Update on Pet Medicine Deal

[Silly Burrito]

I posted six months ago about 1-888-Pet-Meds:
Great Deals On Pet Medicine

Two weeks ago they sent a letter informing me that it was time to renew her Frontline Plus. However, the new price was 61.99 with shipping. Before, I had bought it for 40.00 with 5.99 shipping. I called them back and asked why the price was so much higher. The representative (CJ) said, "No problem, sir. Let me adjust that right now."

Bottom line, I got the Frontline Plus for the exact same price I bought it six months ago. No pricematching hassles, and very courteous service. I highly recommend giving them a look once you find the lowest price on the net. They'll beat the price, and your pet will be healthy!

As far as the claim that they use outdated or medicine from overseas, I asked him (Yeah, I know, what are they going to say?) He told me that everything but Frontline (which is made in France) and Advantage (Germany, I think) is from the USA. He said that it'll say the same thing on the box that the Vet sells you, and they replenish their stock every two weeks.

I can't verify what he told me, but I do know that Maggie has had no problems with her medicine, and I encourage anyone who's thinking of getting a new supply of pet medicine to check them out!

Edited to linkify

 

[AWEstun]

LIKE OMG ... WHAT NEXT?

Shelby

 

[rcraig]

He told me that everything but Frontline (which is made in France) and Advantage (Germany, I think) is from the USA.

Actually, both of these products are manufactured in America, not overseas and the companies who make them are in a law suit with Pet Meds because what they are doing is ilegal. Both companies DO NOT SELL to online vendors because you must have a prescription from a veterinarian who has examined your animal (as required by the FDA) to issue these drugs. Online vendors are supposed to call your vet to verify they have seen the animal and issed a prescription before selling these products. If you have not seen your vet, then you know what they are doing is not leagal. The manufactureers only sell to vets, and don't know where this company is getting these products, or who is manufacturing them and placing Frontline and Advantage's names on the packages. Who knows where they come from or what quality or regulation is on them? Think about it - Why don't you see these products in Walmart or your local Feed & Seed stores? Because it is not legal for them to sell these regulated drugs! Pet Meds is trying to use the Internet because it has some loop holes that, for now, can be argued allows them to sell these drugs because the Internet is not regulated like retail stores. In Florida, Pet Meds had several staff veterinarians who would issue a presription for any animal whose owners called Pet Meds. Florida pulled the license of these vets because it is a violation of FDA regulation to issue a prescription to an animal the vet has not personally examined. Pet Meds can no longer sell anything in Florida. Pet Meds have been banned from several other states already, but this must be done on a state by state basis. It's only a matter of time before Pet Meds is shut down, but until then, they will sell as much as they can, make their money, then find another business to start. In the mean time, their customers are using products that Pet Meds are aquiring through illegal channels or are black market products. Do you want to trust your pet's health to these products to save a few bucks? Check yourselves if this is true. More credence is added to this by the salesman claiming these drugs come from overseas while they are only produced in America. How do I know this? Because my wife is a veterinarian and she has been called many times by Pet Meds to verify if she has seen animals that have never set foot in her clinic. She won't issue a prescription and Pet Meds will call back several times to try and get the staff to say the animal has been there when there isn't any record of the person ever being a client. Deal with them if you want, but be informed of what kind of company you are dealing with!

RCraig

 

[robotjock]

I did an internet search for one of the principals whose picture is on the Pet Medicine site. I found that they were fined over $40,000 back in 1999 for pharmacy violations. Search for PH0014144 in this long PDF file


Edit:

Here's an even more recent article! Read it! It's quite an eye-opener!

 

[edavid]

Upco has Frontline Plus 3 packs for $27.80 to $32.50, is that the same thing?

 

[rcraig]

Thanks for the links Robotjock. I'm at work and don't have time to research this for supporting links. Must type between boss visits.

From the linked article : On April 16, the Board of Pharmacy formally charged PetMed Express with 36 cases involving 80 counts, including 33 counts of making deceptive, misleading, untrue, or fraudulent representations or employing a trick or scheme in, or related to, the practice of a profession. Thirty counts involved selling or dispensing drugs without a proper prescription. But these were just the cases that the board had time to formally charge the company with?the agency has, in fact, received over a hundred complaints.
"I have been on the board for five years and I have never seen this many cases [brought against one company]," Stamitoles said.


edavid: This goes for any online vendor of prescription meds.

RCraig

 

[LurkingInNC]

Originally posted by: rcraig
He told me that everything but Frontline (which is made in France) and Advantage (Germany, I think) is from the USA.

Actually, both of these products are manufactured in America, not overseas.... Both companies DO NOT SELL to online vendors because you must have a prescription from a veterinarian who has examined your animal (as required by the FDA) to issue these drugs.... .... More credence is added to this by the salesman claiming these drugs come from overseas while they are only produced in America. ...RCraig

rcraig, I think you've got some facts wrong. I just bought Frontline from my vet (they pricematched one of the online sites) and 1. the box states that it is made in France. 2. it is not a prescription med. The box states nothing about Frontline being prescription only (as compared to Interceptor, which states that "Federal (USA) law restricts this drug to use by, or on the order of , a licensed veterinarian.") In addition, both Frontline and Advantage are sold by reputable, established pet supply catalogues as well as by online vendors.

Frontline and Advantage used to be available by prescription only. Perhaps the current lawsuits refer to other, prescription only meds and some of the info from your wife reflects the earlier times when these flea meds were prescription only?

As for me, I'd be very comfortable with buying Frontline or Advantage online or from a catalogue if my vet didn't have a pricematching policy.

