Internet buying vs. local

[JDgreen227]

One of our cats has tapeworms, which can be treated with a widely available medication available at pet stores: For the exact same product I got the following prices:

Petsmart: $24.99 and 6% tax for 3 tablets

Our vet's office: $26 and 6% tax for 3 tablets

Ebay seller with 100% + feedback: $9.99, no tax, free 3 day delivery.

As much as I believe in supporting local businesses, their mark up is simply obscene. The Ebay seller is going to pay at least $3 for postage, plus the time they spend pulling, packing, and shipping. Meaning their actual cost for the 3 tablets was probably $5 at most....a 500% markup locally for the same item.

 

[MoKelly]

Wow. Seems too good to be true but if it really is the same product its ano brainer decision in my opinion.

MoKelly

 

[murphy1244]

Just don't complain when your vet closes the doors.

 

[ustmd]

Maybe I have a devious mind, but whenever I see such a large price difference, I start to question the low price.

I am big believer in the power of the free market and with a product that is wide widely available and has little differentiation (one verison of the product is exactly like another), I would expect to see a race to bottom for price--the vet and Petsmart are only $1 different (or 4%). There are other vendors who should be creating price pressure as well.

The ebay seller is at 50% (including shipping) of the next best price. Maybe the ebay seller has a slightly lower cost base because of no store, but I find it unlikely, he is getting a better deal from the wholesaler than Petsmart--who is buying for nation wide supply. The price is just too good.

Assuming the medication is not expired or close to expiration, my next thought would be that it fell off of a truck somewhere.

 

[IXLR8]

I try to buy local when I can. We have 1 vet in a 30 mile radius, their prices are outrageous. I like to support them when possible to help keep them around. But sometimes the price difference is just too much. If all I needed was 3 tablets at that price, I would go local. If I needed a dozen... then I would look for cheaper. I would not buy anything off of ebay, I just have no faith in fleabay sellers. To me, my pet is not worth the chance of possible questionable meds.

 

[aczlan]

And people complain about the profits that the oil industry is making...

Aaron Z

 

[GolfAddict]

... The price is just too good.

Assuming the medication is not expired or close to expiration, my next thought would be that it fell off of a truck somewhere.

My first thought is it probably comes from China. (Lot's of consumer product knockoffs out there that look just like the real thing.) I saw something on the news a while ago about how it's starting with on-line medication now...

I really have no idea, but it sure does sound too good to be true.

 

[KTurner]

Meaning their actual cost for the 3 tablets was probably $5 at most....a 500% markup locally for the same item.

That's overly simplistic. The local stores have many more overhead costs to deal with. Things like, ya know, buying commercial land, building a store, hiring enough employees to make sure the store is staffed when you want to drop in and look around, health insurance for those employees, paying the employer portion of social security for the employees, general insurance to pay for the person that broke their leg in the parking lot, grounds maintenance, complying with local govt regulations (fire codes, etc), paying local taxes, etc. Repeat all of that same stuff again for their warehouse (or the warehouse they buy from).

The ebay seller is most likely someone selling stuff out of their garage. Also, the ebay seller may be selling 500 times as many of those pills and getting a much better quantity discount. Looking for quantity due to the much bigger target audience - for example, willing to accept $1 per sale in markup and getting 100 sales instead of trying to get $5 markup for 20 sales. This is assuming that the internet pills are the real deal, which they probably are if he has 100% positive feedback (as long as the number is high).

I'm all for price shopping and getting a deal on the Internet. The tradeoff is that when you need something right *now*, the Internet is not going to help and the local places may have been driven out of business. And, that means that *your* tax bill goes up also as your local govt budget will take a hit when those local stores shutdown. You think they're going to shrink the budget when that happens? NOPE, they're going to raise taxes on everyone else that's still there. Or try to find a way to tax the Internet.

Keith

 

[JDgreen227]

Just don't complain when your vet closes the doors.

We have four cats and paid our local vet close to $1400 last year...and I too wondered about the possibility of imported medication...Ebay seller has close to 5000 transactions with 100% positive feedback. Highly unlikely anybody with that reputation is a scammer.

 

[rekees4300]

If it seems too good to be true then it usually is.

No way any medication, food or toys from China are coming anywhere near my dogs!