SAB NewsMember Insights from Recent SAB studyPosted 1/21/2008 In a recent study on Perceptions of Life Science Brands -- Cell Biology Kits & Reagents, we presented the following scenario and question to members who participated in the study. The Scenario: You have just won a lottery jackpot of $2.5 million. Being the dedicated scientist that you are, you decide to continue conducting research rather than retiring to your own private island to live a life of leisure and luxury. The Question: Now that you can afford to buy any life science product you’d like, would your use of cell biology kits and reagents from [Brand] change? Why or why not? BD Biosciences Yes BD has many innovations in cell biology and assay development field which can not be filled by other companies. BD also has a great reputation for its product reliability. Hong, Post Doctoral Fellow BD Sciences products are fantastic, no need to change. Scott, Post Doctoral Fellow BD seems to have excellent quality control, customer service and order processing capabilities. I have only received but one inactive reagent from BD. The customer service division quickly issued a replacement. The sales rep kindly picked up the un-needed reagent. My orders have always arrived in a timely manner. I have and will continue to be a loyal customer of BD Biosciences. Jon, Post Doctoral Fellow Because I can afford almost everything, I will buy as many as possible products from BD. Seung-Hyo, Post Doctoral Fellow I use their products anyway. Even if I am not able to afford some, I still have to do research. Xin, Staff Scientist I would buy every new fangled kit and system possible, as I could attempt to keep up and add to large scale “ome” science which seems to always get published in Cell, Science and Nature journals. Sachin, Post Doctoral Fellow Past positive experience with the company. Yan, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator Quality. Ronald, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator Since I have enough money, I would like to try all the available kits on market. Nianlan, Graduate Student/Research Assistant No Because this is a very good company with quality product for the cell biology research. Jianjun, Post Doctoral Fellow Cost and reliability do not always correlate. Thomas, Staff Scientist Good quality and experience with the kits. Lisa, Staff Scientist I have been and continue to be familiar and comfortable with them. Sidney, Staff Scientist It takes a lot of time to get things working in the lab. Once kits, which suppose to do everything without effort but is not the case are performing, the last thing I want is to change for something new. If we have to count on the BD technical service to troubleshoot the kits, we will never have an experiment working. They just read the same manual that is sent with the kit. You never get to talk with someone that actually have any experience using the products. No, I will not change for BD, I will continue using the ones I am using, but until they have something with unique characteristics that cannot be replaced, I will not change. Alvaro, Principal Investigator My decisions are not currently, nor would they become, based on price. Brenda, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator Once the paranoia and the fear that my life will be ruined clear, I will realize that that (2.5 million) is not enough money to change my life in a significant way (besides having a bit of financial freedom). I would continue to work because I like science. I would continue to use the same products in the same manner because I believe in getting the best available product for the lowest price possible. I would continue to be frugal (some might say cheap) because that is the nature of a scientist. Richard, Staff Scientist Price more than functionality dictates my choice/recommendations for reagents. Alan, Department Head Still useful in getting the job done. Robin, Principal Investigator Though I have enough money to buy anything (in terms of life science products) it would be waste of money if I buy more expensive products in spite of knowing that the one I have works good. If not, at that rate I will soon be back to square one. Ramakrishna, Post Doctoral Fellow We are pretty tied to BD for flow cytometry work and feel that there is a relationship there with as much training and repair work that we have received over the years. We could use other brands on our BD instruments, I guess, but trust the reagents. Jan, Principal Investigator We have verified the procedures of BD Biosciences. Joseph, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator Cell Signaling Technology Yes Because the quality of Cell Signaling Technology is pretty good, many data in my research depended on the products from CST in the past. Jing, Laboratory Technician I would definitely buy more kits to be able to spend more time at home, not making solutions. Hazel, Staff Scientist I would probably do a different kind of research; one that costs a lot of money, but doesn’t always produce reliable results (i.e. unfundable). And I