Getting Vitamins Online

[vagabond48]

I want to start taking vitamins again. Years ago, I used to get them through Puritan Pride in the USA. I know they have great deals but I don't know if they still make quality supplements? Someone also mentioned Swanson's as well.

So, what online company do you use to get your vitamins?

I am open to non-US companies as well, if they have similar competitive pricing and accept US credit cards.

[wandrinstar]

If you live here, why online. ?.Plenty of excellent brands in the Stores..Watsons do a vast range.

[vagabond48]

If you live here, why online. ?.Plenty of excellent brands in the Stores..Watsons do a vast range.

Because that's what I was inquiring about.

[Langsuan Man]

Then go back to Puritans Pride, they have a great selection and ship to Thailand, at a reasonable price

http://www.puritan.com/

[tfc]

Whenever I fly home for a visit I purchase through swansons. The first few times I had a package sent here with swansons using FedEx I just had to pay a reasonable duty of about 150 baht. After about 4-5 times at the rate they upped the rate to something like 1700 baht - more than the cost of the package and shipping. So now I just try to bring everything that I need or have friends and family bring me my shipment when they visit.

[desi]

"So, what online company do you use to get your vitamins?"

iHerb.com... very reasonable prices to Thailand.

[Robroy]

I use i Herb too. They are fast & their supps are good quality IMO. Disadvantages:

1. You have to order less than $50 (including shipping) per package as any more than that & the package will end up in some fairly remote customs place & you will have to go there & fetch it AND pay (10%?) customs duty. You can order as many packages as you like up to $50 & there won't be a problem.

2. My friend in BKK has had 38 orders from iHerb & nothing has gone wrong. The postie throws the packages over his locked gate & they sit in the courtyard till he gets home. I've had 3 or 4, & on one occasion the package landed under some junk on the porch & stayed there a week or 2 till I found it.

3. iHerb has zero customer service. If anything goes wrong with an order (happened to me once) you will never get a reply to your email, save for some emailed boilerplate gobbledygook.

I've also had iHerb orders DHL'd - more expensive but faster & probably more reliable. Also if you get it sent to Cambodia or Australia (the only 2 I've tried) & presumably some other places, you don't need to pay customs duty so everything can go in the one package. I sometimes wait till I'm travelling to one of these places before I order.

"So, what online company do you use to get your vitamins?"

iHerb.com... very reasonable prices to Thailand.

[vagabond48]

I am going to put in an order at Puritan Pride in the USA. They use only use DHL for overseas orders. I live in Chiang Mai. Does anyone know if DHL packages fly in directly to Chiang Mai or 1st go to Bangkok? Puritan Pride CS told me it normally takes 1 to 2 week to arrive in Thailand. I am trying to determine how long it would take to arrive to my CM post office if it goes to Bangkok 1st? I am planning to travel for 3 weeks in March. Will I be charged extra if I don't pick up my package because I am out of the country.

This is my 1st time for shipping to a package to Thailand using DHL.

Thanks

[puck2]

If you believe in useful effects of vitamin pills, go and enrich the pharmaceutical giants !!! But worry about your life.

There are now a lot of Swiss and German scientists who improved that the effect of these pills is more negative than positive, maybe responsible for the death of more than thousand people.

For example: the risk of lung cancer grew by 18 % when the smokers between 50 and 69 took beta-carotene (in the body transformed to Vitamin A).

Why don’t you like the natural way? Thailand has a lot of fruits and vegetables with the desired vitamins.

[lgh777]

For vitamins and other health related stuff, try iHerb. I just received a shipment, value US$102, and had no customs duty or VAT charged. (Very unusual and probably a glitch.) Make sure to use their online chat feature right after you order (or before), and tell them to use HC (Harmonized Code) 2936.90 (vitamins), and to label the contents description as "Vitamin supplements for personal use". The most duty you'll pay is 10%. You can google "Harmonized Code Thailand" and find out what code to use if you are ordering something other than vitamins. iHerb will also ship airmail via USPS post office, if you can wait. There is no insurance or tracking with USPS, but you probably won't have to pay any duty/vat. I use DHL or Fedex.

They are very helpful. They've given me a discount code for "family and friends", giving you 5% off your first order. Use QEY931.

I order all my vitamins from overseas (mainly the US) because the offerings in Thailand are so slim. The prices are better, whether in Thailand or Singapore. (I lived in Singapore for 20 years before coming here.) I use to own a health food store/macrobiotic center in the US, and know that most of the reputable suppliers (Twinlab,NOW, etc.) can furnish you with detailed quality assays. At least you know what you are getting. Google "Amway" and "Nutrilite" before buying from them. Seriously. It's your health.

