Buyer Beware!

Companies know how much we spoil our pets and inflate prices dramatically don't they as they know they will get interest,I have bought many collars and harnesses from ebay for Poppy over they years all at really low prices to what I could have paid in the doggy salons where prices are sometimes £15+ more expensive.

I was a bit taken aback yesterday to be charged £20 at the vet for Canaural eardrops for my cat. Checked online and they're available from around £7 via various outlets including Pets at Home. Guess where I'll be buying them from now on?

One of our dogs has to have a special diet. The vet kindly told me to go and buy it on the internet as he just can't compete. He is also rare in that he doesn't charge for prescriptions.

Vets have become a racket akin to the mafia.

My dog is nervy and I asked the vet to groom him, they suggested sedation etc £250 but a local groomer did him for £25...........

I has asked the vet for a tranquilser for the dog......they rang me twice to try and persuade me to use their services too. I don't trust vets or dentists they charge far more than they need to, it isn't the same everywhere but a good vet or dentist at an affordable price is a rarity.

And, we have somehow come to accept being robbed, online animal flea treatments etc are so much cheaper some cheists will also fill out prescritptions for animals much cheaper than the vet, however getting a prescription from a vet is nigh on impossible.

A local vet here who is very good and has excellent facilities puts an advertising blog in our local magazine. This months was.about two collies who'd illicitly shared a cheap hot cross bun. Emetics administered and kept in for two nights observation for 3 or 4 sultanas seemed a little excessive to me.

I'm sure there are cheating vets and dentists out there but I can't say mine are like that at all. We have recently had to have our dog put to sleep and they couldn't have been kinder, as they have been with all our pets. They often direct us to the internet to get things more cheaply. Dentist the same - though haven't suggested we go abroad for treatment yet! I'm facing a big dental bill but I know it will be worth it.

radicalnan Vets must provide you with a prescription if you request one by law. However, they can, and usually do make a charge for doing so.
Some of the uncaring vets may make this charge too high to make it worth bothering with though, sadly. I'd like to think most cared and were fair with charges though.

I've had similar Hiltopgran.

I bought a drone for one of my sons from one of the well known discount sites (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to name names) and thought it was a bargain at around £50 (reduced from £130 according to them) + £3.99 postage. Later, out of interest, I looked it up on Amazon and the same one was on sale for £39 with free postage. Now, when I receive these emails, I occasionally compare their 'bargains' with the Amazon equivalent and Amazon's non-discounted price is always cheaper in my experience.

Having said that, I do think some of these discount sites offer good value for things like 'afternoon tea for two'. I bought one of these deals as a surprise for my DS and DIL which was on offer at the hotel where they had held their wedding reception.They both said that they received the same service as people who had paid full price.

As you say - buyer beware.

Our groomer used to get the proper flea and tick collar for me until her supplier dried up. I hate going to the vet for it as I have to pay for him and then £40 for the collar!

I can buy the collar on Ebay from an Italian grooming company and it's the same thing exactly. Only costs about £25. Lasts 6 months.

This is the same plastic style with the same chemical as the ones I used to get for my cats in the US at the pet store.

Sorry, forgot to say the above is for our terrier... don't have cats any longer.

Oh my goodness deja vue. I was lying in bed half asleep this morning thinking about how cheap vets and dentists are here in Portugal compared to England. Then I clicked on to the Gransnet email and you are discussing the same thing.
Vets here keep very little animal medicine in stock and write out a prescription free of charge. They charge very little in comparison to vets in the UK for everything. As my Mum used to say many vets and dentists think they have a licence to print money . ;)

My dogs eye prescription is £66 from vet, and it's needed forever, lasts three weeks. Vet suggested private prescription £12 for three months, and I send prescription away for £26 a tube .

Whenever you see one of those adverts for wonderful gadgets on Facebook you will find something identical on eBay for a fraction of the cost, the only benefit of the Facebook ones is that they give you the idea in the first place.