think this research would NOT use any cell biology kits. Alison, Post Doctoral Fellow I’d feel free to buy kits for EVERYTHING. I don’t buy kits for things I could easily do by hand/make the chemicals for myself. If money was not an issue, though, I’d take the easy way every time. Jennifer, Post Doctoral Fellow It is a reliable source for biomedical research. E, Post Doctoral Fellow Reliable! Yaming, Principal Investigator The use of products would probably increase so that I could do more effective research without the constraints of a budget. At the same time I would want to get the most for my money so that the research conducted would be not only quality but also efficient. Cell Signaling has nice protocols associated with their products eliminating some of the details of working out conditions, which helps to make assays more dependable, reliable and reproducible. Michelle, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator No I am familiar with the products of cell biology kits and reagents from Cell Signaling Technology. Ming, Professor/Teacher I have not had a lot of experience with this company, but one antibody, which I have bought, has not worked well. In future, it is likely that I will buy from this company only if a product will not be available at other companies. Skirmantas, Post Doctoral Fellow I trust them. Jiang-Zhou, Staff Scientist Quality goods. Kenneth, Staff Scientist Reliable. Cherie, Graduate Student/Research Assistant Some antibodies that Cell Signaling sells are unique and I want to buy them. But many of their products are not so unique and a little expensive (my image). So I can’t find a reason why I have to buy them from Cell Signaling. Motoko, Post Doctoral Fellow They have good reagents and kits that meet our needs and their technical sheet is very detailed and easy to follow. Wen, Staff Scientist We buy what we need. Jeffrey, Principal Investigator GE Healthcare Yes Get used to it and like the quality result got from it. Shiwen, Staff Scientist I have known GE to have some good stuff that is reliable. Yalin, Post Doctoral Fellow I would stockpile a year supply of kits. 2.5 million isn’t really that much in today’s economy, so that means I’d still be trying to get grant money, just with less going towards my personal salary or other benefits. Ernest, Post Doctoral Fellow If my product of interest is superior quality and user friendly in the sense of cost and customer support. Rangasamy, Post Doctoral Fellow More money means I have more options. I may be able to try other good stuff that is suggested by other colleagues to have better results for my work. Ching-Shyi, Graduate Student/Research Assistant With megafunding I would try more high-risk ideas, which of course requires more reagents and kits! James, Professor/Teacher No Because I’m buying my kit according to my needs and not according to their cost. Jean-Philippe, Post Doctoral Fellow I am really happy with the products offered by GE and plus they usually send replacements with new lot numbers no questions asked. Shu, Graduate Student/Research Assistant I use optimum number of kits and reagents as of now so I don’t see a change even with a lottery! Suchita, Post Doctoral Fellow I’d have my own kits custom-made, rather than having to rely on the imperfect match between what we need and what is offered. Gail, Principal Investigator I’m pleased with these products and I like the sales rep. Gregory, Principal Investigator Quality. Milind, Staff Scientist Right now my funding is drying up and therefore can not even think of anything other than writing and re-writing grants to obtain funds. Ghanshyam, Staff Scientist You’re right, I would not retire under any monetarily advantageous scenario. I also would not alter the relationship with GE Healthcare. It is currently a win-win situation and I intend to keep it that way. Steve, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator Invitrogen Yes Can afford them now. Susan, Graduate Student/Research Assistant High quality, easy use, good sales reps. Patricia, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator The kits are well prepared and easy to use. Beatrice, Principal Investigator No I am already using what I need, because it is already pretty affordable. Ryan, Laboratory Technician I use Invitrogen products for quality not price. So my choice won’t change. Pradip, Graduate Student/Research Assistant I would continue to purchase from Invitrogen because now I’d be able to afford them. Teresa, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator Invitrogen is assimilating all of the other biotech companies, and they have done so with Molecular Probes who makes the best secondary antibodies. So, because I am crazy and still working in the lab even though I am independently wealthy, I would still get my secondaries from Molecular Probes and since Invitrogen owns them, I would get them from Invitrogen. Caroline, Post Doctoral Fellow I’ve had good success using their products and have confidence in their technical support group. Dan, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator