Glaze costs increasing

[ari]

Hi Pottery Friends! 

Does anyone know why glazes are costing so much now? Also, why some of them have been discontinued? 

I tried to order 25 lbs. of the dry Amaco PC  glazes and they were discontinued. They're only selling 1 gallon for about $90 a gallon wet. So for the same glazes I'm spending close to 4x-5x for the same size. 

 

Do you think this is a permanent trend or something temporary? 

 

Ari 

[neilestrick]

I think it's probably permanent. Mixing and packaging dry glazes is a real hassle, so you have to sell a lot of them to make it worth the work. I expect that the vast majority of people who buy the PC glazes are getting wet mixed pints.

[Callie Beller Diesel]

All material, packaging and shipping costs have increased in the last 3 years or so, and some minerals will continue to to increase in price with a shift towards renewable energy. If you’re making pots for profit, learning how to mix your own or paying a glaze formulating service for recipes could be worth looking into.

[rox54]

The cost of groceries, cars etc has also gone up in the last 2 1/2 years or so. Its very concerning on all counts. 

[Kelly in AK]

Some raw materials are increasing more than others. All of them are increasing. Watch lithium bearing materials like spodumene and hectorite. Crazy. That means any premixed glaze will cost more. Different suppliers have different prices because they buy In quantity, sometimes they buy a ton of something well in advance and can make a profit selling it lower than market price. Do some shopping, it’s a temporary fix. Everything is going up.

Avoid buying water (liquid glaze), add your own.