iHerb vs. Vitacost: A Recent Comparison

[ChumpChange]

Many years ago, I frequently ordered products from iHerb and had them delivered to me in Thailand. At the time, they offered excellent value, charging just $10 for shipping with up to 3.5 pounds of products. However, iHerb eventually stopped shipping to Thailand, stating too many lost packages as the reason.

 

When iHerb discontinued delivery to Thailand, I switched to Vitacost. Vitacost offered a similar fixed shipping rate, around $12–$13 for small packages weighing a few pounds. I continued ordering from Vitacost for a while, even after iHerb resumed shipping to Thailand. But by then, iHerb’s shipping fees had increased significantly, so sticking with Vitacost seemed like the better option.

 

But then a few weeks ago, I discovered that iHerb no longer charges shipping fees to Thailand for orders of at least $45. Even for smaller orders, their shipping fees are now minimal, often just a few dollars. This is because iHerb now warehouses their products in South Korea and ships them regionally from there. Orders from iHerb are delivered to Thailand via Flash Express, also significantly improving delivery speed.

 

For example, my last order from Vitacost took three weeks to arrive in Thailand. In contrast, orders from iHerb now arrive within a week due to their proximity in South Korea. Additionally, iHerb simplifies the VAT process by including a small fee at checkout, which eliminates the need to pay VAT upon delivery.

 

With Vitacost, I had to pay a 63 Baht VAT fee when my package arrived. Since I wasn’t available to pay the delivery person, the package was sent back to the post office and redelivered the next day, an extra hassle iHerb effectively avoids.

 

Another advantage of iHerb is their pricing and brand availability. While I primarily ordered Vitacost’s house-brand products because they were more affordable, they also often lacked in having high enough potency on some products. By contrast, iHerb offers lower prices and well-known brands like NOW Foods. This means I can order higher-quality products with better potencies for the same price I used to spend on Vitacost’s house brand.

 

For instance, on my last iHerb order this week, I managed to get three comparable items for the same price it usually cost me to get only two similar items from Vitacost. That shows you how much higher some of the prices can be on Vitacost. 

 

Given the faster delivery, lower shipping costs, VAT prepayment, better product selection, and more competitive pricing, iHerb has now just become the far better choice for me compared to Vitacost on deliveries of vitamins and health supplements to Thailand. 

[Paul52]

9 hours ago, ChumpChange said:

Many years ago, I frequently ordered products from iHerb and had them delivered to me in Thailand.

iHerb are good, but I do find it annoying that they’ll only let you order three items per shipment.  This might possibly be a Flash Express restriction.  When they shipped by Thai Post there was a weight restriction but no limit on the number of items.  I preferred the Thai Post shipping option.  Shame it got cancelled.  I now have to do multiple orders instead of one order which often works out more expensive for shipping.