Money is not the driving force in my life. Elijah, Administrator My use currently matches my needs. David, Department Head Price is the main issue with Invitrogen---the cost is often prohibitive. Indeed, we have often been forced to search for lower-cost alternatives. It’s almost as if they assume everybody’s working off of large grants and can afford to pay such high prices. Having money to burn means we can actually afford their stuff. Of course, I’d probably still hunt for bargains. John, Professor/Teacher Simplicity. I just don’t have the time to hunt down other things when what I have works for reasonable cost. Michael, Graduate Student/Research Assistant Since their products provide reliable quality and reasonable pricing, I would not be likely to change a vendor just because I won a lottery. Hui, Staff Scientist The Invitrogen products are easy to use. Jacky, Principal Investigator They are a trusted brand. Stick with what works! Barbara, Principal Investigator They are solid products and provide experimental convenience. If money is not an issue, they are fine. Guy, Principal Investigator What works works and I would probably be less moved by lower price competitors. David, Staff Scientist Why would it change? While it is important to be budget minded when you are doing research, you still want to pick the most appropriate products. The reagents I use are not necessarily the most expensive or the cheapest. They are the best quality for the cheapest price. Stephen, Graduate Student/Research Assistant Pierce Biotechnology Yes After that much needed long vacation and setting up an endowed chair for myself, I would like to have an opportunity to try projects that have greater risk. Having funds that could support highly trained scientists in multiple but related areas, then the use of kits and reagents would dramatically increase. Lou Ann, Principal Investigator Good reliable company overall. Always have had good antibodies. Frances, Laboratory Technician I actually am more familiar with Invitrogen and will stick with them. Marie, Post Doctoral Fellow I could endow my lab and set out on new, high risk research projects that would increase use of reagents from more specialized, high tech companies. Heber, Professor/Teacher I would increase the number of kits from Pierce that I utilize in my day-to-day operation of the lab. I am a fan of the Handee columns, specifically the HA and MYC tag kits that simplify immunoprecipitations. However, these are not inexpensive and when doing a lot of IPs the expense can add up. Bernardo, Post Doctoral Fellow I’d likely buy a few extras so everyone in the lab can have their own box. Patric, Principal Investigator No “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” Simone, Staff Scientist Because the quality of their products is high so it’s worth paying for! Denise, Post Doctoral Fellow Because they are quality products. Fredrick, Professor/Teacher High quality products. Gianfranco, Principal Investigator I already can use what I need. Ronald, Principal Investigator I like the way I do my research now and would not change the way I am conducting it. Michael, Post Doctoral Fellow I purchase whatever kits and reagents my lab needs to do the research now. Gregory, Professor/Teacher I will always use the brand I am used to -- since time is always money and I will not waste it. Sanita, Post Doctoral Fellow I would use the jackpot to establish a foundation to fund my research. Since appropriate decisions regarding funds are always important to science, the choice for a company such as those under consideration is not made on the poverty verses wealth perspective but rather on the best way to accomplish the task and to tackle additional tasks. Kim, Principal Investigator No change from the kits, although I would purchase a lot more instrumentation! Bruce, Professor/Teacher No, because I use these products because they meet my needs and they work well. Paula, Professor/Teacher Pierce simply has so many innovative products that no other vendor (the trustable vendors, I mean) can offer. They make my research life way easier. Just can’t think $2.5 million can make my life any much easier than Pierce has already offered right now. Gene, Staff Scientist They still provide a fine service of specific immunoprecipitation reagents for our studies. Scott, Post Doctoral Fellow This is a good product and the cost is not over the top, even with more money to spend. I would still stick with something I know and feel comfortable using. I would however still find time to look for that perfect island should I decide not to be dedicated any more. Susan, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator We use the Precise Gels and Reblot Reagent almost on a weekly basis. My experience with the gels has been incredible. Great band pattern, runs quickly, smooth and consistent. I have a very limited amount of protein to work with and thanks to the Reblot reagent I am able to study expression of three different proteins from one transferred gel. We tested recipes for a reagent like this one