Get Your Pet Medications Cheap by Crossing the Border
Written: Oct 17 '03 (Updated Aug 13 '04)
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UPDATED 8/13/04: Of three experiences with PetShed Online, two were models of efficiency. The third was a true screw-up, but to the company's credit they fixed everything. My recommendation is to try not to buy things from them during the "busy" time of the year.
There are some things in life that are certainties: it'll be cold in Fairbanks on New Years Eve. It'll rain in Indianapolis in the summertime*. Dogs in Texas will have fleas.
Seeing as I live in Texas, have two dogs, and hate fleas, that last one concerns me. So my pooches get monthly doses of Frontline Plus, to the tune of about $84 every three months (six doses). Not long ago, I started wondering if I could do better: Google, here I come! Fifteen minutes of surfing turned up dozens of websites that would be glad to sell me my flea meds. Prices topped out at about what the vet charges me. A few sites would give me a ten-dollar discount, then charge me $9.95 in shipping. And a couple of sites were charging well under half of what the vet wanted - I picked PetShed.com, where the cost was almost exactly half - $42.95 for six doses for the monster-dog size (bigger than 89 pounds).
How Do They Do It?
I got good prices on my (non-prescription) Frontline Plus exactly the same way your grandparents are trying to get cheap prescriptions; I bought it from a vendor outside the country. In this case, though, the cheapest prices weren't in Canada - they were in Australia. Not only is PetShed in Oz, but so is the other low-price company I found (VetShop Online).
Same Stuff?
The website says that the goods are exactly the same (right - like I'm gonna believe that sight unseen). When they arrived, I compared the packaging and inserts; everything looks the same except for the obvious differences - Australian-style spelling ("authorised" vs. "authorized"), use of metric measurements, and the fact that I doubt I can reach the Poisons Information Centre by dialing 131126. The manufacturer is the same, and the active ingredients are the same and in the same concentration as in the last US-made batch I bought; but the ultimate test is efficacy: two weeks after application, the dogs remain flea-free.
What Else Do They Sell?
Besides Frontline and Frontline Plus, PetShed also sells Advantage, flea and tick shampoos and collars, and heartworm medications like the HeartGard my dogs gobble every month. This, plus a wide variety of other dog and cat medications. Although Australia doesn't require a prescription for the HeartGard, the US does, so you must fax them a copy of your prescription before they'll fill the order - the fax number is in the US, so no international tolls apply. This is the same for all meds that require a prescription here. For all medications the site sells, the expiration date of the current batch is published on the website.
The shop also stocks accessories (leads, collars, grooming aids) and pet toys. Nothing in the lead or dog toy area looked all that familiar, but the prices seemed lower than for comparable items I've seen or purchased in PetsMart's brick-and-mortar sites.
The site is fairly small - no food and treat orders, nothing for pets other than cat or dog, no big items like dog houses or beds. The layout is hierarchical, so you can "drill" to the item you seek through a series of menus and link lists. One thing I noticed was that the site doesn't use many color pictures outside of the medications area - almost everything is black and white, and a few items don't even have pictures. There's very little in terms of information about leashes, for instance - in most cases they don't list colors, and they don't ever seem to have much information about the construction.
Business Details
Payment: PetShed accepts all the usual credit cards, but not checks or money orders. COD orders are a thing of the past, so you can forget it here. The shipping charges are a $5 for the first item and another $1 for each additional item purchased (my shipment totaled $47.95). This includes customs clearance and insurance.
Returns: PetShed's return policy is pretty standard - email for an authorization, ship back at your own cost, and you'll get credit.
Contact Info: Upon ordering, you get a confirmation email with your representative's "name" and email address. The site also lists telephone and fax numbers in Australia, the US, and the UK (phone and fax free in the US, toll-free phone in the UK). Customer service hours are pretty limited, though - midnight to nine GMT, which translates to 4PM-Midnight on the US west coast.
All information at this site, by the way, is quoted in $US - they have a separate website for Australia.
On Time?
Since the stuff had to go halfway 'round the world, PetShed told me in their confirmation email (which I received within five minutes) that it would take 5-8 working days for my order to arrive. It actually took six calendar days; arriving a bit early (no complaints there).
Recommendations
I had no problems with PetShed - I got a good price, on-time delivery, and received the item I ordered. For buying my next order of Frontline Plus, that's a definite yes. Don't know that I'd buy leashes or toys there, though - feel free to do your comparison shopping...
* According to Roger Miller.
Recommended:
No
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