Little Bluestem
All Good Things Must Come to an End
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- 4,930
Do you know the serving size for this or how dark (%cocoa)?
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- Thread starter Johnmac
- Start date
Sorry, don't know how dark - but the serving size for the above DVs is 100g.
MeSci
ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
- Messages
- 8,231
- Location
- Cornwall, UK
I think it varies a lot - you have to look at each example. It looks as though the cocoa content tends to be a lot lower in the US, from what I have seen, but I could be wrong.
Although I used iHerb for many years (and am a member of their VIP program), I found out a while ago that Amazon usually beats them in price - often by a significant amount. This is especially true if you are able to get a supplement under Amazon's Subscribe & Save program, which deducts either 5% or 15% from the price, depending on whether you have at least five Subscribe & Save items in your monthly order. On top of that, if you are in the U.S.and use Amazon Prime (which has many benefits besides shipping), you're eligible for the Amazon Prime Store Card, which gives you an automatic rebate of 5% on all of your Amazon store purchases. When you add up all of these discounts, you can save quite a bit of money.
Normally, I like supporting independent retailers like iHerb, but when I'm on a limited budget and Amazon can save me hundreds of dollars a year, my financial situation makes Amazon the place for me to go for most supplements.
Normally, I like supporting independent retailers like iHerb, but when I'm on a limited budget and Amazon can save me hundreds of dollars a year, my financial situation makes Amazon the place for me to go for most supplements.
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Kathevans
Senior Member
- Messages
- 689
- Location
- Boston, Massachusetts
While I do have Amazon Prime, I haven't gone to the trouble of adding the extra program or card, but it sounds like it could be a value. Also I've noticed that iHerb has recently instituted a 10% bonus in future dollars for current purchases. This can also bring the prices back down. It looks as if there's more competition for our bucks, which is always a good thing!
I find the best prices are at Total Heath but their service was so bad I switched to iherb's higher prices because their service is so good.
I placed a big order with Total Health several years ago and they left out a big container of whey protein. When I called to tell them they had to research it and check the weight of the box they shipped. They called me the next day and told me they couldn't tell what happened but kind of implied I was lying. They were rude and reluctantly told me they'd send another and that I ordered too many items! Telling a customer they order too much, wow, now that's good business practices. Wellll, I said, nooo problem, how about NO items!
Total Health also took too long to ship items and everything was on back order. But I have noticed that now they list how many items they have in stock and when I occasionally make a small order from them for a few things I can't get at iherb they are sending it more quickly.
I placed a big order with Total Health several years ago and they left out a big container of whey protein. When I called to tell them they had to research it and check the weight of the box they shipped. They called me the next day and told me they couldn't tell what happened but kind of implied I was lying. They were rude and reluctantly told me they'd send another and that I ordered too many items! Telling a customer they order too much, wow, now that's good business practices. Wellll, I said, nooo problem, how about NO items!
Total Health also took too long to ship items and everything was on back order. But I have noticed that now they list how many items they have in stock and when I occasionally make a small order from them for a few things I can't get at iherb they are sending it more quickly.
- Messages
- 59
- Location
- Hawaii
If you're in the US, the site PureFormulas often has better prices than iHerb or Vitacost depending on what exactly you're buying (as a self-employed artist, I've always been an avid comparison shopper).
As for the tip on buying in bulk from China, my concern wouldn't just be buying something "fake" but moreso that they have such an appalling lack of regulations (not just on food) and thus are contaminated with chemicals (accidentally and on purpose as a way of "disposing" of waste (remember the baby formula tragedy??)) that I refuse to buy anything coming from China, especially given my already compromised health. (I have an artist friend who now has brain damage due to ordering artist canvas from Dick Blick as she always did but they changed their supplier to China unbeknownst to her and the canvases off-gassed a toxic chemical in her studio! (drywall from China is another horrible thing - Google Florida Chinese drywall if you're interested))
Anyway, sorry for the ramble but when you're dealing with already compromised immune systems, there is such a thing as too cheap to be worth the risk.
As for the tip on buying in bulk from China, my concern wouldn't just be buying something "fake" but moreso that they have such an appalling lack of regulations (not just on food) and thus are contaminated with chemicals (accidentally and on purpose as a way of "disposing" of waste (remember the baby formula tragedy??)) that I refuse to buy anything coming from China, especially given my already compromised health. (I have an artist friend who now has brain damage due to ordering artist canvas from Dick Blick as she always did but they changed their supplier to China unbeknownst to her and the canvases off-gassed a toxic chemical in her studio! (drywall from China is another horrible thing - Google Florida Chinese drywall if you're interested))
Anyway, sorry for the ramble but when you're dealing with already compromised immune systems, there is such a thing as too cheap to be worth the risk.
Kathevans
Senior Member
- Messages
- 689
- Location
- Boston, Massachusetts
I have an old friend-architect in Florida who was caught up in this international mess--hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and a hundred or more condo buyers suing because they couldn't live in the condos they'd bought. Years of stress for my poor friend, and as far as my husband knows, it was a sub-contractor whose insurance paid the exorbitant bill. Not the Chinese.