In an attempt to save money, more and more people are doing this. I know of people here on PT that do - myself included.

I have never had a problem buying and receiving what I expected that I was paying for. Many sites have very good prices, and much cheaper than you can purchase from your vet - and it's the genuine article - I read the small print looking for discrepancies. I purchase Advantix flea med for the dogs from a place in Australia. I save a bundle over what I have to pay at the vet, even when I have to pay a max of $4.95 for shipping, and they also have specials that offer free shipping too. I still buy the pup's Heartguard Plus thru the vet, since she is just as cheap, if not cheaper than any site I have found. Can't figure that one, but I'm not about to question it.

So when Myndi became sick recently, her vet put her on Hi-Vite Drops, a high potency vitamin supplement fortified with liver and iron. It's a little pricey - $10.75 for a 1oz. bottle, and on the front of the box it specifically says Sold Exclusively Through Veterinarians".. Being curious to see if I could purchase it on line, by some chance, I Googled it and found it available. The first place that listed it as being available that I checked was Amazon.com - and sure enough - there it was at about half the price I had paid. I thought I had struck paydirt - same box, same name - but wait - a different pharmaceutical manufacturer and I noticed that the logo on the front of the box was different. Of course, they post a fuzzy pic in hopes that no one will notice I suppose. Ok - red flags are flying, so I go the ingredient analysis and start comparing what I have, to what's being sold by this knock-off. Incredible - the potency of the on line one, was a fraction of the one that I have. This may be all well and good as a regular supplement for a healthy animal, but for a sick animal such as Myndi is/was, it would do her almost no good at all. Glad that I'm so picky at times, and take the time to read into things, otherwise I probably would have been suckered into this one.

Just a little info and a "buyer beware". The outside packaging may look almost identical, but it's what's inside that counts. Read, so that you are getting what you think and assume that you're buying. It could be a matter of your pet's health that is at stake.

And one thing that I don't understand - how can this knock-off get away with selling under the same name??? Doesn't sound legal to me.