Best multi-vitamin I've found is Twinlab Daily One (without iron). Liver and cleansing (for all the drinkers out there) - Nature's Wellness Ultra Thistle, Life Extension R-ALA, Himalaya Liv. 52 LiverCare, NOW NAC. Calcium - Schiff Super Calcium. (I give my dog the liver support capsules as well, since she is taking prednisolone.)

Try searching at Amazon first because they give great descriptions, then check out iHerb. The cost is about the same for the vitamins. But the shipping is MUCH less expensive from iHerb. They only charge $4 flat fee for airmail to Thailand, if your package is less than 4#. I paid $12 for DHL package of 2.5#. It arrived in 5 working days to CM.

I hope this helps!

[paul1970]

Some good info on this thread, I have bought melatonin in the past from Life Extension in the US and have just a few weeks ago ordered $900 worth of supplements from them, worst thing is the shipping costs from the US, FedEx was almost $200 but I opted for USPS which was $102.

Also ordered from Swanson this week, very good prices and they appear to have a reputation for good quality, only $50 from them but again shipping was $40.

I've tried getting what I needed in Fascino and other places but it's like talking to the wall at times. I went in Fascino to ask if they had copper supplement and the assistant said "hab" and what did she give me a box of Carnitine guess it starts with a C right.

Also the prices in Thailand seem to be quite expensive and even with the added shipping costs from the US the still work out cheaper.

[chiangmaibruce]

If you live here, why online. ?.Plenty of excellent brands in the Stores..Watsons do a vast range.

I'd say the answer = COST. I have also used I-Herb and the savings are considerable even after postage & handling.

[uhuh]

iHerb did not accept my Thai address anymore

i dont know whether its a glitch or they dont sell to Thailand anymore?

[tfc]

May be they have had customers with shipping issue to Thailand. Another company that I used to purchase from stopped shipping to Thailand their reason was that too many things didn't get to their customers. I never had that problem with Swansons, they always got to me, it was the hefty "customs duty" that was the problem.

[elvenfox]

I've got a problem with delivery from iherb, it was rejected by customs alsmost 2 weeks ago and still not refunded. Where can i read about the item precisely caused rejection? Or maybe they have a list of prohibited stuff?

[Sheryl]

If they regarded ant item as a pharameceutical, import not allowed unless you have an import permit (which you cannot get), only allowed to bring in small amounts in accompanied baggage.

Or if any of the items are not in their listing of chemical compounds (which can be found in a long book of custom codes if you can track that down) then it could have been rejected as not allowed as anything not on that list is prohibited.

Or, if they did not know what some of it was/what category it belonged in, they may have disallowed it simply to avoid having to try and figure it out. Been known to happen.

How was it shipped? As this sort of problem usually occurs when sent by a courier rather than normal post. And/or if the quantities were very large (that in particular will trigger the "import license" issue).

[meadish_sweetball]

Customs appear to be blocking many, possibly all, shipments from iherb.com since a couple of weeks back, not just the ones sent by courier. In response, Iherb has temporarily removed the courier company shipping options from their website, and only list the regular mail option as available now.

But it looks like even regular mail shipments from iherb are blocked.

Based on info from the Iherb website, Iherb are currently trying to negotiate with Thai customs to find out the reasons for the blocking, and how/if it can be solved.

[Sheryl]

What puzzles me is how anyone is able to order from iherb anyhow, they refused to accept orders from me due to the credit card address being Thai, and despite my calling them. Do you all have non Thai addresses on your cards?? They were vehement to me that they will not accept orders with a Thai billing address. (Wasn't the shipping address that was the issue at that point, but the billing address...)

[NancyL]

Every 90 days, for the past four years, I've placed an order with Drugstore.com for vitamins, calcium, fish oil, glucosamine, baby aspirin, etc, having it shipped to our U.S. commercial mail forwarding services. They then send it to us here, usually via DHL. Sometimes I get hit with a duty, but most times not.

Then in October, the mail forwarder decided to use UPS rather than DHL and it was hit with a big duty, handling and storage charges. I complained to our mail forwarder and their February shipment was sent DHL, as before.

Thai customs has totally rejected the shipment, saying I need an import license. It's just one bottle of this, another bottle of that -- 90 days supply for Hubby and me. I asked DHL to return the shipment to our mail forwarding service.

Now what to do? Many of these items aren't available in Thailand. For example, you can get Centrum Silver here, but not Centrum Silver for Men and Centrum Silver for Women. Calcium is very expensive here. Glucosamine with chondrotin and MSM is totally unavailable, from my searches. I haven't found a fish oil supplement here with all three Omegas -- 3, 6 and 9.

