HalloEverybody Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Precursor: couldnt find recent info on company so I created this to ask, sorry I dont know this forums SOPs.I ordered 2lbs or dark al from star molecules website on the 14th, received a order receipt and thats it, in your experiences have they sent you a tracking # or anything beyond purchase conformation? Maybe im used to dealing with larger companies but the fact I still havent heard back from them for my "contact request" I sent early yesterday leaves me a little uneasy, along with the fact they do not have a number to call. Can anyone who has recently ordered from them give me a little insight? I opted for free shipping (sorry if this is the wrong subsection to post in) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 They used to have a great product and seemed like a good company. Don't think it was real big so it may take a while to respond. It has been a while since I bought some but if there was a problem it would have been brought up on here already. I think you will be fine and it may take a little while with the free shipping but has only been 4 days so far. Waiting sure can be a pain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 There is a member here who recently had trouble with this company. He couldn't get in contact with them, and never received any product. I'd monitor the situation closely, and know your options for stopping payments through your bank if necessary. http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/11641-star-molecule/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Well, there goes that theory. Good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalloEverybody Posted June 18, 2016 Author Share Posted June 18, 2016 There is a member here who recently had trouble with this company. He couldn't get in contact with them, and never received any product. I'd monitor the situation closely, and know your options for stopping payments through your bank if necessary. http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/11641-star-molecule/ Thank you. Going to see what I can workout with PP/CC company In meantime ill order elsewhere. Also going to see what I can potentially do to get them shut down, I don't know if that is common but seems sketchy for site owner to also own cc processing service w/out it being integrated into the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Sometimes one owner businesses have life get in the way. I'm not sure what you mean about the CC, but I doubt it's anything malicious. They did have a very good product and hopefully are just having some issues that will pass in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzoMittle Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 2-Cents Disclaimer: I don't know what's going on with them currently. I've used their Al before but I got it off of someone else (who said they have the best Al), it worked great though. I will say though, do NOT order from smokechemicals.com, I placed an order with them and never heard back or received any product (that was late 2014). My bank refused to refund the purchase. Despite their positive reputation I have also been unable to get a response from Firefox-fx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Smoke chemicals. Com was owned by cracker, who passed away last year. Even when he was alive though, he had a terrible record of delivering orders... drugs will do that to a person, I suppose. As far as Star Molecule, like Fla was saying... they used to be a reliable vendor with a high quality product (although expensive)... so this is completely out of the norm. I'd discourage people from trying to shut someone down, until they at least know what's going on. It amazes me the amount of effort some people will go through just to "get even" with someone they don't know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalloEverybody Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 Smoke chemicals. Com was owned by cracker, who passed away last year. Even when he was alive though, he had a terrible record of delivering orders... drugs will do that to a person, I suppose. As far as Star Molecule, like Fla was saying... they used to be a reliable vendor with a high quality product (although expensive)... so this is completely out of the norm. I'd discourage people from trying to shut someone down, until they at least know what's going on. It amazes me the amount of effort some people will go through just to "get even" with someone they don't know...Well yes, I wouldnt want to try and ruin a possibly trustworthy business but I said potentially because it is quite unnerving that someone a month ago sent money and still had gotten no real response or product 34 days later. I will update this thread I guess if I ever receive anything or a response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 I understand, and hope things turn out well for you. It is a great product, and I hope it stays available to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starxplor Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 My bank refused to refund the purchase. Wow, banks do that? I had to get my bank to handle the charges to a pyro supply place once since I had placed an order before they disappeared and the bank was perfectly helpful. Also a general tip, it is always a good idea to document all contact you have, and try to have, with a business in case you have to look to the bank/CC/PP for a resolution. Most people are not out to scam you but life happens sometimes. Protect yourself for when new business/client relationships fail and be happy when they do work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 I use PayPal whenever possible because they have a great dispute process that's not dependant on the seller's ability to make reparations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyHook Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Please refer to Mumbles link in his reply above. I'm sorry that you were also ripped off, but your experience sure supports my recent "experience" with Star Molecule. I also found it a bit disquieting that both the AL supplier and CC processing Co. are both owned by same person (who has started / closed at least seven companies in the last six years). :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildswing Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Star molecue has also got me for 20 lbs on 