My little JRT, Pip, has recently been diagnosed as having IBS and we're trying her on the Royal Canin hypoallergenic dog food. I was charged £14.99 for 2 kg which is expensive but not way out.

However, on investigating this morning when I went to the vets to get some more, I was quoted £44 for 7kg and £74 for 14kg - if I go to Vet UK I can get 7kg for £32 and 14kg for £56!!!!! This is a big difference in cost and I was just wondering if anyone knows why this is the case?

Same reason you can get wormers like Drontal from vet-medic for half the price vets charge, rip-off.
Chris

No thats rubbish they are not ripping anyone off. THey simply have higher overheads in a vets practice than an internet "warehouse" pharmacy. A vets can not even buy in some of the products for the prices that internet pharmacies sell things for. At the end of the day a vets practice also has to make a little bit of profit, is that such a crime?

I think that I once heard that vets make an 80% profit from the food they sell in their practice.  Could be a lot of nonsence though.

I was told that my dog would be on a prescription diet for life, that it had to be the specific one the vet supplied.  Absolute tosh! He's been on a fabulous affordable food with no problems for a couple of years now.

>I think that I once heard that vets make an 80% profit from the food they sell in their practice.  Could be a lot of nonsence though.

It is a lot of nonsense. The profit margin is about £4 on a £40 bag of food.

> This is a big difference in cost and I was just wondering if anyone knows why this is the case?

Can you ask your vets?

Hopefully you don't have to buy from them in future :)

Not true i am afraid  they have quite a big mark up on food !

> Not true i am afraid  they have quite a big mark up on food !

Just like different shops sell the same thing for different prices then so do vets. Therefore it follows some will add a bigger margin to food than others and in the vets JG works in it is about £4 others will have different experiences.

> A vets can not even buy in some of the products for the prices that internet pharmacies sell things for

lucyandmeg
You are right there.  As my vet knows that I Panacur a bitch in whelp, and pups done as directed, I get through quite a bit of it.  He asked me if he could supply it to me - at a discount.  When I told him what I was paying from an online pharmacy, he looked awed, and said that he couldn't touch that price!

I stand corrected , most vets have a big mark up on food , well done jg vets for selling it at a reasonable price , the vets i deal with everyday charge alot more.

I work at a vets and i can assure you the mark up on food is not that much, certainly not 80%, it isn't really much at all, especially when you consider thats paying for staff, buildings, upkeep of equipment, etc.
I get all my stuff at cost price too and i can get it for a similar price from internet pharmacies, which would mean that the vets would make absolutely nothing by selling it at that price. If they didn't have any profit you wouldn't have a vets to treat your animals, simple as that!

<If they didn't have any profit you wouldn't have a vets to treat your animals, simple as that!>

But, they charge more than enough for each consultation (at least my Vet's do - £25 to walk through the door), without bumping up the cost of prescription medication and food. Here's an example: online pharmacies charge approx £25 for Charlie's Vivitonin. My Vet's charge around £45!

> which would mean that the vets would make absolutely nothing by selling it at that price. If they didn't have any profit you wouldn't have a vets to treat your animals, simple as that!

I'm fairly sure that the vets manage to survive on consultancy fees too...

Vets cannot buy in the products as cheaply as the online Pharmacies do as they cannot buy the bulk required to achieve the biggest price reductions from the manufacturers.
Your £25 consultation fee has to go towards paying the vets wage the receptionists wage possibly a nurses wage the lighting and heating costs the upkeep of the equipment and premises and dont forget the percentage that is VAT that goes to the tax man. 
I don't think many professional buisness people then give the materials they use free of any mark up a solicitor charges you a consultation fee and then doesnt write letters on your behalf  at cost do they and I'm sure the mark up is far greater on a piece of paper or two some ink an envelope and a stamp.
All business people have to balance the books and vets are no different  they cannot effectively treat the animals brought to them if they can't make ends meet.

>Your £25 consultation fee has to go towards paying the vets wage the receptionists wage possibly a nurses wage the lighting and heating costs the upkeep of the equipment and premises and dont forget the percentage that is VAT that goes to the tax man.

Plus not many online pharmacies have to pay someone to be on call 24/7 in case your pet is ill or has an accident.

