28 replies to this topic

[against_all_odds]

Just got this from iherb.com,

Dear iHerb VIP Customer,

Our goal is to continue offering our VIP customers significant discounts, but in a different way that is mutually beneficial.

Starting February 1st, the VIP discount structure will change. At the same time, we plan to offer quantity discounts of up to 10% on many bestselling brands, and further price reductions on other brands.

Why are we changing the VIP structure? Three reasons:

1) increased vendor prices due largely to ingredient costs, and the expense of meeting new GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) requirements
2) our overall plan to lower online pricing across many brands
3) the need to balance the cost of offering more grocery, "healthy home" and sports supplement products (which have very low profit margins)

Here are the upcoming changes.

Through Monday, January 31:

--10% on orders less than $120.00
--12% on orders of $120.00 or more
--13% on orders of $240.00 or more
--14% on orders of $480.00 or more
--16% on orders of $960.00 or more

(You will see these discounts after you sign in to your iHerb account.)

Starting February 1:

--4% on orders of $60.00 or more.
--5% on orders of $120.00 or more
--6% on orders of $240.00 or more
--7% on orders of $480.00 or more
--8% on orders of $960.00 or more

We invite you to take advantage of VIP pricing levels available through the end of January.
Then look for new quantity discounts and further reductions from iHerb, starting soon.

If you have any questions regarding your VIP account, please contact us at: vip@iherb.com

http://www.iherb.com

Be well,

The iHerb VIP Team

[smithx]

It sucks. I spend over $2500 a year with them. Or have been doing...

What are some other reliable suppliers?

[niner]

2) our overall plan to lower online pricing across many brands
3) the need to balance the cost of offering more grocery, "healthy home" and sports supplement products (which have very low profit margins)

Eff. Memo to iherb: Stop carrying so many crappy brands, and concentrate on the good ones. Grocery, "healthy home" and sports supplement products? WTF? You're asking us to subsidize that crap? If they're so great, why not raise the price on them instead?

(I'll send this rant to iherb, for what it's worth.)
Well guys, this is inflation in action. Get ready to see more of it. iherb base prices have been creeping up, too. I wonder if the real reason for trashing the VIP program is just because they can? Where are you going to go for a better deal? I've sometimes found a better price on the odd item, but iherb has always been my goto shop for almost everything. It was good while it lasted. I'll try to take some comfort in the fact that I placed my largest order ever just a few days ago, so I got in just under the wire.

[rwac]

Where are you going to go for a better deal?

Swanson. Occasionally something's cheaper at iherb, but I notice that the total ends up cheaper anyway, especially combined with the discount coupons there.
And now with the discounts decreasing drastically, it will make the decision even easier.

Edited by rwac, 27 January 2011 - 05:10 AM.

[Lufega]

Luckyvitamin usually has lower prices although a not as big of a selection. However, their shipping prices sucked..last I checked.

[nameless]

Hmm... that does stink. I've gotten sort of used to their 10% discounts.

And their prices have been creeping up, so combined with less of a discount, it may be time to look at other suppliers. I've also noticed that iHerb now carries a lot of junk, for lack of a better word -- weird supplements from companies nobody has heard of, to odd food products. One thing I used to like about them was also their freebies, but they haven't offered any decent free samples in some time now.

And I agree with Rwac, I use Swanson's as my backup, but now I may look at them more. When they have a decent coupon they may beat iHerb and their '2 for 1' sales with a coupon can make some of their deals really good. They also have excellent customer service and a good return policy, even on opened supplements. Only downside is they seem to have less of a selection than iHerb does.

One other option I've used on occasion is ordering supplements from Medco's health store when they have $10/$20 coupons (they ran them several times this past year). They have a really limited selection, but I have ordered fish oil + ubiquinol from them at prices that easily beats iHerb (when using a coupon).

[hivemind]

I get so much rewards from iHerb that it is still by far the best option.

[Ghostrider]

I get so much rewards from iHerb that it is still by far the best option.