Should we ask the mail forwarding service to ship via the U.S. postal system? Can we get an import license -- it's for our own personal use and we're here on 12-month retirement extensions and have been since 2008.

[Sheryl]

You cannot get an import license. Would have to have a licensed pharmacy or similar business to get it.

This regulation is aimed at people importing for sale. There is something of a void with legal framework for imports for personal use other than what people physically bring in with them.

Odds are it would come through OK if by regular mail. UPS and FedEx seem to excel in not only getting into customs issues but also mishandling them.

[Langsuan Man]

Every 90 days, for the past four years, I've placed an order with Drugstore.com for vitamins, calcium, fish oil, glucosamine, baby aspirin, etc, having it shipped to our U.S. commercial mail forwarding services. They then send it to us here, usually via DHL. Sometimes I get hit with a duty, but most times not.

Then in October, the mail forwarder decided to use UPS rather than DHL and it was hit with a big duty, handling and storage charges. I complained to our mail forwarder and their February shipment was sent DHL, as before.

Thai customs has totally rejected the shipment, saying I need an import license. It's just one bottle of this, another bottle of that -- 90 days supply for Hubby and me. I asked DHL to return the shipment to our mail forwarding service.

Now what to do? Many of these items aren't available in Thailand. For example, you can get Centrum Silver here, but not Centrum Silver for Men and Centrum Silver for Women. Calcium is very expensive here. Glucosamine with chondrotin and MSM is totally unavailable, from my searches. I haven't found a fish oil supplement here with all three Omegas -- 3, 6 and 9.

Should we ask the mail forwarding service to ship via the U.S. postal system? Can we get an import license -- it's for our own personal use and we're here on 12-month retirement extensions and have been since 2008.

Get a mail forwarding service that uses United States Postal Service, like ShipIto:

http://www.shipito.com

[oldsailor35]

I have been trying to find Krill Oil Caps on Samui, but no one even appears to have heard of it.

[NancyL]

Thanks for the answers, Sheryl. I do have the option of requesting USPS shipment by our mailforwarding service. I just placed a small "test order" with Drugstore.com that I'll have send to the mailforwarder and then onto us via USPS. I decided just to do a small shipment initially to test the mail delivery. If it goes OK then I'll ask them to send that shipment of stuff that DHL is currently returning from Thai customs.

[peanut]

I use ebay. They send through regular mail, so it's not very expensive. And never had to pay any duty, but I only buy one thing at a time.

[Somnambulist]

I use ebay. They send through regular mail, so it's not very expensive. And never had to pay any duty, but I only buy one thing at a time.

How recently has this worked for you? I ask because until a few weeks ago my Iherb packages always got through. I'm worried that the Thai FDA is targeting all supplement imports.

[robblok]

I use ebay. They send through regular mail, so it's not very expensive. And never had to pay any duty, but I only buy one thing at a time.

How recently has this worked for you? I ask because until a few weeks ago my Iherb packages always got through. I'm worried that the Thai FDA is targeting all supplement imports.

Last week 900 caps of fish oil got through. Other supplements get through too.

[Somnambulist]

Peanut,

I just randomly searched ebay for this and the seller writes "May not ship to Thailand". If you succeed in gettting another package through that would be good news.

[Somnambulist]

I use ebay. They send through regular mail, so it's not very expensive. And never had to pay any duty, but I only buy one thing at a time.

How recently has this worked for you? I ask because until a few weeks ago my Iherb packages always got through. I'm worried that the Thai FDA is targeting all supplement imports.

Last week 900 caps of fish oil got through. Other supplements get through too.

Hi Robblox, just saw your post. That's great news! Thanks. I guess it depends on the seller.

[Somnambulist]

My wife, after reading some new posts at pantip.com, just told me that most (but not all) packages from Iherb are getting through again. Some are still disappearing, so I was lucky that mine was returned to Iherb. Iherb has only become well-known in Thailand since last year. Nobody knows why there's been a problem lately. Changing of the guard at the FDA? DHL problem? Just speculation by posters.

We've just placed an order with Iherb for so I'll know in about 15 days whether it'll have gotten through.

[peanut]

Peanut,

I just randomly searched ebay for this and the seller writes "May not ship to Thailand". If you succeed in gettting another package through that would be good news.

Hey

Yeah it depends on the seller. Some ship worldwide and some don't. Unless it's something very unusual that you're looking for, you will probably find a seller who will ship to you.