Do You Order Online?
I’ve seen the commercials - order your pet’s medicine online and save money. I’ve never actually done it though. I generally buy all of our doggies’ medications directly from the vet. Mostly because none of them are on anything that is too expensive or that is ongoing.
But if one of them were on a regular medicine it would make more sense to order those online - as much for saving money as for saving time driving to and from the vet.
I wonder though if my vet would start to get snippy if we requested a prescription to purchase somewhere else, the way Two Nervous Dog’s vet did. I’d like to think that mine wouldn’t as they have sent us to the regular pharmacy in the past for medicine that could be bought cheaper there. I will admit that it was weird to get a prescription filled for my dog at a people pharmacy.
It seems like quite a few vets have issues (scroll down for the article parts) with allowing their customers to purchase medicines online, which is too bad. I realize that vets are also trying to make a profit, but it seems like they’d also be able to support their customers’ needs for lower cost meds. It creates good will and trust when a business looks after the best interests of their customers. And that in turn creates more loyalty and profitability.
My vet must make money on things other than medications…they sure charge enough. They are worthy it though.
Do you order medications online? How have you found the experience? Any problems? Concerns? Cautions for others?
May 5th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Our vet got snippy. It turned out to be cheaper to order from the vet. They don’t make things easier at all.
Have a terrific day.
May 5th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Pixie had very advanced hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and her cardiologist prescribed 4 different medications for her. He gave us a written prescription so we could get the medications anywhere. We ended up getting the enalapril from her regular vet’s office, and the Plavix, atenolol, and lasix from a regular on-line pharmacy (not a pet pharmacy). It was much more convenient to just order online.
But the cardiologist worked at a specialty hospital (referrals only), and they were not really in the business of selling prescription drugs.
May 5th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
My vet -who is gone, but we still use the clinic- told me that she wouldn’t give me a scrip so I could buy online, but she would meet their price. I said fine. I can understand the need to make money. She said it was because of the quality, but I don’t really buy that…
May 8th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Our vet will also match the price on internet sales, he will not let us have a written script. It makes me wonder exactly what it is they do pay.
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I buy my frontline and interceptor (heartworm med that requires a prescription) over the internet and my vet was great about it. The internet company contacted the vet for the ok (I’d asked her about it beforehand and she said no problem) and it’s MUCH cheaper. I’ve been buying from them for over two years.