Caveat Emptor is the Rule with Ordering Medications Online
Online Pharmacies are often considered a shady businesss, but by following some simple rules, you can get the best bang for your buck.
(PRWEB) September 23, 2005
There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, if not over a million pharmacies behind every corner on the internet. You can't surf the seedier side of the web without nearly having a seizure from an animated GIF thrusting Viagra in your face. You can't open your email without some horrible pidgen english nonsense imploring you to pick up diet pills. Judging by everything I've seen, the bulk of the internet is impotent, balding, overweight and lacking in the "manhood" department, regardless of gender.
You may wonder how these marketing practices continue, how something so unreadable or aestetically unpleasing could possibly be seen as an effective strategy to get your dollars. Because they work..
The law of averages. Even the worst sales pitch is likely to work at least 1 out of 100 times. Someone, somewhere is responding to these advertisements, so they continue.
The unfortunate thing is that this sort of behavior alienates a lot of people who could otherwise benefit a lot from getting their prescriptions filled online. It costs less, and works wonderfully for people who have limited mobility or live in remote areas. So, how do you still get the benefits of ordering online, without getting ripped off or supporting spammers?
Ordering Online
Don't Buy Into Spam
First of all, don't respond to email spammers or pop-up ads, you'll be doing yourself and everyone else a favor by starving these bottom-feeders of your order. Let's say they make a $100 profit from your order, that's more than enough money to buy millions of email addresses. You can single-handedly prevent others from being irritated just by looking elsewhere legitimately.
Do yourself a favor, have a prescription
There's a lot of "rogue" pharmacies out there selling drugs (particularly painkillers and "lifestyle" drugs like diet pills or anti-impotence treatments) without a prescription. This is pretty tempting, but don't do it. Here's why:
Safety:
You can't do this sort of thing based in the United States, Canada or the UK. Well, you can try, but that's just asking for jail time. So where do they get their generic Viagra, Xenical and Oxycontin? Offshore manufacturers, mostly in India and China. The manufacturing quality standards in these countries is significantly lower than it is in the US, Canada and Europe. That's not to say that it's doom for 99 cents/dose, but there is a risk involved. Not only is there a risk of adulteration, but you may not even get real drugs, they may be counterfeit. For your own sake, suck up any embarassment and get a legitimate prescription.
Scams:
You could end up being the target of a scam. Anyone with some basic knowledge can set up a site. There's plenty of fly by night operations that will take your money and run. Requiring a prescription is just one indicator that you're dealing with a legitimate operation.
It's Illegal:
Posessing controlled substances (as many prescription drugs are) without a prescription can lead to legal troubles. It's not worth the risk.
They're Opportunistic Hucksters:
Assuming they don't take your money and run, assuming you do get real and safe medication, and assuming you don't get into legal hot water, you're still supporting an unethical establishment. "Do not harm" does not mean anything to these people. They will sell opiates to underage children, or potentially dangerous medications to people who don't need them. These pill pushers have no concern for the health of their customers and very few (if any), employ the medical professionals required to assure the safety of their customers.
Look for signs of trust:
Before you buy, look for signs of third party verification. Better Business Bureau seals, VIPP certification or Squaretrade. Pharmacies that carry such certifications go through screening processes that assure that they're legitimate operations. Only order from licensed pharmacies that employ certified physicians, techicians and pharmacists.
Original Prescription? Forget it!:
Shopping around is the best way to save money. Really, there's cutthroat competition amongst even legitimate pharmacies to get bare bones prices and bring in the customers. Your ability to compare prices and switch pharmacies if need be is important, and the pharmacies know this. Some pharmacies require you to send your original prescription to them, but doing so would be a bad move on your part. Without your prescription, you are not free to move freely between pharmacies, and are stuck buying from the same place, even if they raise their prices! Find pharmacies that allow other means of verifying your prescription via fax or a call to your doctor.
Initiate a bidding war:
Remember that cutthroat competition I mentioned? Use it to your advantage. Many pharmacies guarantee their prices are the lowest. With some shopping around, you can haggle the cost of your order down and save even more money.
Canada, your best bet:
The American pharmacies try, they really do. Unfortunately, thanks in part to the US political climate, the drug companies are free to ask whatever they want. Canada, however, has laws to keep the prices affordable. When looking online, you will always find the best prices from legitimate pharmacies based in Canada.
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