Development of E-Pharmaceutical Commerce
With the active development of the Internet, information society and its direct contribution to the economy, pharmaceutical e-commerce is paid more and more attention today. This type of medicines sale has tremendous success among the population, since because of the rapid pace of life and busy schedule, many people are less likely to visit retail local drug stores.
It is well known that an online store can be created by any schoolboy. Therefore, we do not know for sure whether an online pharmacy exists in reality or not, and it is quite difficult to verify this. In order to choose the product we are interested in, we enter the Canadain e-store “virtually” and without knowing if the specified product is offered in reality, as well as the way all claimed characteristics and photos correspond to reality. When buying goods online, it is often assumed that full or partial prepayment is required. It turns out that all money goes to the owner of an e-drug store in particular, who, having received an advance payment, may simply not send the medical products, or the ones with improper quality or another type.
And then the most interesting part begins: there is no written contract between a pharmacy and a buyer, there is no a receipt or any other confirmation of the purchase in case of which it will not be easy (or impossible) to defend one’s rights in court. Today fraud is the most common crime on the Internet. Luring customers, some online pharmacies have not only virtual showcases, but also prices, and sometimes even the goods themselves! In this regard, the problem of being deceived is very relevant for each of us. So, let’s figure out how to check online drug store for authenticity and timely to recognize scammers.
- Website of Online Canadian pharmacy
Website is a face of the company, and it is often possible to determine how many years the store works on the market, how well the business is going and whether the employees are serious about their clients. Qualitatively made website tells us about investing time and money in it which indicates reliability. But do not lose vigilance due to beautiful pictures and vows in exceptional decency. Also do not forget that a good store doesn’t admit any spelling mistakes (non-working links, sections with the statuses “on construction”), it is absolutely necessary to describe the payment methods and information about the delivery possibilities on the website. Moreover, information about the conditions of medicines return, product data sheets and the availability of product photos is essential. We advise you to pay attention to the presence of third-party banners, all kinds of advertising, and many different ratings. As a rule, large companies do not do such things.
- Quality of services
The only thing that we can rely on when choosing a product is photos. It is important that the image is of high quality. A medicine is to be shown from different angles and there is a possibility of specifying the details. Almost all original and branded things have a logo or the name of the manufacturer.
- Customer feedback
A very important point is a customer feedback. As a rule, most of online pharmacies provide their customers with an opportunity to leave feedback about their work. But this moment is also very ambiguous – it should be remembered that the reviews can be fake. Therefore, you need to pay attention if a company collects reviews independently or uses an independent platform for their collection. Often studying the reviews on the website of the store, we perceive them quite skeptical, especially if all of them are enthusiastic-positive. In order to get a real picture it is necessary to study reviews on various forums, sites, social networks, and this process takes a sufficient amount of valuable time. It turns out that sometimes it is easier to go shopping and buy the goods we are interested in than to waste time surfing for reliable information
To date, by using the system of independent client ratings of online pharmacies, it is able to provide objective information about their work: credibility, quality of goods, prompt delivery. And most importantly, it allows you to save time, as all the necessary information is posted on the website of the online store in the form of a widget. The principle of the system: one purchase – one estimate. According to this principle, you have the opportunity to leave a review about the work of Canadian e-drug store by invitation only which you receive upon the fact of making a purchase. The pharmacy cannot delete or edit your reviews, since they pass through the moderation of the system and have a clear separation: positive and negative. Thanks to the work of an independent system, there is no longer any need to reread the entire Internet in search of information about the reliability of the store. Moreover, the very presence of the widget on the website indicates that the company is transparent, client-oriented and can be trusted. An example of how an independent reliability widget can look on the website of an online store.
- Social networks
As a rule, today only a few large online stores do not have a page in social networks. Owners of online stores often try to focus their audience’s attention to the product being sold as much as possible, and create pages in popular social networks corresponding to its interests. It is worth remembering that the page should be “alive”, and hence the online store pays due attention to communication with potential buyers. Links to the official pages are usually located at the bottom of website on the main page and contain a back link to the website. Generally, the address of the page in social networks has the name of the drugstore.
- Information about the company and contacts
The pharmacy’s website should contain information about the company, its location and a number of contacts enabling to contact specialists in order to get answers to the questions of interest. Remember that the more ways to communicate, the better. For verification, before ordering, you can call the store and ask clarifying questions, it is desirable to find out some details related to the product (color saturation, size, and manufacturer’s country), at least to check if this phone number really exists. Online pharmacies indicate only email address that should make a customer think about whether it is worth making a purchase or not.
- Price
Overly low cost, especially compared to other stores offering a similar product, should challenge your mind. Getting caught at an attractive price, you can suddenly find out that it is obsolete and today this product costs 5-10% more. Or another option, some online pharmacies display all available positions of this group at an online storefront, and they answer the calls that, unfortunately, this model is not available at the moment. But there is another much higher quality which makes the product naturally a bit more expensive.
Conclusion: So, before you make a purchase at online drug store, do not forget to carefully study customer feedback about little-known stores. Try to learn about this online store as much as possible. Only thanks to comments from other customers (who made a purchase earlier) you will be able to determine for yourself all the pros and cons of a e-drug store. We do not recommend you to immediately trust shops that have dubious methods of payment (choose door-to-door delivery and payment on receipt or delivery by cash on delivery). When communicating with the store manager, try to ask more questions, and pay much attention to how much the person on the other side of the phone is polite, competent, benevolent and correctly expresses his or her thoughts. Also remember that now the schemes of scammers are actively used.
Taking prepayment, they literally dissolve in the air: the goods are not delivered, calls and letters are not responded, and money is not returned. The scheme of deception is simple: copies of really existing chain stores are created and they offer the same goods for a lower price, and after receiving money, they immediately disappear. If the real online pharmacies have a system of customer reviews, it is natural that you do not find a widget with customer scores or customer ratings. Pay attention to the cost, a questionably low price should make you think and remember that you get what you pay for.
