Saving Money on “Pet” Prescriptions

When it comes to ordering pet prescriptions there are a few different ways to save money.

  • Shop around to different online stores to find the best deal
    • Do a basic Google search for the product you’re looking for and check the “shopping” results to see prices
    • I like to fill a shopping cart at multiple stores to see what I can get and what the final price will be before making a commitment
    • Don’t forget to check online pharmacies! There are online pharmacies that only do prescription items, and there are combination stores that do prescription and non-prescription items. Be sure to look for both to get the best deal
    • Don’t forget to check price match guarantees
      • Some online pharmacies (e.g., Allivet) have price match guarantees. If you find a lower price elsewhere they’ll match it. This is convenient if you need to stick with one company for your order to make the minimum amount for free shipping.
  • Don’t forget to check local stores! They may carry everything you can get at online stores for the same price, or sometimes even better prices
  • Check minimum purchase amounts to get free shipping
    • Some stores have $49 minimums, others have $100 minimums
    • Add other items you need/want in order to reach the minimum
  • Check online for promo codes for stores you’re shopping through or for specific items you’re purchasing
  • Use the “Autoship” or “Subscription” option whenever there’s a potential savings, but pay attention to how they handle their shipments
    • Some stores, like Chewy, are very good about providing shipment reminders so that you have time to change or cancel your order
    • Other stores, like Allivet, will simply process and send your shipment without any kind of reminder notice
  • Keep track of your past prices This is a big one that I think people don’t do enough of. It’s easy to forget what you paid for something, but if you can keep your paperwork for the order you can track prices and make sure you’re getting the best deal. I keep my receipts/invoices in a single folder and double-check my sources before I make new purchases.
  • Make friends with other people or rescue groups who have sick cats. Depending on how good you are at relationship-building and networking you may find you have access to a ton of free or heavily-discounted supplies.
  • Be very nice to everyone you encounter when at the vet. Another place where I end up with random additional savings or free products is at my vet’s office, and it’s mostly because I’m just really nice to them every time I’m there. And sometimes I bring them cookies… but that’s pretty rare.
  • Set Google Alerts and make Google do all the work of finding good deals for you.
  • Check out the clearance/sale items for every site you visit
    • Chewy routinely has great clearance items and their “Today’s Deals” section appears to change at least every couple of days

A Recent Shopping Example

I very recently needed to place an order with Thriving Pets and here’s how I saved some money. In this example I effectively received 5 free IV extension lines, and saved an addition $0.35 on top of that.

  1. Added the Winged Infusion Sets first – those are the needles I like
  2. Added a jar of Aluminum Hydroxide – I was almost out and would need a replacement very soon
  3. See that I’m not over $100 for my order, so I can’t get free shipping or save any money using my promo code
  4. Add the IV extension sets until my total is over $100 – I use these all the time
  5. Apply my promo code
  6. See that I’ve now got free shipping, my total order is just over $100, and all the lines I added saved me more money than they cost
    1. Total line cost = $11.00
    2. Total savings for getting over $100 = $11.35