I’ve never ordered from India and at the same time had a prescription, so I’m not sure. But my understanding about imports of medications is that it only matters whether you have a prescription (or not) if you are having the product shipped by FedEx or DHL - they require the prescription (I think before you ship from India). Shipping by SpeedPostEMS doesn’t use a prescription at all - so its how I’ve always gotten my shipments.
I’ve never ordered and had shipped by DHL or Fedex so can’t comment on the specifics of that process, with regard to the prescription. Perhaps anyone who has here, can comment on the process…
Beware!
I was put in touch with APT labs via Indiamart for a GI med that I was attempting to order.
After receiving my order, APT shipped it using Allroutecourier.
The shipping company kept sending me tracking information and looked legitimate. It got suspicious because they started asking me for something called “ indemnity deposits “ for the various airport customs that it passed through. They said they wanted payment in cash via MoneyGram. I fell for this once, but they did this repeatedly.
So I’m assuming, but can’t prove, that the pharmacy is in cahoots with the courier, and it’s all a big scam to get repeated cash payments. It’s disappointing because I thought that indiamart vetted these pharmacies before recommending them. Certainly don’t trust Allroutecourier for any shipping.
This sounds a lot like the scam that some other people here have experienced… thus the reason we have the list of vendors above for vendors that don’t do this type of scam. Of course, some medications are not provided by this list of vendors. Here is the previous scam that sounds similar to your own. Always specify the mailing service as SpeedPost EMS I think. I’ve never had any problems with them. Scam Example: Issues with Canagliflozin import?
Yes. Thanks for that.
Unfortunately, my usual vendor for rapamycin didn’t carry the drug that I wanted.
I paid everything with a Visa card and they’re going to reimburse me.
I do feel that indiamart should vet these companies a little more carefully before recommending them
I’ll be certain to pick the shipping company in the future.
I have ordered successfully from NIBA Healthcare twice per @Desertshores recommendation. I am quite satisfied although due to customs laws in Hong Kong, I had to arrange for a courier to bring it over in carry on luggage.
I received my order on 1/6, paid for on 12/15 and mailed on 12/21, from Kacchela.
It entered US Customs on 12/31, exited on 1/4. Nothing on the outside said it was opened.
For anyone else ordering from the US for the first time, I’ve included USPS tracking history below, to get an idea of what it might look like. (I’d include from Indiapost, but site seems to be down.)
Weird that it says I signed for the package. I didn’t, it was left in mailbox. There was no requirement for a signature, in any case.
Around 12/25-26, there was some tracking info about flights to Frankfort and JFK, but that just disappeared shortly thereafter. I was thinking the package had been lost since there were no further updates for several days, and then it magically resurfaced in NY.
For those US-based, if you have a Vanguard account (and probably a certain level of funds there), you can do wire transfers over the phone at no cost. You will get asked the purpose of the wire (I said ‘pay for health products’), and also the US-based correspondent bank, which is JP Morgan Chase Bank - swift code CHASUS33
I’m trying to identify where I can buy the Zydus generic. I’m not seeing it in any of the Indian pharmacies. (I posted an example screenshot of what I’m seeing). Is Zydus referred to as something else? Thanks
The proper name is Zydus Siromus. Its the third one down on the right hand side of the image you posted (thats the old box design, they have a new design now). But in many cases you need to contact the pharmacies (listed at the top of this thread) and check on availability. Just because its not listed doesn’t mean its not available, and just because its listed does not mean its available.
My reasons for being vendor agnostic is that every order i have made has come through, from every vendor, without any problems. So they all have delivered what they say they will deliver. So now i just order based on price and availability. And i get quotes from a number if different vendors each order.
Another follow up. I received my package and it contained my 500 mg of biocon rapacan. It had clearly been opened by customs and the contents checked, but it passed the check and was still shipped to me.
I’m not sure this is a good thing, but Anil included a 10mg sample of siriboon rapamycin without requesting it. He also included a couple vitamin D supplements made by Kachhela.
Just purchased 250 tablets of 1mg rapacan from NIBA healthcare at 6.8$ usd per 10 tablets on 1/12/2023. The total price including shipping ( which was 40$) ended up being 210$. Will update when I receive them
I should note I negotiated the price down, as they originally offered 8$ usd per 10 tablets, but I told them I had offers for 7$ usd for tablets. Once I told them that, they responded with the 6.8$ usd per tablets.
update(1/13/2023): package shipped
Update(1/28/2023): I received my full shipment. Customs did open it, but they repackaged it and I got my full order.
Just running through the posts so far, it seems that the top 2 most popular pharmacies here on the forum are NIBA (aka Jagdish?) and Kachela. Does that seem accurate?
You know - I have no idea what the most popular are. I’ve tried about 6 different pharmacies and they have all come through, with no big issues. Its impossible to tell what is more popular because I’m sure most people who order don’t bother posting here.
I’ve never had an order go bad, or been confiscated. I recommend you just get price quotes from a few (3 or 4) of them and purchase from the lowest cost provider. You’ll find some don’t have the product you want, when you want it.
There honestly doesn’t seem to be much difference between the vendors, as one person here has mentioned, its a little bit like buying something off Craigslist… you’re emailing back and forth on pricing, you have to wire the money… its all a little more hassle than the typical Amazon.com purchase - and while some may be a little slower at times but its hard to know if that is due to India Post, or Covid supply chain issues, or something else… From these vendors listed above - unless you get unlucky with Customs, you’ll get your product. Be sure to get it shipped via SpeedPost EMS and make sure the vendor agrees to that.
Well, buying from India isn’t yet working for me. There seem to be a few hidden gotchas in the wiring process.
On 1/11 I wired $120 from my bank (a major bank, and it was a major pain) to Jagdish Nikose’s bank. My bank receipt for the wire confirmed the amount sent, beyond any fees. His bank’s fees were also listed.
He just wrote back today saying that he got $20 less than I sent. He’s offering to send fewer pills, or wait on me to send more money.
Many of you recommend Jagdish as trustworthy, so I have to assume that his bank ate more money than it said it would, not that he did. And I realize that there’s nothing I can do about that.
I asked him about the discrepancy. He said I didn’t pay all the fees. But I paid every fee shown to pay. If there were more fees, they were hidden. I would happily have paid more if I had known how much more to pay.
I’m debating what to do. Say to him “yes, send me what you can”. Or I could wire more. Or shift to Remitly or Wise. (I began by registering for Wise, but didn’t like how much personal information they were demanding, so I went to my bank instead. I haven’t tried Remitly yet.)
Still cheaper than USA Rx (assuming the shipment doesn’t get eaten by customs). Inclined to say “send what you can” and figure out how best to proceed after I get the shipment. Your thoughts welcome.