Yeah, no kidding. I paid nothing in 2007-2009 for all my supplements spending about $500 / year. Thanks to everyone who used promo code HEM005. :-) Unfortunately, my rewards have really fallen off...which seems to tell me that eventually, most people stop using supplements.

[Recortes]

I need another option with good international shipping.

[rwac]

Yeah, no kidding. I paid nothing in 2007-2009 for all my supplements spending about $500 / year. Thanks to everyone who used promo code HEM005. :-) Unfortunately, my rewards have really fallen off...which seems to tell me that eventually, most people stop using supplements.

You only get rewards for one year after the first time someone uses the promo code, I believe.

[maxwatt]

search Amazon.com for the lowest price on any particular item. Usually works.

[aaron_e]

add another vote for swanson. they might not have the exotic supps but they do have excellent prices and carry most of the good brands.

[pycnogenol]

Memo to iherb: Stop carrying so many crappy brands, and concentrate on the good ones. Grocery, "healthy home" and sports supplement products? WTF? You're asking us to subsidize that crap? If they're so great, why not raise the price on them instead? Well guys, this is inflation in action. Get ready to see more of it. iherb base prices have been creeping up, too. I wonder if the real reason for trashing the VIP program is just because they can?

You're right on the money about what is going on there. I'm gonna contact Ray Faraee the iHerb CEO at: iherbceo@gmail.com

Edited by pycnogenol, 27 January 2011 - 04:25 PM.

[kenj]

Hmm.. Guess I better transfer my $4000 yearly iHerbing to someone else who can keep pricing low! -- it's really a shame if I have to cut down on iHerb, because, as an international customer, it is so easy to buy via iHerb -> DHL - > my doorstep. Not a single seizing of any order. Plus, when ordering small, iHerb's $3-4 shipping "fee" via USPS is simply amazing. It's more expensive to buy and ship within my own country (mind blown)!

Does anyone have international shipping experience with Swanson? Which company are they using, I can't see that from their website. For example, Lucky Vitamin's crazy high shipping charges does NOT make sense, for a private customer.

[hivemind]

I get so much rewards from iHerb that it is still by far the best option.

Yeah, no kidding. I paid nothing in 2007-2009 for all my supplements spending about $500 / year. Thanks to everyone who used promo code HEM005. :-) Unfortunately, my rewards have really fallen off...which seems to tell me that eventually, most people stop using supplements.

The rewards from every person, who has used your code, last only one year. So it doesn't mean they have stopped using.

Edited by Trip, 27 January 2011 - 04:56 PM.

[Brainbox]

Automatic message


This topic has been moved from "Bioscience, Health & Nutrition -> Supplements" to "Bioscience, Health & Nutrition -> Supplements -> Retailer/Product Discussion".

[mixture]

Remember to send feedback on this change to vip@iherb.com

Only recently (1-2 mo ago) iHerb mentioned on their Facebook page that no new VIP statuses were being granted anymore, but existing VIPs could keep their status if they spent over $100 per month.

I find it unusual that a change like this is to happen so soon after that and with such a short window (only a couple of days before the change is to take place).

Of course it is their company and they can decide whatever thay want whenever they want.

But a little bit of feedback won't hurt.

[sdxl]

Vitacost isn't that bad for international orders depending on what you order. They are cheaper with many supplements even considering iherbs VIP discount. They do have regular promotions, like 10% off and deals of the day. But you have to consider the long transit times using their economy shipping, starting at $4.90. Waiting one month is no exception, whereas iherb orders usually take less than 2 weeks to arrive.

[Ghostrider]

I get so much rewards from iHerb that it is still by far the best option.

Yeah, no kidding. I paid nothing in 2007-2009 for all my supplements spending about $500 / year. Thanks to everyone who used promo code HEM005. :-) Unfortunately, my rewards have really fallen off...which seems to tell me that eventually, most people stop using supplements.

The rewards from every person, who has used your code, last only one year. So it doesn't mean they have stopped using.

In that case, I know what happened...I put the iHerb code in my signature in my Imminst profile and a few other messages boards. Most boards caught onto the free advertising and removed the sig. Since I had so many posts here, each post acted like an advertisement. Someone might click on my name, view my profile, and then think, "Oh, I need some noots"...then go off and order using my code. Since they removed the post count there's less visibility.