and nothing worked. Lucky for us Pierce Biotechnology has affordable, good quality products for our research needs. Ixane, Graduate Student/Research Assistant Yes and no - “no” because of the price - meaning that my use of their product isn’t dictated by price since it is relatively affordable, but my overall use would probably go up because if I had $2.5 million I could fund my own grants, hire more techs, do more experiments and thus use more of their product! Randy, Staff Scientist Promega Yes Fast and easy to use! Alfredo, Graduate Student/Research Assistant I would secure the help of custom-services companies and hire reliable professionals to carry out experiments and order the reagents of their choice. Janice, Principal Investigator I’d buy more of what we already buy so that we don’t have to worry about running out-- right now we can only afford to buy one kit at a time! Robert, Professor/Teacher No I am very happy with Promega products as they are. Jennifer, Post Doctoral Fellow I use what works. Promega products work, therefore we use them. Scott, Staff Scientist Perhaps the biggest hurdle one has to endure to change a product kit, commonly used by everyone in the lab, is that there usually is a very defined, established protocol, adapted to the lab’s specific needs. And that usually turns out very repeatable, solid results, almost fail-proof. That’s our situation with most Promega kits we use -- you can follow it like a cake recipe and it will work. Changing kits would mean trial and error; results would have to be at least comparable or better than ‘old’ kit, and the hands-on protocol would have to be easier/faster/more user-friendly... In the end, the new kit would have to offer substantial advantages to win the most difficult battle of all: break people’s habits! Luciana, Principal Investigator Promega’s cell biology kits have become an SOP in my laboratory and to keep experiments comparable and robust, I would not switch to any other vendor. David, Principal Investigator Since the product remains the same and I still continue to do research. Sheela, Staff Scientist The kits we use from Promega seem to perform best and are also the easiest to use, so there’s no need for us to switch to another brand. Lauren, Staff Scientist Their kits are unique. Rachel, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator They are high quality and easy to use. Pamela, Professor/Teacher They work and fill the needs I have in my research. Joseph, Principal Investigator They work and it is too expensive and time consuming to try other products that have no advantage over Promega products. Bernard, Principal Investigator We are not constrained too much by budget -- if we need it, we buy it. David, Department Head Qiagen Yes As happy as I am using Qiagen products, I would now be able to afford to evaluate other competing products from a variety of companies. This would ensure that I was able to conduct the most efficient and beneficial research possible by using instrumentation/reagents that were top of the line, and most conducive to the particular research we do. Meredith, Graduate Student/Research Assistant Because of its quality, and easy to use. Xianming, Staff Scientist High quality, accepted reliability. Michael, Principal Investigator Hiring new Lab Techs is one thing; digging up a whole new set of protocols is something completely different. Michael, Post Doctoral Fellow I feel that a little loyalty in this world is a good thing. I have never found anything that promises to work better than Qiagen and my only gripe is that they can be expensive for each reaction. But hey, if money is no longer an issue then why try to fix what isn’t broken! If the research is going well, you don’t start making changes! Ami, Laboratory Technician I would buy all the kits available. These kits as expensive as they are also GREAT and time savers like you have no idea. I dread doing science with another brand name kits if Qiagen makes a comparable kit. They simplify my rat lab life. Julia, Laboratory Technician I would buy more because I wouldn’t care about the perception that I was too lazy to mix my own reagents. Kimberly, Laboratory Technician There are better products from companies other than Qiagen! I certainly can afford other products that produces lot better results than Qiagen product! Kiran, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator They are reliable and work better than many others. Truly I guess I would not think twice before using them. Thanks. Taruna, Post Doctoral Fellow No Because I’m happy with quality and results of Qiagen kits. I’d happily use that money for some other productive work. Anil, Graduate Student/Research Assistant I buy the best products, period. Less than the best yields less than the best. Macdonald, Principal Investigator Qiagen kits were used for a specialized specific purpose and that would not change. Leone, Purchasing Agent/Buyer Qiagen offers everything I need. It is a well known company that ships products to me immediately. I especially enjoy the wide variety of kits available that