Buying long-term pet medications can be really expensive, but are often necessary to treat certain health conditions in dogs. While medical care for dogs is increasingly becoming more and more expensive, loving pet parents are desperately looking for ways to cut the cost. To make matters worse, most pet insurance (if you have one) doesn’t cover the cost of OTC drugs. For reference, the pet medication industry has grown 12% last year and is now valued at $9 billion. All of this growth is fueled by hiked prices and the popularization of online pet pharmacies.
Don’t Assume That Your Vet Gives You the Best Prices:
Most consumers buy pet medications from the vet’s office. While it’s convenient to buy the medications as soon as they are prescribed, this approach often proves to be far more expensive than others. A lot of vets charge the printed price giving no discounts whatsoever. Some vets try and justify the steep price by saying they sell “genuine” and “branded” pet medication. The thing is, you can get discounts on pet meds online and reputed online pet pharmacies sell nothing but authentic products. The notion that online pharmacies are able to give discounts because they sell fake products is a myth. However, to be sure, buy pet meds from VIPPS and BBB accredited online pet stores.
Join a Membership Plan to Get Wholesale Prices:
Online pet supplies stores reward you for repeat business. A lot of them offer annual membership packages that guarantee you regular savings. If you have multiple pets at home, a single membership package that gives you about 20% extra savings can save you hundreds of dollars every year. However, keep in mind that membership packages only makes sense for pet parents who need to buy a significant amount of medication every month. With vets recommending regular spot-on treatments for fleas and ticks and pet meds for preventing intestinal worms and heartworms, most pet parents fit the bill.
Don’t Forget Those Coupon Codes:
Does your vet give you discount coupons when you buy pet meds? Most likely, not. Large pet care websites have dedicated pages for coupons and offers. Redeeming these coupons give you an extra discount and they are often as significant as 20 to 30% on the total bill value.
Buy in Bulk:
The cost of a single dosage of spot-on treatment for fleas and ticks is always cheaper when you buy in bulk. The same goes for a lot of other pet meds. If you know it’s going to be used, it makes much more sense to buy the value pack. Here’s an example, when you buy the 3 month’s supply of NexGard, a popular flea and tick medication, it costs you about $71.89, that’s almost $24 per monthly dose. However, if you buy the 12 month pack it costs you $274.29, which saves you more than a dollar per dose. That’s just considering the product was sold at retail price. Most online pet pharmacies reward customers with more discounts when they shop in bulk. Buying the value pack also makes sense when buying daily supplements and long-term medications. Buying in bulk also saves you the trouble of ordering pet meds frequently.
1 comment:
I worked for a vet for many years. People were always complaining about the price of ops. If you consider the cost of spaying your dog, against a hysterectomy in a woman, the spay is very cheap, It is exactly the same op and the same skill required, plus the same number of years in training for the Dr/Vet concerned. X-rays, pinning and treatment in breaks are also the same but very much cheaper than in a person. I think vets are amazing and they can also diagnose without asking questions. Keep well Diane
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