movement protection means the vials cannot rattle, shift or strike each other; light protection means the material is not exposed during the days it spends in the carrier's network. There is no ice pack, because the material is lyophilized and shelf-stable in transit — no cold chain is needed, for the reasons in does research material need a cold chain?.

The certificate of analysis for each lot is published with the lot before it goes on sale, so it is available to you from the moment you order rather than only from the box. Match the lot number printed on each vial to its certificate as part of the receiving check — inspecting a vial on arrival walks through it. If you need a certificate you cannot locate, contact support with the lot number and it will be sent the same business day.

Open the box and you should find: the number of vials you ordered, each sealed, each labelled with the compound name and lot number, each containing a dry white or off-white cake or powder — or a thin film where the fill mass is small. The cake may be cracked or broken into powder from movement in transit; that is normal, as what lyophilized means explains. Then the vials go to the storage condition stated on the certificate the same day.

Crushed or wet outer packaging, a cracked vial, a lifted or missing seal, liquid or discolouration inside a vial, a missing item, or a lot number that does not match any certificate you hold. For any of these, do not open or discard anything: photograph the packaging and the vial, and contact support with the order number and lot number within 30 days of the ship date. The returns page covers replacement or refund for damaged, lost or incorrect orders; the process is in damaged, lost or incorrect shipments.

Some suppliers pack a leaflet with every vial. We do not, and the reason is the research-use-only position rather than economy. Anything printed and packed with a material is read as guidance about that material, and we publish no preparation, dilution or usage guidance of any kind. The certificate of analysis, published with the lot before it is sold, is the document that describes what the material is; it is available from the moment of ordering, and it is the only document a laboratory needs from us. What a laboratory does with the material is governed by its own procedures. The terms and the disclaimer set out that position formally, and the quality page describes what the certificate contains.

Nothing in the box describes a preparation, a dilution or a use, because we publish none. The contents are sealed reference materials supplied for in-vitro laboratory research only, and handling from the moment of arrival is the responsibility of the qualified researcher — see research use only.