Its very sad to see some really nasty comments about vets , most own their practice or are in a franchise, and have lots of "overhead" costs in running a practice , also just think of all the years the vets have spent training to become a vet, i will always be very grateful to all the vets i have seen with my dogs , if it wasnt for them 2 of my dogs would not be with me today .

I have an English friend in Tunisia at whose house all the stray or sick cats seem to congregate (she thinks the message has spread round all the cats in the ares ) She always ends up taking them to the local vet and then looking after them at home. Fortunately her Algerian husband is as fond of cats as she is. I can only hope the vet gives them a discount, as this has been going on for years, during which time dozens of cats have passed through her hands.

I agree about vets bill one of my cats was found to have heart failure, the tablets would have cost me £30 a moth if i got them from the vet, luckily she wqas insured, but it wasnt a lifetime insurance so when th insurance ran out i would have had to pay that out every mnth,plus i had 4 other cats and a dog, all insured, but dental work isnt covered,
I looked up the price of the tablets only came to around £7 for both types, my vet did say he couldnt compete with that so said he would give me 6 month prescription for £10, sadly she passed away before it came to that with a sudden heart attack,
2 weeks later another cat was diagosed with a throat tumour so lost her too,
I now have 3 cats [Ragdolls]and yorkie x terrier

I heard it was cheaper to get my dog's medication online with a vet prescription but was still wary of doing it - not knowing where it was coming from. Then a friend said to ask my vet for a discount which I did. I got 40%discount - and it was in medication she needed every month. Always worth asking!

I feel the same as elainekey01.
I know that Vets bills are astronomical, but the thought of buying any medication online for my beloved cats if they needed it, scares me somewhat. I would not want to take the risk just in case.

A friend when training to be a vet was asked, in a seminar, why do we want to be vets? Hands went up with all usual reasons such as wanting to help suffering animals etc.
No said the tutor...We become vets to make a lot of money!! Says it all.

He is now a minister.

A good kind of sedative you can get from your vet,or online is Zylkene, not expensive really, but come in different strengths for sizes and breed,[dog or cat]
Zylkene is not a drug, it is cassein which is in milk, but calms ,
Also for pets with diarrhea i buy Fortiflora,i buy it online, one of my cats has intermittent episodes, and although quite expensive works out much cheaper than paying a consultation fee[£32 at my vet]plus cost of medication,
I bought a box last year and still have quite a lot left, 30 packets of 1mg each

I think vets are brilliant! I just don't think booking a pet in for a checkup just to get a flea collar is value for money.

I go to my chemist when I need something they are allowed to give. Qualified groomers here should be able to prescribe basic things like flea and tick collars. If your pet has a skin condition, by all means go to the vet. But you should do that anyways and not buy the OTC products here.

The groomer told me that the OTC flea/tick stuff in the UK is rubbish and not effective. And with Lyme's disease a reality now, I do NOT want to risk having my dog bitten and then having her depositing the tick on me. Been there done that in the US with ticks... no Lyme's disease thankfully and we lived in a prime area, but ticks in your own hair, or waking up to find one in your bed making its way to your body is not pleasant.

So I go for the proper medicated flea and tick collars that you can buy OTC in Europe via Ebay.

For about 10 yrs i have been buying meds on line for my dogs , my vet even suggests it sometimes, i just make sure they are from a UK site, i have never had any problems, if needed i get prescription from vet and sent this off to the site i am buying from,

Animed direct is very reasonable and do not charge postage
Also if you are a pensioner and receive council tax benefit,you can join the PDSA for £7-50, which lasts a year
My dogs medication for a skin allergy, which meant special shampoo and antibiotics would have been £66, i was only charged £6, although i gave more as it was still a big saving,you only need pay a 10th of the cost
Not sure if its only for pensioners,like me, maybe anyone can apply, but only for 1 animal
My vets consultaytion fee is £32

Just make sure that you check out that you are dealing with a reputable company when ordering online - especially private sellers.

Many of the "bargain" products on Amazon are fake products from China and may contain substances banned in the real version. I made this mistake with a purchase for my cats and chose to bin it rather than take the risk.