Mathmos distributor/dealer in Australia?

[Chris Malikoff]

Hi all :)

Is anyone able to tell me who the Australian dealer is now? Bluelab's website (http://www.bluelab.com.au/mathmos) doesn't seem to exist any more, and Mathmos in the UK don't seem to be answering my email at the moment.

TIA
Chris (Sydney, Aus)

[Chris Malikoff]

Thanks for the number Astrobaby.

They do not answer. Their website doesn't exist any more so all I can presume is that they are defunct.

Mathmos UK still don't answer either. Hmm.. very frustrating. I'm after a white/clear Telstar and green Fireflow in chrome. I guess it's just that time of the year...

[Reszound]

Hey Chris,

I'm in Australia too and I had no luck what-so-ever contacting anyone from blue lab by phone or email. It's still out there somewhere but apparently blue lab is a small side hobby run by an electrician, so everything to do with it is way down his list of priorities.

Anyhoo, I have managed to score Mathmos lamps from a shop in Melbourne called "kleen design" on brunswick street. They are fantastic guys to deal with and have quite a few lamps in stock - no clear white telstars though, I've already asked, although last time I spoke with them they had a clear/white astro in stock. They get them from the blue lab guy though, so getting something imported through them can take months because they have to wait on him to fit it in between jobs. Just google kleen and talk to Leo about what they have - he's an extremely friendly and helpful guy.

They ain't cheap though - around $190 for babys and astros, and $200 for telstars and fluidiums, which is actually about right due to the obscene cost of international postage these days - royal mail in particular... :-\

The clear whites are now discontinued unfortunately, so you won't be able to even get one from Mathmos :( I got a clear white bottle from electric planet for about $85 a few months ago, but it was from a cloudy batch and it just won't clear. I spoke to Mathmos about it and they very kindly and generously offered to replace it. I was initially told that there were no clear/whites left and was going to have to get another colour, but then I got lucky - they found one in a corner somewhere and sent it out. It hasn't arrived yet though and is still in the mail somewhere so I don't know if it's a good clear one or not...

Btw Mathmos have been great to deal with - fast and pleasant comms every time. They must be on a Christmas break at the moment if you haven't had a response from them but they will get back to you. Big thanks to them for taking such good care of me too :)

Your best bet for a clear/white is electric planet (http://www.electricplanet.co.uk/category/26/Lava-Lamps). They are currently listing clear/white babys and replacement bottles as being in stock, but be quick as there are no more clear/white telstars or astros left and these may not last long! They are also great people to deal with and their service is excellent. I had a minor hiccup with getting my bottle sent from them - it got sent to Ireland instead due to a Royal Mail stuff up, but they fixed it quickly and efficiently. I would ask them to check that the bottle has perfectly clear fluid though before ordering one, and double check with them to make sure they send it to Australia. A telstar of some kind and a clear/white replacement bottle from them will effectively give you 2 lamps if you have the funds for it. It's about the same $ as getting them from kleen but much quicker, and kleen won't be able to get clear/white at all.

The only other option is ebay and at the moment clear whites are going for big bucks. The last baby I saw went for 74 GBP. Add 40 GBP to that for postage and you're looking at over $200 AUD and that's not even for a telstar. I don't know anything about scoring fireflows at the moment though - electric planet may have them too.

Sorry for the dissertation length response - hopefully this is all of help and you can get hold of what you want - the clear/white telstar is absolutely stunning so best of luck with it all - let us know how you go.

Cheers Rod

P/s If you do buy through electric planet be sure to pay with the paypal option - the 3rd party credit company that handles their credit card transactions has had security breach issues of some kind in the past...!

[Chris Malikoff]

Wow - thanks Rod :) A very informative post!

Hmm.. I haven't had any luck with Bluelab at all, and i guess that Mathmos will get back in due course. I'd like to see their official take on Australian distribution, and if they suggest someone other than Bluelab (as you have) then I'll go that route. Otherwise, I'll just order from either UK or USA.

The Fireflow won't be an issue, and Telstars come back into circulation in January sometime. Pity about the white, but I'll just have to keep my spare eye out! :)

Once again - thanks for gettng back to me.

Cheers
Chris