just another discertation

[davet]

A little dissertation on why vets charge more for drugs than petco , petsmart etc..i thought about this after lurking on another site..
We would buy say 100 units, i.e. bottles, packages, etc for $10 per unit, (these are just supposing numbers) and then would resell them at either $15.00 or 20.00 per unit…we would have to buy only a limited amount because of shelf-life or storage room etc.

Petco or petsmart or some of the online stores would by 1’000 to 10’000 units of the same drug or medication and that bulk purchase would only pay $5.00 per unit. They therefore could sell them at $7.50 to 10.00 per unit which is the same markup that the vet makes.

Thusly your vet, he/she is not trying to rip off the public but has to compensate for storage, repackaging, handling etc etc..

Have no idea what I am trying to prove but there must be some reason….

[Traci]

Plus, your vet buys from reputable pharmaceuticals. You don't know who the other outlets are buying from, as evidenced from the many lawsuits, foreign 'counterfeits' and mislabelled products. Ex, Frontline and Advantage were never intended to be sold outside of a veterinarian's prescription, that is still in effect today, but the pharmaceuticals can make an extra buck if they allow other pet businesses to buy at cost.

[TheSkeptic]

That is correct. I used to see the same thing when I was working as a mechanic. We could buy Spark Plugs cheaper from places like Woolco and GEX than we could from the factory. The reason being we were buying in lots of a 100 or 200, those companies were buying them in lots of a million or two.

Bulk Discounts really hurt the little guy.

[Rachel]

We buy almost all our meds from our Vet, but sometimes the "pet med" being prescribed is also a "people med" and when that's the case our Vet gladly gives me a prescription which I can get filled at our local pharmacy.

Since the pharmacy buys their meds in bulk they can offer much better prices than my Vet can, and our Vet is more than happy to help us save on the price when possible.

I think if people buy pet meds any other way than from their Vets or at the pharmacy with a Vet's prescription, they are taking a chance that the med they get will not be the best qualityand "Caveat Emptor" would then apply. (buyer beware)

[ragsjpause]

Personnaly, I buy from my Vet whenever possible , even at a higher price, to show a bit of loyalty and because I agree with a smaller business making at least a little profit to stay in business. I can always save money on other things in my life, but not for my little doggie. I think it's only fair to buy from the place that made the diagnosis correctly.

[BoxerTom]

davet,

I've also seen on several other sites the assertion that 30-35% of a vet's total income comes from vaccine boosters. Sounds ridiculously high to me - care to comment?

[Marty]

came from Winnie's surgery last week!!!! We feel like, with our 3 dogs, we alone are putting his kids through college!

[davet]

at least my income was office visits, wether we gave vacs or not..Surgery was the quickest source of income , ie on an hour basis we made more doing surgery but you can't do that 24 hours a day..a c-section at 2 am was mostly profit but less than a plumber would make going on a house call at 2 am and spending 2 hours on the call.

[Traci]

I agree with Davet, vaccs are hardly the main source of income. In our clinic, our emergency fees and surgery procedures are probably the main....income can be generated from puppy/kitten/new pet exams, wellness exams, dentals, senior wellness (blood profiles), heartworm prevention, retail, etc etc.

People who complain have no idea what it takes to run a veterinary hospital! It's not different than human hospitals, doctors must make a living, staff must be paid, equipment must be up-to-date and maintained, the pharmacy must be stocked and maintained, insurance, lease, you get the idea....When is the last time you saw too many vets driving mercedes, living at the golf course? Vets get twice the training/education in the field, work just as hard or harder than MD's and still they do not make as much as an MD.

[k9Karen]

Vets get twice the training/education in the field, work just as hard or harder than MD's and still they do not make as much as an MD.

While I agree their education is definitely equivalent to an MD, I find it difficult to believe it is twice as long. Plese correct me if I'm wrong. To get an MD it takes 4 years of college (the BA or BS), 3 years of med school, one year of internship, and a minimum of 2 years residency depending upon the specialty chosen (most are at least 3 years). I think pediatric neurosurgery is the longest residency - or at least it used to be - the MD must go through a surgical residency, a neurosurgical residency, a pediatric residency, and a peditric neurosurgery residency - when I first heard about this, the total residency time was something like 12 years. Most MD's, of course, don't have anywhere near that amount of time invested, but with most, it's a total ois at least 10 years post High School.