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You can save a significant amount of money when you buy OTC drugs online.
– This survey shows that it really pays to be a super consumer. Large sums can be saved by checking prices before buying drugstore products, says Anne Kristin Vie, director of issues at the Consumers Council.
The online newspaper Økonomi has verified online the price of a number of popular items from both the major players and the smallest ones. At present, the Norwegian pharmacy market is dominated by three large pharmacy chains: Apotek 1, Vitusapotek and Boots, which own the majority of the more than 900 pharmacies in the country.
In recent years, the search for new customers has spread to online stores. In addition to the three main chains, there are several players who only sell OTC drugs online.
The difference in price when checking the value of 16 items in seven online pharmacies shows that you can save around 800 crowns by choosing the cheapest player over the most expensive.
See the full price comparison below.
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Price war for painkillers
Online pharmacy Farmasiet created annoyance among professionals when they threw Paracet prices to NOK 10 in October. The price test of the online newspaper Økonomis shows that the prices of painkillers have dropped a lot from several players:
In the online stores Apotek 1, Apotek 123, Lynx and Apotera, a standard pack of Paracet 500 mg now costs around 30 crowns. At Boots and Vitusapotek, the packages cost NOK 46.9.
While Ibux costs 39 crowns in Farmasiet, a package costs around 50 crowns for Apotek 1, Apotek 123, Lynx, and Apotera players. Boots and Vitusapotek sell Ibux for NOK 99.90.
Pinex now also costs around 29 crowns on all players except Boots and Vitusapotek where it costs 45.90 and 44.90 crowns.
In kroner and øre, there are big differences between various individual products. Between the cheapest and the most expensive, there is a difference of, for example, NOK 110.90 in the Zyrtec allergy tablets. By buying Nicorette Nicotine Gum at Lynx, you can save NOK 95.90 compared to a purchase at Vitusapotek. In the Recrea Forte hair loss remedy, there is NOK 73.90 between Boots and several of the other players.
See the full price comparison here:
The only one of the top three drugstore chains that manages to keep up with prices from online players Apotera, Farmasiet and Lynx, is Apotek 1, which is on par with the competitors on most products.
– At Apotek 1 we want to be competitive both in pharmacy and online, and therefore our prices must also be adapted to the different formats, says Karina Søby Eidukaitis in Apotek 1.
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The pharmacy thinks the prices should have been lower
The pharmacy comes out the best in the price comparison and is the cheapest in three of the 16 products tested. Also, the online pharmacy has the lowest price along with one or more chains of eight products. Farmasiet manager Hans Kristian Furuseth says it’s not easy to operate as a player outside of the top three networks.
– We have three international chains that have a 95 percent market share. These are also the wholesalers, which means that everyone else has to buy products from them. Therefore, it is difficult to build outside, both because of its market power and because of regulations, says Furuseth.
The pharmacy manager believes that the purchase prices of the chains are not low enough. However, it lowers the price of popular products like Ibux and Paracet to levels that competitors have not yet been able to match.
– But if you get such bad purchase prices, why do you undo the price then?
– Good question. Of course, we have efficient logistics, but it is not free to send the goods to customers’ homes. It’s hard for me to say anything about what the pharmaceutical giants do with their prices, but we think our price level makes sense, says Furuseth.
DAILY MANAGER: Hans Kristian Furuseth is the General Manager of Farmasiet Online Pharmacy.
Photo: Veronica Mahiques / Farmasiet.no
– But don’t you see the troublesome aspects of ditching the prices of painkillers and drugs that can be addictive? Should it be a goal in itself to be as cheap as possible with this type of medication?
– The proper use of drugs is important. I think many consumers would have reacted if pharmacies had used the opposite reasoning; that drugs must be expensive to “protect” the consumer, says Furuseth and continues:
– Price cannot be used as a tool to achieve correct and safe use of medicines. Other tools work better, such as information and advice and products. You can get it both with us and in physical pharmacies. Other points of sale such as kiosks and grocery stores cannot inform and guide the use of medications.
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The Consumers Council: – Check the price!
Pharmacy giants Boots, Apotek 1, and Vitusapotek tell Nettavisen Økonomi that they note that competition online is tough.
– The authorities set prices for prescription drugs and Norway is among the cheapest in Western Europe. In the case of other products, we compete with other industries, such as groceries, gas stations, perfumeries and health foods, says Eidukaitis in Apotek 1.
– It is clear that there is a lot of competition in the market, and that means that you must constantly evaluate and re-evaluate your strategies to satisfy the customer in the best possible way, says Anne Margrethe Aldin Thune at Boots.
Consumers Council Director Anne Kristin Vie read the price comparison and points out several errors that she thinks pharmacy customers should be aware of.
– If you buy online, you should be careful to include the shipping costs in the price. The pharmacy has Paracet for ten crowns, but since you have to pay for shipping, it costs 99. Alternatively, you can make her buy more than necessary to avoid shipping. And it’s never profitable to buy something you don’t need, says Vie.
CTO Anne kristin Vie believes that pharmacy customers should be aware that price differences can be large online.
Photo: John Trygve Tollefsen (Consumer Council)
He also notes that several of the products are sold in grocery stores, where it can be cheaper than in drug stores. Also, he thinks it’s easy to believe that drugstores are generally cheap because you find a good price on a sale item.
– Check the price of what you should have with different competitors. For online stores, there are separate comparison services you can use, says the subject manager.
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