specialize to types and amounts of tissue/cells that one is analyzing. Terra, Staff Scientist Qiagen represents consistent quality. William, Post Doctoral Fellow Reliability of their kits. Tahir, Staff Scientist They are reliable and very simple to use. So simple, in fact, that I could train our retired cynomolgus macaques to isolate DNA. Additionally, I find the packaging aesthetically pleasing. Seriously. Dave, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator They work! Ian, Post Doctoral Fellow When techniques, kits, etc. seem to be working well I am reluctant to change to another system that will almost always require some comparative analysis and optimization. Clint, Professor/Teacher R&D Systems Yes Finally I could afford it without limits. Karel, Staff Scientist Having much money does not mean to do anything without a budget plan, especially to a familiar and reliable brand. Guoqing, Post Doctoral Fellow I am used to the product and know that it will work every time. Theresa, Principal Investigator I now how have the capital to launch my own line of brand name cell biology kits and reagents. It was a pleasure doing business with R&D; it will be even more of a pleasure competing for their clientele. For starters, our group will be happy to share with our customers whether the antibodies we provide in our kits are monoclonal or a polyclonal -- as we don’t consider this proprietary information. Hark! I hear the phones ringing already.... Shirin, Post Doctoral Fellow I would order expensive kits for measuring a variety of cytokines that I would not have been able to do before. Jean, Professor/Teacher Innovation, reliability, good brand name! Hua, Staff Scientist That particular protein is only available from R&D System. Yide, Staff Scientist Will buy more R&D instead of finding cheaper alternatives. Anna, Graduate Student/Research Assistant No Always select the best one for my pursuing aim. Baole, Staff Scientist Because one of the main problems with state-of-the-art technologies is exactly their high cost. If I am rich I wouldn’t need to worry about a “budget” anymore. Eduardo, Post Doctoral Fellow Because they have the products I need and they are very expensive, but since I have 2.5 million, why not buy what I need? I would still get a quote though. Paul, Principal Investigator I think R&D systems offer quality kits and reagents; although they are expensive, I think they are worth the money. Esra, Post Doctoral Fellow I would buy specific items from different companies since the others are easy to use and more expandable. Yasuhiro, Staff Scientist If I were continuing the same research, why change from what I already know works well for particular types of experiments that I would still need to do? Gordon, Staff Scientist Most of R&D System’s assay kits are ELISA based, which needs to wash during the experiment. The new assay kits from other companies are usually homogenous and easy to use. Wei, Principal Investigator My lab has already won the jackpot, and we still go with R&D Systems! We’ve got a dozen grants, and (for once in my research career) money is no object. Well, I guess it’s a small object. Probably need to buy a new fancy microscope to see it. Rachel, Graduate Student/Research Assistant Not currently affected by a limited budget. Mary, Staff Scientist R&D is the industry standard for cytokines and ELISA products. Having 2.5 million dollars just means I can buy more kits! James, Professor/Teacher The products are reliable, affordable and do the job I need them to do. Why mess with a good thing? More expensive is not always better! Kim, Staff Scientist They are very reliable for the proteins I work with. Paula, Professor/Teacher We are already operating at full throttle. Fredrik, Staff Scientist Roche Applied Science Yes Because I want to use the best kits and reagents for my research. Ibrahim, Staff Scientist I constantly look for better products. Min, Staff Scientist I would probably use more kits rather than mixing my own reagents, etc... as time would now be more precious than money (as a grad student, I am reminded over and over again that my time is worth much less than research funds). Karen, Graduate Student/Research Assistant I’d make a more conscious effort to patronize local and smaller start-up companies with similar products. I’d also continue using Roche products that we’ve found to be reliable. Mark, Laboratory Technician If I had $2.5 million, I would use more Roche Applied kits/reagent products. I like the consistent quality of their products over the years. The faster I can get the research conducted, the more month-long sabbaticals I could take. [Hey, my private island can have a lab as well.] Renee, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator If we had more money to spend, we would buy more prepared goods and kits. Heather, Principal Investigator Make life easier. Maggie, Professor/Teacher No, not at all. This will be the opportunity to procure overpriced products from Roche. Muhammad, Principal Investigator They’ve worked for me so far. Elena, Graduate Student/Research