Well said satin collie.
At the end of the day vets are businesses all the same. They aren't doing it simply for the love of the job any more than doctors are, its jsut the NHS pays for that so we don't realise the costs involved. Sure they love the job but they are primarily a business. You consultation fee witll include hundreds of different different things you probably haven't even thought about, who pays for the line rental so that you can phone up and book and appointment? Who pays for the computer system that keeps your records easily accessible? Who pays for the receptionist to answer the phone? Who pays for your booster reminders to be posted to you? Who pays for the 24 hours call service available? What about building rates etc? When i take my car to the garage i know that i'll be charged for the sevice they do, the time it takes and the parts the use. I would be very surprised if there was no mark up on the parts as well! I choose to have a car and thats the price i pay to keep it on the road.
Much the same way you choose to have animals and you have to accept that it costs money to provide good veterinary care. Nobody makes you buy these products from your vets if you don't like the cost!

>A vets can not even buy in some of the products for the prices that internet pharmacies sell things for

>As my vet knows that I Panacur a bitch in whelp, and pups done as directed, I get through quite a bit of it.  He asked me if he could supply it to >me - at a discount.  When I told him what I was paying from an online pharmacy, he looked awed, and said that he couldn't touch that price!

If this is the case, what is to stop vets buying from the online pharmacies?  surely they have a duty to buy a product at the best price they can find - the same as any other business? 

Re cars at the garage - our garage charges for the time taken to do the work and the service given - they don't put 'extra' on the price of the parts that are ordered in to use on my car, they also will know exactly where to buy the parts at the best price ;)   They wouldn't last long around here marking up parts which are needed for a job.   But then there are far more garages here than vets.  

I really don't begrudge paying the Vet's and know I couldn't do without their services, and don't mean it to sound like that if that is how it sounds. BUT, I really do feel they make enough money out of the consultations WITHOUT charging huge amounts for the drugs/food. I know I don't have to get the medication from them, but then they also charge £10.50 for a prescription (which still works out cheaper). They say that that cost is to cover them for time spent by the Vet to check the medication is correct and the right dosage etc. Well £10.50 for less than 5 minutes work seems a pretty high price to me. I've never yet met a poor Vet and I'm sure I've paid for my Vet's second home in Portugal!

<<Vets cannot buy in the products as cheaply as the online Pharmacies do as they cannot buy the bulk required to achieve the biggest price reductions from the manufacturers.>>

Like Dill says, what is stopping them purchasing from the online pharmacies themselves?

WHat would be the point? they would buy it for the price you are paying and then have to put a mark up on it anyway, so how would that benefit the client if they can choose to buy it elsewhere?!
You may have never met a poor vet, but in comparison to some of the other highly skilled jobs they aren't as well paid at all. How does a vet differ from a GP, apart from the fact that it requires a lot more training, longer hours and having to do surgery as well as consult for a wide range of species and yet the pay is a lot lot less! If you lot realised how little vets surgeries actually make you might realise that they aren't trying to shaft you at all, merely make a decent living like everybody else.

>Re cars at the garage - our garage charges for the time taken to do the work and the service given - they don't put 'extra' on the price of the parts that are ordered in to use on my car, they also will know exactly where to buy the parts at the best price    They wouldn't last long around here marking up parts which are needed for a job.   But then there are far more garages here than vets.<

I can almost gurantee they will have marked up the prices of the parts they fit to your car, most garages will buy a part in at 'trade' price, and charge it on to the customer at the retail price. I agree that a good garage will have a few suppliers to be able to get a competitive price for the part, but they will certainly put something on top, anything from 5% to 50% depending on the trade price.

>Like Dill says, what is stopping them purchasing from the online pharmacies themselves?

When I've enquired I was told that they only supply retail customers, not the trade.

>They say that that cost is to cover them for time spent by the Vet to check the medication is correct and the right dosage etc.

It won't be the pharmacist who gets struck off if they fill an incorrect script.

But, they charge more than enough for each consultation (at least my Vet's do - £25 to walk through the door), without bumping up the cost of prescription medication and food. Here's an example: online pharmacies charge approx £25 for Charlie's Vivitonin. My Vet's charge around £45!

Then do what I do and ask your vet for a prescription, so you can get it online. My dog's medication costs £84 per month if I get it from my vet. He now does me a prescription worth two months, costing £11.50, and I get the medication for £50 per months instead, add £6.25 for the prescription - and I save almost £30/month!

