Shopping Eagle

Pet care is a multi million dollar a year business so it makes sense that retailers would want to take advantage of the brisk sales of pet supplies by opening cyber shops and storefronts. With my houseful of critters, the terms “quick stop” and “pet store” are rarely ever said in the same sentence. I love all my furry friends and want to make sure that they are healthy, well fed and entertained. With that being said, I have two of the biggest, dumbest dogs in the world. Now, that doesn’t mean that I don’t love them but after they’ve run into the glass sliding door over fifty times each you have to wonder how they made it this far in life without a broken snout. But if you ask them - they will blame it on the birds that land on the patio to catch some afternoon sun. Since both dogs are large breeds [Great Dane and a Greyhound mix] they require a little more upkeep than smaller dogs, this also means they need different toys and accessories.

When I started looking for new leashes for both of them, I wanted something that would last longer than a few months. They are both extremely rough on leashes and often grab them off the chair and drag them around; a gentle suggestion that they’d like to hit the beach. This means they come in contact with a lot of slobber, not to mention being tossed around and tugged on. I asked a clerk at my local pet store and was told that the Walkabout Retractable Leashes were the best on the market [they are good, but not the best]. For the large breed the store was charging close to $40.00 so I decided to look online and see if I could find it elsewhere for less. One of the first results I got from Google was 1-800-Pet-Meds, I’d seen the name before and even caught their commercials but I never checked out the site since I do most of the pet supply shopping locally. Not only did they have a lower price [$24.99] but free shipping on orders over $49.00. When I combined this with an offer from a reward program, I ended up with two large leashes, a pet bed and several chew toys for under $70.00 – shipping included [ok, free shipping].

Selection

Unlike most online pet stores, this one is rather limited in what they sell. There are a variety of medications, vaccines and preventative meds available, some that require a prescription and others that can be purchased without one. The nice thing about 1-800-PetMeds is that they will call your veterinarian for you to double check the prescription, all you need to do is supply your pets name, your name and the medicine that is needed. The accessory section is a little thin but this is a recent addition to the site. They do carry leashes, pet beds, a few toys and vitamins. I am sure that if this section gets some traffic and people start ordering these items that they will stock a wider variety in the future – but right now there are only about 25 products listed.

Some of the name brands that are sold at the site include Advantix, Frontline, Adams, Sentinel, Interceptor, Advantage and Revolution. They sell products for ridding your pet of ticks and fleas as well as heartworm treatments but they also carry preventive medicines, vitamins and supplements. Since both the dogs are larger and Great Danes have a reputation for having joint trouble I picked up a few bottles of joint aids. One product that they went bonkers for was the chicken flavored toothpaste, yes, you read that correctly, chicken flavored toothpaste. Until I came across this I was using regular toothpaste, squirt bottle and a water gun. Yes, it was messy but if you ever had a large dog with bad breath panting on you – short of giving them breath mints, brushing is all you can do. Both dogs liked the flavor of it and since it doesn’t need to be rinsed, they put up a little less of a fight when I break out their toothbrushes. Ever try to pry open a Great Danes mouth and try to squirt out toothpaste at the same time? It’s not fun, nope, not in the least.

Shipping Fees

There are usually deals for free shipping and if you belong to reward programs like My Points or Milesource, you can check to see if the site is listed there to take advantage of other offers such as points for purchases or a percentage off your total. The shipping fees are pretty low – anything under $49.00 is $3.95, shipping out via the United States Postal Service [USPS] using Priority Mail or via United Parcel Service [UPS] using ground delivery. The low ‘across the boards’ pricing for shipping is something that gives this site a real advantage over others. If you need your order faster you can elect for second day or next day delivery but you will have to pay for it. To check out the shipping fees, visit this URL: www.1800petmeds.com/shiprate.asp and check to make sure the free shipping offer is still valid before you start shopping.

Prices

Just like most internet based pet supply companies, 1-800-PetMeds has some of the best prices on selected medications and accessories – on the same token, some of them can be obtained for less at local pet stores. This is where a little research comes in to play, if you know what one store charges and aren’t in a hurry to get it you can shop around to see who is offering the best deal. One great thing about this site is they will match any price a competitor is offering but in order to take advantage of this I highly suggest that you call the toll free customer service number to double check the information and make sure you will get the price matching guarantee when you place your order.

Customer Service
The site offers you the ability to chat with a live representative. Any emails that were sent to the customer service department were answered in a very timely fashion and all questions or inquiries were answered without a lot of run around or the need for multiple emails.

Payment Options

1-800-Pet-Meds accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover Card and personal check. So far I have used both my MasterCard and Visa at the site and never had any trouble with bulling, processing or being charged an amount that was different from my shopping cart total. I have never had to return an item to 1-800-Pet-Meds so I am not sure how quick they are to post credits to accounts but I’d expect it to be within a 15 – 30 day time frame. The site doesn’t ask for your CCV number [credit card verification] but I suspect that they will adding that in the near future since it is becoming an industry standard to prevent fraud.

The Bottom Line

If you are someone that cares about your pets health and livelihood, this is a great site to check out. As I mentioned, the accessory section is a little on the small side but it is a new feature to the site and hopefully it will expand soon. The orders that I have placed have all been delivered in a timely fashion, were packaged well to prevent damage during shipping and the quality of the goods exceeded my expectations. While I won’t tell you to order every single pet supply item from this site, they do offer some of the most competitive prices on flea and tick medications and they will meet any competitor’s price. This coupled with the free shipping for orders over $49.00 dollars makes 1-800-PetMeds a great pick!