I thought with T-day coming up, a post on saving taxes might be apropos. Not saving on those taxes, unfortunately--but sales tax. Not everyone can live in (sales) tax-free bliss like they do in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon.
While researching tax-free, free-delivery options for my beloved Atkins bars, I was astonished not only by the prices drugstore.com offers--$6.15 for what my local store charges $8.49--but that it was, indeed, tax-free (for Illinois) and offered free shipping to boot. In addition, they offer great sales, specials, "deal of the day" promos, loads of coupons, and 5% back on "eligible products" which pretty much covers everything except prescription drugs, magazines, and gift cards.
Between my Atkins bars, paper products (napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, etc.), hygiene products (soap, toothpaste, mouthwash, anti-persperant, shampoo, conditioner, razors, lotion), feminine protection, laundry products and cleaning supplies, over-the-counter stuff like cold medicine and pain reliever, sugar substitute, and kitchen foil, wrap, and baggies, I figure we burn a hundred a month, easy, which means a savings of $10 a month/$120 a year just on not paying sales tax. Add an additional $60 for the 5% "drugstore dollars" cash-back program, and we're looking at $180 annual savings, not counting any specials or coupons or savings due to lower-priced items. In the order I placed, I got an additional $6.00 off in coupon for the products I was buying. There is also a promotion to receive a $50 credit when you use drugstore.com's pharmacy to fill prescriptions.
Price is one thing--but what about customer service? I got my delivery within days, nicely packed and nothing was damaged. I was however, unhappy with two items I ordered--through no fault of drugstore.com. One was a razor that would be quite effective as a torture device; the other was a hereto untried Atkins bar. "It made me retch," I told the customer service agent, after debating whether or not "gag" was a more delicate word choice. No problems--drugstore.com immediately emailed me a label for free shipment and return of the noxious bars and torture device, thus earning top billing on my hero list this month.