[Ghostrider]

Hmm.. Guess I better transfer my $4000 yearly iHerbing to someone else who can keep pricing low! -- it's really a shame if I have to cut down on iHerb, because, as an international customer, it is so easy to buy via iHerb -> DHL - > my doorstep. Not a single seizing of any order. Plus, when ordering small, iHerb's $3-4 shipping "fee" via USPS is simply amazing. It's more expensive to buy and ship within my own country (mind blown)!

Does anyone have international shipping experience with Swanson? Which company are they using, I can't see that from their website. For example, Lucky Vitamin's crazy high shipping charges does NOT make sense, for a private customer.

Wait, you really spend $4k/year on supps? What costs that much? I'm probably around $300 / year tops (cheaper now since I'm on a very basic plan).

Edited by Ghostrider, 28 January 2011 - 09:11 AM.

[dosquito]

I emailed iherb a while ago about the VIP discount and they pretended like it didn't even exist, just directing me to the rewards referral page. screw them. someone pm me another good site please

[kenj]

Wait, you really spend $4k/year on supps? What costs that much? I'm probably around $300 / year tops (cheaper now since I'm on a very basic plan).

Well, it never was cheap to be addicted to supplements............ Plus, O/T, I buy repeatedly smaller stuff from ebay.com, *.com.au, *.co.uk, and nutraplanet.com, supplementsplus.co.uk, qhi.co.uk, lefeurope.com (probably forgotten a few, OTOH), and a couple single or 2-3 orders from misc. places. Then again, I buy very little actual food (mostly veggies, fruits, nut butters, yogurt, wholegrain pasta, cheese, glutenfree bread, and such) ;-) :-/ .........

Sdxl,

Vitacost does have a nice price on several stables like na-rala, astaxanthin, etc., and the intl. ship. seems fair, too! Thanks.

I've noticed that iHerb ships via Germany, to me (DK) with USPS, maybe that explains the zero customs issues?

[pycnogenol]

Me and my better half (the "brains behind the operation" as they say!) spend between $1500 and $1700 (more or less) yearly on
various products from iHerb. It used to be more but we now belong to a local organic food co-op and more and more of our dough
goes to them.

Edited by pycnogenol, 29 January 2011 - 12:34 AM.

[sdxl]

Sdxl,

Vitacost does have a nice price on several stables like na-rala, astaxanthin, etc., and the intl. ship. seems fair, too! Thanks.

They do, but shipping prices seem to creep up really fast with more weight.

I've noticed that iHerb ships via Germany, to me (DK) with USPS, maybe that explains the zero customs issues?

Vitacost ships to me via Belgium. I don't know how the Danish customs are. Invoices are clearly visible on the outside of the box, so no vague descriptions here.

[aaron_e]

Does anyone have international shipping experience with Swanson? Which company are they using, I can't see that from their website. For example, Lucky Vitamin's crazy high shipping charges does NOT make sense, for a private customer.

Swanson uses UPS for domestic orders but I am not sure about international. You can always email them and ask.

[Apchi]

Great info here.

As a loyal Iherb costumer I did notice freebies go down and prices creeping up but didn't realized how bad it was compared to the comp.

Used to buy at vitacost w/o issues but drop them due to negative ratings on
http://www.resellerr.../store/Vitacost

Swason looks very good and and will be getting some of my business going forward.

Also recommend http://www.allstarhealth.com/
Best deals I could find on now bulk protein powder and stevia

[smithx]

Vitacost used to be bad, but my recent orders from them have been fine, and they were shipped promptly.

It used to be automatic for me to use iHerb, but with my 16% discount for orders over $450 gone, I'm shopping around from now on.

Ah well, everything changes.

[iago]

FWW I've always used Swanson. Good quality, good prices, reasonably fast order processing, and lots of great offers (bogo, in particular). I've tried comparing orders with iHerb, but I've found Swanson to be either the same price or less.

[nomi]

Going to start buying from http://www.swansonvitamins.com/ and see how things go. Will report back later.