~~~THE CVS PHARMACY ONLINE STORE~~~ONE STOP SHOPPING FOR PRESCRIPTIONS DRUGS AND MUCH MORE!
Written: Dec 11 '07 (Updated Dec 11 '07)
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| Full Review |
For many years, I did a large portion of my drugstore type shopping online at drugstore.com and was mostly happy with the convenience, the selection, and best of all, the free shipping offers. Even though many of their regular prices were slightly higher than what I'd pay if I went to a local store to purchase the same items, I actually ended up ahead in the game since I didn't have to pay sales tax. And since it's a whopping 9.5% in my state, that's a major savings! But then several months ago, I kept noticing these "$10 off $50" coupons I'd get for the CVS Pharmacy Online Store every time I went to our local brick and mortar store to pick up a prescription for myself and/or a family member. So I finally strayed and now make approximately half of my online drugstore type purchases here at cvs.com although I still do shop at the tried and true drugstore.com the rest of the time. Read on to find out more about a money and time saving way to purchase store brand items when stocking up on many of the health and beauty products we often use on a daily basis.
~~~The Online Store~~~
Not only can you get your routine prescriptions filled here at the CVS Pharmacy Online Store, but there are tons of other things that can be purchased at their website. Just a few of the product categories include: baby & child care, cosmetics, diet & nutrition, gifts & specialty, online medical supplies, household items, medicine cabinet, natural products, online exclusives, personal care & bath, sexual health, skin care, and vitamins & supplements. It's very easy to search these categories for the brand name items you are looking for, or the search feature can also be used to narrow down the product search even further. From the home page, online shoppers can see at a glance which categories offer sale prices week to week and month to month. Not only can you have your prescriptions mailed to your home, but you can also use the rapid refill feature online and then go pick up the refilled meds at the same CVS store where the original Rx was filled. This can be very convenient and is a nice alternative to using the telephone and dialing a bunch of numbers. Use your Extra Care card online for even further savings down the road as you'll get so many bucks back every quarter, depending on how much you spend. So far I've saved a noticeable amount of money and time shopping online at the CVS Pharmacy Online Store and place an order at least monthly now.
~~~Ease of Ordering~~~
Since it's so easy to browse the site for the items I wish to purchase at the CVS Pharmacy Online Store, all it takes is a few clicks of the mouse to find all that I am looking for before checking out. I can add frequently purchased items to my shopping list, although drugstore.com does this automatically when I buy something. This site does not, which is the biggest con I've found so far as you tend to search for the same items over and over again if you forget to add them to your shopping list. Signing up as a member just takes a few minutes the first time and you can store your credit card information for future purchases if desired. They even remember your Extra Care number so you only have to enter it once. Another drawback for me is that they do charge sales tax on orders shipped to my state whereas drugstore.com does not, but they do also offer free shipping on orders totaling more than $49. In addition, they frequently offer that $10 off $50 deal I mentioned above, so the bottom line tends to be less even when the sales tax is added on. So I generally wait until I need several things before making a purchase here at the CVS Pharmacy Online Store to save more money in the long run.
~~~Shipping Rates and Speed~~~
Standard shipping on prescription orders only at the CVS Pharmacy Online Store are actually free for standard shipping (5 to 10 business days) no matter what the final order total is. Of course you'll pay more for the faster shipping options, so see their website for more details. If your nonprescription total is less than $49, the charge for standard shipping is currently $5.49 and of course more if you need your order faster when using the more expensive shipping options. And one of the things I've noticed about ordering from cvs.com is that it takes several days longer for my package to get to me than it does when I order from drugstore.com. So as long as I'm not in a big hurry for any of the items in my order, that's really not too big of a deal. I try and order ahead anyway so that I'll rarely get low on any of the products I order from them. We use alot of the CVS brand generic over-the-counter medications as well as things like their body wash and even batteries, so it's really not very hard at all to place a $49 order to get the free shipping as well as use their online coupons often available for spending $1 more. It usually takes a good week or sometimes longer to receive orders placed here at the CVS Pharmacy Online Store, but they are always correct and packaged well to prevent leakage of any liquid type items that have been shipped.
~~~Overall Recommendation~~~
For those that enjoy the convenience of shopping online for many of your drugstore needs, this CVS Pharmacy Online Store is a great choice, especially when taking advantage of the frequent special offers found at the site. While it might cost more in the long run just to purchase a few items here and there since a shipping fee is added to orders of less than $49, there's both money and time to be saved when taking advantage of both the free shipping on orders over $49 and the "$10 off $50" and even the "$5 off $30" they also sometimes advertise. So buying in bulk is actually the most economical in the end. I've never had to return an item to date, and this is after placing at least 20 orders online, so I can only assume their customer service is just as excellent as the order accuracy is. However, since the shipping speed is very slow (although within the allotted 5 to 10 days as stated) when compared to standard shipping at drugstore.com, I'm giving them four stars instead of five as there are certainly faster places to order from where free shipping is still an option. But when all is said and done, I still highly recommend the CVS Pharmacy Online Store for the common personal care and household items you tend to buy on a regular basis. And of course, don't forget that they fill your prescriptions, too. I have no major complaints regarding my online shopping experiences here and do not foresee any in the future. Good luck and happy online shopping :-)
www.cvs.com
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? OTC medications, personal care items
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