Volume pricing tiers explained

Two of the same item take 5% off. Three or more of the same item take 10% off. The tiers apply automatically in the cart; there is no code to enter and nothing to request. "The same item" means the same compound at the same size, so two vials of one compound qualify and one vial each of two compounds do not. The discount is applied per unit, so every vial in a qualifying quantity is priced at the tier rate.

A discount code applies instead of the volume tier, not on top of it. If a code is entered on a cart that already qualifies for a tier, the cart is priced with the code and the tier is not applied. Whichever is better for the order is the one to use, and the cart shows the total either way before payment. This is a rule, not a bug: two discounts on the same line would price below what the material can be supplied for.

The public tiers stop at 10%. Wholesale accounts price below the public tiers, are invoiced per shipment with net terms available after the first order, and have certificates of analysis attached to every invoice. If a laboratory is ordering the same compounds every month in quantities that make 10% look small, a wholesale account is the next step — see wholesale accounts for labs and the wholesale page.

Volume pricing is about the material; shipping is a flat rate regardless of quantity. $15 anywhere in the United States including the territories, $35 internationally, calculated at checkout once an address is entered. Ten vials ship for the same $15 as one, which is another reason to consolidate orders where a laboratory can — see how orders ship.

A quantity of the same item usually ships from the same lot, but it is not guaranteed, and the receiving check should match every vial's lot number to its certificate individually rather than assuming they match each other. Material is released by lot and never blended, so two vials from two lots have two certificates. See lot numbers and lot discipline.

Because a code and a tier cannot combine, the arithmetic is worth doing before checkout. A tier is a percentage of the line it applies to; a code is whatever the code says, and it may apply to the whole cart. For a cart of three of one item, the tier gives 10% off that line. A code worth more than 10% beats it; a code worth less does not, unless the cart also contains items the tier does not reach. The cart shows the total with and without the code before payment, so the comparison takes seconds. The terms describe how discounts are applied in general; the cart is the authority on any specific order.

One more consequence: an order that qualifies for a tier and also carries an affiliate code is priced with the code, and the affiliate is credited either way. If a laboratory has a code from a colleague but the tier is better, use the tier; the colleague is credited on the next order where the code applies.

An affiliate's personal discount code is a discount code like any other for pricing purposes: it applies instead of the volume tier. The order is credited to the affiliate either way. See the affiliate program: how it works. Everything priced here is sold for in-vitro laboratory research only — research use only.