Assistant Why? They are good. Aleksey, Principal Investigator No I believe that Roche is a serious and committed company, providing, on average, products that are reliable, high quality and easy to use. Roy, Post Doctoral Fellow I would still use Roche Applied Science products because I get better and sustainable results, and I’m comfortable using the kits so I would never change from them. Nagadhara, Post Doctoral Fellow Many of our protocols are already optimized for use with the reagents and kits we currently use. Unless a new product comes out that meets an unmet demand, we are unlikely to switch over due to the great amount of time already invested in instrumentation, training and protocol development. Natalie, Staff Scientist Nothing needed to change. Bruce, Graduate Student/Research Assistant Quality can’t be compromised. pothana, Professor/Teacher Roche is the best when it comes to quality and consistency. Kapil, Post Doctoral Fellow Roche provides high quality and reliable cell biology kits. They’re expensive, but hey, I just won 2.5 million! Antoine, Graduate Student/Research Assistant With that money I may buy kits and instruments that are not provided by Roche. Feridoun, Staff Scientist Sigma-Aldrich Yes Before money the only thing that matters is reliability ... so whatever the “kit/reagent” that we use, expensive or inexpensive, we first want it to work as it should. Sougrat, Staff Scientist Customer Service is a pain. I can’t stand waiting 10 minutes to give all my info to the person (what’s the point of a customer number if it doesn’t speed things up?) to have the order take 2 seconds (i.e. for one item)! Sigma has good products, but we all HATE ordering from them... It just takes way too long! Stephanie, Staff Scientist Dependable and high quality reagents. Byeong, Principal Investigator I am familiar with their stuff. Zhaohua, Post Doctoral Fellow I’d hire somebody to order and use the kits, while spending more time thinking about interesting questions to ask and evaluating results. Timothy, Principal Investigator Luxurious living calls for quality items. Didier, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator Sigma-Aldrich products are fundamental to research. Marion, Professor/Teacher No Because I don’t purchase reagents from Sigma-Aldrich based on price or cost savings. The products I purchase from Sigma-Aldrich therefore are the best available for my application. Therefore, having a large source of funds available would not influence my decision about whether to continue purchasing products from Sigma-Aldrich. Ronald, Principal Investigator Cost was not a factor in deciding on these reagents. John, Principal Investigator Familiarity and quality service is good. I like our interactions. Sally, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator I always use the most suitable and reliable product/reagent for my experiment. I might buy more expensive equipment that I couldn’t afford but winning a lotto will not effect the way I conduct my experiment because I already try to do my best everyday. Nanthawan, Laboratory Technician I am happy with this company. I get almost everything that I need from the same company and with good prices. Hector, Post Doctoral Fellow I’m not going to mess with success. Eric, Lab Director/Supervisor/Coordinator Sigma products are readily available and of known quality. There also is no reason to waste money. Jim, Staff Scientist Some of the cell biology reagents offered by Sigma are unique and not easily available from other suppliers. Also, Sigma reagents are known for their consistent quality, kits usually come in a user-friendly format, and customer service is excellent. Arcadius, Staff Scientist Stick with the familiar. John, Professor/Teacher The products are dependable and more often than not very valid. One of the first established top rated companies, it is well known in North American scientific communities, products are not overly expensive, and the company provides outstanding customer service. Carolyn, Professor/Teacher What I have used from Sigma-Aldrich has always provided consistent results. However, having that much money to buy any life science product, there would be many new technologies and products that I would try that I have previously been unable to afford. Sherri, Graduate Student/Research Assistant With the kits I use, Sigma products produce good results, comparable to other vendors. It would appear that many failures attributed to products are actually the result of human error of the scientist or poor robustness of the assay used. Also, I particularly appreciate the friendly, prompt and knowledgeable customer service which so many vendors have cut back on in favor of smooth-talking salespeople. It is helpful to have a place like Sigma that organizes its catalog in line with the science and provides such resources as the excellent Sigma-RBI Receptor handbook, online. I go to Sigma first, and if they don’t have it, only then do I look for another vendor. James, Staff Scientist ### |
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