10 Signs of Fraud
Here is a reminder to those who do not want to fall for the bait of medical scammers. Generally, manufacturers of medical products use any means to push their products in. They spell out in details supposedly miraculous properties of their remedies, which is often far from reality. They have no effect or can cause serious harm to health, plus a waste of money is considerable. But the most serious danger lies in the fact that, relying on false promises of pseudo-healers, a person refuses real medical help that he or she really needs. There is no one miraculous remedy, for example, for the treatment of diabetes, or cancer. Treatment of complex diseases usually requires the application of complex measures. Diabetes, for instance, is treated with oral medications, insulin injections, nutrition and dosage correction to control various pathological conditions. And if you are promised a remedy that will save you from problems within a couple of tricks (and for huge money) – do not believe it!
Here are 10 signals that indicate the danger:
- Promise of the impossible
There is no cure for old age. Accordingly, there are no tablets from age-related diseases – cardiovascular problems, dementia, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, etc. Turning the clock back is the promise of the impossible. Nevertheless, there is something you can do to make the aging process calm and gentle, for example, eat right, exercise, use sunscreen and avoid smoking. And all the wonderful remedies against aging promise the impossible and parasite on a man’s eternal desire to always remain a picture of Dorian Gray.
- Panacea
“Three in one” is not an option for a medication. There is no single medicine for arthritis, AIDS, cancer, etc. (in fact, there is no medicine for any of these diseases at all). All that we have is more or less effective meds to maintain a stable state of a patient. Any advertisement that offers a miraculous cure for all diseases is fraud. Such pseudo-agents include not only tablets, but also various analogues and generics. For example, some Canadian pharmacies offer a wonderful and expensive remedy for light therapy curing meningitis, Alzheimer’s disease, skin cancer and brain damage, as well as many other diseases. This is the trick of unscrupulous swindlers. It should be remembered that all medicines used for the treatment of any disease must obtain the permits and certificates from the relevant public health authorities. Without this, their sale is illegal.
- Be careful with food supplements
The most important thing that you need to know about food additives is that they do not undergo the same checks and the same control from the health care system as real medications. Food supplements are sold without a prescription and contain an unknown amount of amino acids, minerals, vitamins, enzymes, herbs and everything else. Because of the poor control of these substances, their manufacturers can give customers incredible promises, and it is just impossible to verify their credibility. And no food additives can cure cancer or AIDS. Another danger that we often underestimate is that food additives can react with other medications taken by a patient. And the consequences of these reactions cannot be predicted. Some supplements enhance the effect of drugs, others affect the absorption of other elements and metabolism in general. Be careful and always check the intake of such supplements with your doctor.
- False recommendations
Trader unchecked means often lure buyers with false recommendations. So the actor depicting the doctor, it is very possible to praise any remedy from the TV screen. Pseudo-patients claiming their miraculous healing are another favorite trick of scammers. For example, you can bring photos from the “before” and “after”, with the help of which the viewer is trying to convince the incredible effectiveness of remedies for losing weight. But do not forget that the same sharp weight loss for a short period of time is very dangerous for the body and can provoke the development of serious diseases. In general, do not trust too much praise and always consult real doctors.
- Money stimulation
When you buy a prescription medicine, does the pharmacist give you a small vial of the same medication at the pharmacy for free? No! And he does not even offer to return money if the medicine does not have the desired effect. So why are we so enthusiastic about the bonuses and discounts when buying doubtful remedies? Be careful! Do not trust such financial incentives.
- Trigger-words
The fact that some remedy is time-honored or 100% natural does not mean that it suits you. Cyanide, hemlock and belladonna, by the way, are also very ancient and natural, but they are one hundred percent deadly as well. Scammers often use beautiful words to give weight to the description of their drug, but do not be surprised if any of these “fast-acting” blisters with their “breakthrough in science” and secret formula will simply be a set of vitamins.
- “Only-with-us” availability
Genuinely effective drugs are usually available at any pharmacy or hospital around the world even without a prescription. But scammers, on the contrary, often convince buyers tall miraculous remedies can be bought only from them. If you suddenly get a wonderful pill that can restore your thinned hair to its former density and silky smoothness, and it is sold only in one place, there is an occasion to ponder whether this is a fraud.
- You must buy it urgently!
Many sellers of “miracle medicines” are fueling the situation with statements that the quantity of their goods is limited; and therefore, it is necessary to order it immediately. Beware of such calls for urgent purchases. Do not trust the sellers who demand to pay ahead and right now even if you are promised a tempting discount for this. By the way, officially 50 percent of low-quality medicines are sold via the Internet.
- No-risk promises
Virtually all drugs that have been clinically tested may have side-effects (after all, the medicine is a poison, just in scant amounts). These risks must be reported in the instructions to use of the drug. But if a drug is advertised as having no side-effects, it is certainly worth checking the information about it on other sources: is it really so harmless to health?
- Conspiracy theory
Many scammers claim that the government and pharmaceutical industry have conspired to close you access to a miraculous medicine for all diseases that has long been invented. With such conspiracy theories, drug-spirited merchants divert the attention of consumers from real-life medicines. Do not believe everything that you hear about all sorts of medicines. Be critical. Remember that counterfeit medicines are not only a waste of money, but also a health risk, so before you start taking any dubious remedy, consult your doctor.
- Attorney’s comments
“You must write an application to the police!” Alas, there is nothing new in these schemes; they have existed for dozens of years. Therefore, it is important to know all the schemes of swindlers, and if you were cheated, you must claim. For now, unfortunately, such schemes only generate a wave of distrust towards medicine and health system as a whole.