Vera

Precisely, you have the choice where you get it from so you can't really grumble about their prices, no one makes you pay the medication prices they charge.

I do get it from Vet-Medic, 3 months worth at a time - I was just giving an example of the vast difference in costs.

My Vets are very good and will price match internet prices for medicines - not sure about foods  but I'm sure that it is worth asking your vet?

hi my vets used to give free prescriptions but now charges me for prescriptions to go and get  my drugs cheaper elsewhere where is the sense in that!!!! i think there are vast price differences from vet to vet and whilst i agree they have to make a living  they must also realise we are trying to do the same thing

> my vets used to give free prescriptions but now charges me for prescriptions

all vets were legally required to give free prescriptions untill (I think) Oct 08 after which they were allowed to charge.
The charge varies considerably - my vet charges £2.50 and will do a script for up to 6 months, others on here have quoted charges up to about £15 and only 1 or 2 months.
Chris

Just spotted your answer in passing. I have 5 tiny puppies to take for their first shots. It will take the vet about 5 minutes and I will pay £125 for the session - or thereabouts. How can this be justified. The drugs aren't this expensive.  Also, every visit, no matter what the purpose or time it takes costs between £25 and £40. Even for just a follow up visit.  Another thing - why does it cost TWICE as much for a castration of a tiny breed dog as it does for a cat weighting much more????  These things are what makes us cross about vets fees.  I'll get off my soap box now and get back to looking for what I was doing before.

>It will take the vet about 5 minutes and I will pay £125 for the session - or thereabouts.

Each puppy will have to be checked over to ensure it's healthy enough to be vaccinated. It will undoubtedly take your vet a lot longer than 5 minutes - I expect you've been booked in for half an hour at least.

personal I love my vets and highly recommend them to anyone. 

If your animal has to go in for an op you are charged a price and that includes any follow ups or removal of stitches etc.  One of my cats was once run over and they checked him and as he was fine just a little bruised they didnt charge me anything.  If we take the whole tribe in for their jabs (5 in total) we get a discount plus the vets are lovely as are the vet nurses and cant do enough for you.

i found it cheaper online at first then i found a farm shop in kent near my mums van and it cheaper still x

"Another thing - why does it cost TWICE as much for a castration of a tiny breed dog as it does for a cat weighting much more????  These things are what makes us cross about vets fees.  I'll get off my soap box now and get back to looking for what I was doing before. "

It costs more to neuter a small breed dog then a cat, as a cat neuter is done under heavy sedation, out in the main prep room. It takes around 5-10 minutes, and is known as an un-sterile procedure due to the location of a cat's testicles to its bum.

A dog castrate is given a proper anaesthetic, nurse time is spent clipping the hair from the testicles, and the dog is then taken into theatre for a *sterile* operation. The procedure is sterile as a dog's testicles are much further from a dog's bum.

Try ASKING your vet for the reason for differences in fees and stop presuming vets are out to rip you off.

These assumptions make me cross about clients. Very quick to jump to criticise you, and very slow to actually praise.

And now I'll get off MY soapbox

It takes several years to train as a vet and getting into veterinary college is notoriously difficult - 3 straight 'A's at 'A' Level first sitting (no retakes) and then there's still no guarantee of a place.  Vets are in some senses more qualified and skilled than doctors - just look at what they have to do - their training is certainly longer.   If you look at their treatment and compare it to the actual cost of medical care for a human you are actually getting a good deal.  Vets not only have to pay themselves but their staff and other overheads such as rent, council tax, utilities etc. etc. and if I had to go to college for seven years I would certainly expect to be earning a reasonable salary.   I am a member of one of the main professions and I certainly expect a certain level of income in return for four years training and my dedication to the job - shouldn't a vet be entitled to this too?  Professionals don't work nine to five and switch off at the end of their working day and it is often difficult, skilled and stressful work - there has to be some financial reimbursement for that. 

My vet is excellent and I have been with him for 22 years now.  During this time he has saved several of my animals' lives, or at least extended them (I had many different cats before Maisie and Billy) and he can, without fail, tell immediately exactly what any problem is.   I currently have an elderly cat whose life has been changed by early diagnosis of kidney problems and who has been prescribed forticor and a special diet.  All these people who are self appointed experts of animals are only too grateful for veterinary care when there is an emergency.

dog castration is a more difficult procedure than cat castration.  There is also a larger amount of anesthetic used and takes more time.