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Where to buy supplements in the UK?

Messages
3
Location
Scotland
Hi, I'm new to the PR forum and want to buy some supplements recommended under the FREDDDs protocol. Just wondered before I scoure the web for UK suppliers if the forum has an arrangement with a UK based company similar to that you have with Pro Health, where our purchases help out the Phoenix Rising web-site? Thanks
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
Just FYI (and being aware that this is not an answer to your question)If you are a member of AFME plus some other charities you can get discounts of around 20-25% from Nuricentre
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Hi muppet - I don't know about benefitting PR etc. but you might find this post that I wrote helpful in sourcing stuff online in the UK for Freddd's protocol. Other UK people added some more info in response, if memory serves.

If you're buying anything from Amazon, ME Research UK get a cut if you follow the link from their website (5 to 9%).

Happy shopping!
 

Jenny

Senior Member
Messages
1,388
Location
Dorset
I get most things from iherb in the US, even though I'm in the UK. Even with postage charges they usually work out quite a bit cheaper, though you have to make sure you keep the order under 15 to avoid import tax and customs charges.

Jenny
 

aprilk1869

Senior Member
Messages
294
Location
Scotland, UK
Be careful of companies that look like their based in the UK but aren't. I got stung by puritanspride.co.uk as they're actually in the US and it took ages for the order to arrive plus I had to pay additional fees.
 

Abha

Abha
Messages
267
Location
UK
I can second what you have stated april1869.The same thing happened to me(with Puritan Pride).It took ages trying to get it sorted out.The people representing them in UK were terrible(tried to fob me off) and I had to contact the Head Office in USA.I was landed with additional costs too.The Trading people(UK Govt)said there was nothing they could do as a .co.uk website doesn't mean it is based in UK.Be warned!!!!
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
I get most things from iherb in the US, even though I'm in the UK. Even with postage charges they usually work out quite a bit cheaper, though you have to make sure you keep the order under 15 to avoid import tax and customs charges.

Jenny

I just received my first order from iherb, and it arrived within a few days of placing the order - surprisingly quick. They have a good reputation.
 

natasa778

Senior Member
Messages
1,774
I second that re buying bulk - it saves loads of money! I use myprotein.co.uk - for example 250g (20) of acetyl-carnitine etc will last you forever, whereas buying 20 bottle of caps won't stretch a month or so. Just get some empty caps from ebay shops or somewhere and fill if the taste is not great.

mandimart.co.uk has some sups that can be hard to find in the UK
 

Lala

Senior Member
Messages
331
Location
EU
I buy from www.swansonvitamins.com , but I am recently very angry with our customs. I calculate that the price I paid is twice as high as listed price of the product due to so many taxes and charges. Disgusting. I would like to buy in Europe but I do not where. No one has such low prices and such a big range of products as Swanson has.
 

Calathea

Senior Member
Messages
1,261
Here are a few of the places I buy from:

Bodykind (general supplements)
Muscleform (D-ribose and such)
JG Supplements (particularly for NOW brand)
Healthspan (few bits and bobs, cheap borage oil for instance, though I have no idea how good their quality is)
Revital (not always the cheapest, and several major brands missing, but worth a good look through to check)

eBay and Amazon are always worth checking for good prices as well.

There are one or two others which I use regularly, and no doubt I'll remember them in the middle of the night when the computer is turned off.
 

aprilk1869

Senior Member
Messages
294
Location
Scotland, UK
I buy from www.swansonvitamins.com , but I am recently very angry with our customs. I calculate that the price I paid is twice as high as listed price of the product due to so many taxes and charges. Disgusting. I would like to buy in Europe but I do not where. No one has such low prices and such a big range of products as Swanson has.

http://www.healthmonthly.co.uk/ has a lot of Swanson's products and they're based in Jersey. I bought from them once last year and I was pretty happy with their service however you should expect to wait over a week for delivery.
 

Calathea

Senior Member
Messages
1,261
I just got stung by customs as well. I'm fairly sure that the amount I paid in dollars came to under 15 when I bought the product a fortnight ago, but I've just checked with a currency convertor and it's 15.84. Either the exchange rate has changed a bit over the last fortnight, or I was a doofus and forgot to double-check the cost when I finally paid, although I do remember checking fairly often at the time when contemplating which products to buy. The customs charge is 11.13 of which 8 is a "handling fee". HMRC says it doesn't refund "agents' fees", which is probably the handling fee, so even if I could prove that it was under 15 when I bought it, it doesn't seem worth claiming for. I'm not keen on buying from abroad again. If you do risk it, leave yourself a good margin for error in case the exchange rates change and something suddenly ends up being liable for customs charges when it wasn't at the time of purchase.
 

maryb

iherb code TAK122
Messages
3,602
Location
UK
Been there on that one Calathea - makes one very angry, we pay the same in s over here that supplements cost in $s in the US but trying to save ourselves money often costs more. I too have shied away from anything costing over 15 but to be got for 84p must hurt...... the costs of buying in Europe are laughable for some things, no bargains to be had for many of the supplements we need.
 

Calathea

Senior Member
Messages
1,261
Weirdly, now that I've tried to pay three times online and then spent ten minutes wading through a nightmare telephone tree (great fun with auditory processing disorder) to get the payment through, I've stopped sulking. Probably because by the end of it, I was seriously worried that my Visa card had been stopped or something, and it was a relief just to get it finished.

I remember that I looked up quite a few supps and kept on comparing them in different ways, and then placed the order fairly quickly because my support worker was here, and I wanted to get it done before I forgot without wasting too much of her time. I must have done the currency calculations early on but forgotten to check them right at the end. That'll teach me.

Anyway, it's a tenner that I really could have done with, and this has come to a lot of money for two supplements which may not even work out for me, but hey, it happens. I think people reading this might now understand why so many of us in the UK are unable to afford the enormous supplement regimes that are often recommended on this board, and don't react well to "oh no, you shouldn't take that type of B12/magnesium/whatever which you've just bought in bulk, you should take another type which is recommended on page 56 of a long and complex thread"! I'm starting to think that we should start a swap shop for people who buy an entire bottle of something and then discover early on that they can't tolerate it.

On the other hand, it's approximately the amount of money I've saved by getting a free box of Echiomega from Igennus due to filling out their online questionnaire. The offer runs for all of their supplements, including the popular Vegepa, and you should be able to find the survey here.