2 orders. They pulled the money out of my account and never sent anything. They haven't responded to any emails and the number they posted doesn't work. I've been ordering from them for about 6 years and until this year never had any problems Star molecue has also got me for 20 lbs on 2 orders. They pulled the money out of my account and never sent anything. They haven't responded to any emails and the number they posted doesn't work. I've been ordering from them for about 6 years and until this year never had any problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butch Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 There is a member here who recently had trouble with this company. He couldn't get in contact with them, and never received any product. I'd monitor the situation closely, and know your options for stopping payments through your bank if necessary. http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/11641-star-molecule/ Mumbles have you heard anything lately on star molecule? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 I posted this in the supplier review section a week or so ago and will repost it here. Considering the website is down and the domain name for sale, I don't think they are in business anymore! ************************ Didn't Star Molecule claim to have bought some of the original machinery that made German black? Well I got curious and looked around. Their website is no longer around but thanks to internet archiving I found an old page. Guess they didn't specifically say they had the machines in their possession, but they implied it. Here: https://web.archive.org/web/20111117223810/http://www.starmolecule.com/aluminum-powder/german-blackhead-aluminum-powder/ Also, while looking around I found something interesting. Seems like it was just rebranded "Cock" brand aluminum powder. Here: https://www.importgenius.com/importers/star-molecule Just thought I would throw it out there after finding the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordanm Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 I bought from them once before and didnt think there was anything special about it. I actually think the Al i bought off of ebay from Xhavier performed better in reports than the stuff from star molecule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 I haven't heard anything new or updated about them since last summer. I talked to the owner once on the phone a number of years ago. He told me that his aluminum was coming in from South Africa, but seemed to imply it was being made on some of the original machines. Who really knows. For what it's worth, this would have been well before the 2013 importation document, so perhaps he wasn't bullshitting me on an earlier supply of stuff. I never used their product, but from the import document it sounds like an indian blackhead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 I have quite a few different aluminum powders from 5413H, Indian black, generic "German black", original 809, Obron 10890, generic American dark, to some government surplus stuff, Star Molecule, and a few others and that is just the dark flake and not including all the various bright flake and atomized/spherical types. I've tried testing a bunch against each other but don't have a good way other than seat of the pants feel. I tried to see which was loudest in a 1 gram cracker as well as seeing what a small amount in the open did and the sound it made. I could tell some were weaker and less reactive with the American being weaker. It was hard to tell a difference between the 5413H and Germans and the Indian black. The Star Molecule seemed just as hot and reactive and was at the top and I would have no problem buying it if I was looking for a dark flash grade aluminum. The one aluminum powder that consistently seemed the most reactive and was the loudest, easiest to light, and would start to make a loud crack in the smallest pile was/is some of the first dark aluminum I was able to source back in the mid to late 90s. I don't remember how I found them or if they had a simple website or a phone number and ad in the back of some magazine. But it was out of Washington state I believe and I'm fairly certain it was a woman's name selling it. It came in 1 lb white HDPE screw top containers with a foil backed cardboard seal under the lid and was about 4"-5" in diameter and equally tall. I bought from them a few times and still have a few pounds that still seems like the hottest stuff I've come across and what I would test against when I got a new supply of aluminum. One day I tried to make an order and they were gone. The only reason I bring it up is that I've tried to remember the details and the name or where I came across them a few times and always draw a blank. And for some reason I'm curious so wondering if it might sound familiar to anyone else? I guess my high dose chemo and all the other drugs I've had pumped in me over the last 15 years killed off those brain cells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaHaYn Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 I recently fell across a YouTube video hyping up star molecule but when I go to the site it's down. Which sucks because I would've like to test and see what the hype was about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 It was good but no better than the other quality dark flake pyro grade aluminum. Such as German black, Indian black, Eckardt 5413H, etc But in the end, making an earth shattering boom really isn't that hard to do and doesn't require a hyped product to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordanm Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 I tested it against stuff off of ebay last year before the company went under and there was no difference. The stuff Xhavier sells on ebay is pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaHaYn Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 I can't find a working website or link for Star Molecule... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordanm Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 I can't find a working website or link for Star Molecule...The business has been shut down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaHaYn Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Thanks jordanm I was wondering. Thanks jordanm I was wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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