Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Hello.

I live in Finland where Supplements are available, but super expensive. I know that in the US we can order them online and have them shipped much cheaper than at the store.

Any suggestions on this here in Europe/Scandinavia?

Thanks,

Trent

flag	asked Nov 24 2011 at 7:24 trentasaurus 1,044●1●13

My advice - don't buy them in Europe. Order in bulk from the US or Canada to negate paying multiple, hefty shipping costs. I live in Germany and the supplements I take are much, much more expensive here. On more than one occasion, I've had the pharmacist tell me to order from the US when I balked at the price they offered. This just recently happened while looking for Vitamin K2 here. Good luck! – Nate Nov 24 2011 at 8:08

Karoliina · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-24 08:11:08Z UTC

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Many Finns, myself included, order their supplements from http://www.iherb.com. It's best to keep the price of your orders under $80 so you can avoid your shipment getting stuck in the customs office in Finland. (Not 100% sure about the price limit though, somewhere I read it's 50€, other sites say 75€...) International Airmail shipping is $4 for orders weighing max. 1 lb and costing max. $80.

answered Nov 24 2011 at 8:11

Karoliina
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And I know nothing about customs costs in Finland ;) Didn't think of that! – Nate Nov 24 2011 at 8:15

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Nate, it can happen in Germany, too. Packages from outside of the EU (if not gifts) go through customs and if the value is high enough, you'll have to pay some taxes... – LauraFIN Nov 24 2011 at 8:20

I am in the UK and get most of my supplements from iherb. Prices compare well with local sources and, of course, some supplements are hard to source from UK retailers. Many or most supplements in the UK have been imported anyway, so having to pay shipping from the US, customs duty and VAT is part of why they are expensive from retailers. – panteleimon Nov 24 2011 at 12:01

I live in finland and also buy all my supplements from iherb. Its alot cheaper than local pharmacy, like nearly 100% :O – Jan Nov 24 2011 at 14:23

I'm from Belgium, I too buy in bulk from iHerb. Occasionally use amazon. – Korion Nov 24 2011 at 18:50

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Wisper · Answer 2 · 2011-11-24 08:44:28Z UTC

I'm a Finn living in the Netherlands. I get all my supplements from myprotein.co.uk. I don't have to worry about customs, shipping is reasonably priced, as are the products, some of them independently tested for quality. For example, they sell a package of 5,000 (yes, five THOUSAND) fish oil caps for the price of a few hundred caps from a local "health" food store.

I buy a lot of stuff online. Packages outside of EU will get stuck in customs if shipped to Netherlands or Finland - and most likely other EU countries - most of the time if the value is 50-100 EUR or higher. It has become a big boost in tax income for EU governments due to the popularity of the web and ease of shipping, so they are understandably quite vigilant about it.

Marking a package "gift" when it's not is fraud, so few companies do that. Customs officials are not idiots: they know that a package from a company is not a gift. Besides, gifts are not exempt from customs and duties.

gydle · Answer 3 · 2011-11-24 11:31:41Z UTC

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Invite friends from the US to visit you. Tell them you'll cook lots of really great meals for them while they're staying with you. If they ask you if there's anything they can bring...

answered Nov 24 2011 at 11:31

gydle
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Dara · Answer 4 · 2012-03-07 05:30:47Z UTC

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I buy my supplements from iHerb.com. I try to order goods for less than 50€ so I don't have to pay customs fee. No problems so far. Great site, code SIT395 will give you 5$ off you first order.

answered Mar 7 2012 at 5:30

Dara
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Any Europeans Have Supplement Advice?

4 Answers