 

[rcraig]

LurkingInNC:

Like I said, I'm at work and don't have access to all the information or time to properly research it. They might not be by prescription only now, but some of Pet Meds facts are misleading, and supported by complaints and law suits. My post is just to caution about a company that obviously disregards laws if they can make a profit. Fines are lower than profits in this case, so they deem them a cost of doing business, even if being illeagal. There might be some reputable vendors, I just don't think Pet Meds is one of them. If you read some liablility comments in the other thread, I don't think Pet Meds is a company to do business with. Your vet will be there for you if needed, Pet Meds won't. Talk to your vet or look for other vendors.

RCraig

 

[jasonja]

He is correct. Frontline and Advantage are no longer a perscription med. You can buy them readily on Ebay (from Vets even) and I even have bought some from my Pet Groomer. Other items such as Heartguard are still perscribed. Best deal I've found on Frontline is Ebay.

 

[BurninUp]

for advantage I recommend
n0-fleas
free shipping and good service and cheapest I found

 

[Parn]

Advantage and Frontline are not prescription...

Also, the expiration date is not even printed on the boxes because these things practically last forever (well, I've been told from pharmacists more than 5 years).

I sell some on the FS/FT forums.

Take a look. Better deal than 1-888-Pet-Meds.

Also, the whole thing about prescription meds... When someone orders prescription meds online, the online vendor sends your vet a fax asking for authorization to dispense the medicine. If your vet will charge you for this kind of service, you might be spending more money than what's on the web site.

The vet I go to doesn't charge anything for it.

 

[jasonja]

BurninUp,

Thanks! This place is about the same price as Ebay but now I don't have to hunt for the good auctions.

Jason.

 

[esquared]

Frontline hasn't been a prescription for 3 or 4 years. I've been buying the stuff at different vets, petsmart, petco, etc.

 

[Silly Burrito]

Rcraig, I can't vouch for their past. All I know is that they treated me right, sent the right medicine, and my dog can't tell the difference. The Heartguard must've worked, because the vet recently gave her a clean bill of health when she got her annual shots. And yes, they did get a prescription from my vet when I ordered it.

BurninUp, that seems like a good site. However, try pricematching with PetMeds to see if you can get a cheaper price!

My point of this post was to let people know of the good experience I had with this company. Most of the times we hear complaints about customer service or high prices, and I wanted to let people know that PetMeds has left me a satisfied customer. Is it worth it to you? Maybe, maybe not. So far, I am pleased and wouldn't hesistate to recommend them to anyone!

 

[rcraig]

Novartis sues Internet pharmacies for prescription drug violations

...Because the drugs are made for distribution in Europe and Australia, the formulations and labeling differ from those approved by the Food and Drug Administration for sale in the United States...

PetMed Express disciplined by Ohio State Board of Pharmacy

...The Ohio State Board of Pharmacy took issue with the company's "alternate veterinarian program" that contracted with veterinarians to write prescriptions for animals they had never examined. This program violates Ohio law because the authorizing veterinarian is not deemed to have a valid doctor-patient relationship...

Florida Board of Pharmacy disciplines PetMed Express and Savemax

...They were also charged with selling drugs not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. ... According to several speakers at the hearing, veterinarians in other states have filed complaints against the companies, and the agreement may start a domino effect, with more states pursuing legal action...


It seems most lawsuits are about Petmeds using staff vets to write prescriptions without a patient/client relationship which only results in a small fine for Petmeds but a revocation of the vets license. The other one is Petmeds selling some drugs that are not labeled for sale in the US as being the same as what is produced for sale in the US. This is not the case based on stricter regulations here in the US and stated by the drug company's law suit.

Silly Burrito: I'm glad to hear they called your vet, that is the legal way to do business. I'm also glad they treated you right. You obviously take care of your pets and have a good relationship with your vet. I commend you on this and hope all follow your actions. I'm sure this company probably does give great customer service to generate sales, just as Newegg does.

I have just taken offense at the illegal pratices of this company stated above and the way they have hounded (pun intended) my wife by repeatedly calling trying to get her to write prescriptions for animals that have never been in her practice (which would be illegal), and when she wouldn't, call back and try to get the receptionist to say there is a prescription on file. Their actions toward vets is much different than the paying customer.

A vet in the other posting also raised the question of help if something goes wrong, which does happen on occasion.

Probably the most important point is that the medications are not guaranteed by the drug companies like they are when they are sold directly from your Veterinarian (i.e. Your pet gets heartworms when on heartworm preventative sold from these places - They will not take responsibility/pay for treatment etc...). This is just a word of warning when wanting to save a few bucks from these places. I am not saying that you are wrong for doing that, I just want my fellow Anandtechers to be informed.

It is sorta like buying OEM. You're on your own if something goes wrong, which occasionally does. There is no warranty or recourse for treatments with Petmeds. That is where the vet/patient relationship is essential. Just be aware of the sited activities of this company and make sure you follow Silly Burrito's lead in checking with your vet first! Then you are informed and save money, which is what this forum is all about.

RCraig

 

[Csium]

I find it pointless to go to my vet everytime I run out of pet medicines. I found this site :
VetCo Pets
to be the cheapest. 7 months of frontline plus for cats for $40+shipping.

I haven't ordered from them yet, I have a couple months left on my supply I bought from the vet. Maybe pricematch with petmeds?

Also think it's pointless(waste of money) that I need a perscription for my cat's ear mite treatments. Have to drop $50 on the vet to get $25 worth of meds. Bastards... Oh well, end of rant.