There is no cool season in Mumbai, India, where most of my orders originate.
So, I try to at least not buy in the hot season of the Southwest, USA.
I just received my last order from India, and I will probably not order anything else from India until October.
The products from India apparently are not much worse for wear, as testified by the blood test results obtained by using India-sourced medications.
Well, the order I placed with Jagdish just went “Inbound Into Customs” as of 04/14/2025.
It’s just under $300. Now I’m curious to see if the 10% tariffs will apply to this package. I don’t know what Jagdish declared as the value, so we’ll see.
How long will it take to clear customs and if/what there will be any associated charges.
I’ll keep this updated.
I also have another package of the same meds being prepared by another vendor in India, so interesting what will happen there too.
UPDATE 1: the package has moved “Inbound Out of Customs” to “Jamaica NY International Distribution Center” so perhaps it’s at least out of customs and now it’s all about USPS doing their thing, hopefully smoothly.
So far, nothing different from every other package -
There is often a disjoint between what governments say is happening and what actually happens particularly when systems are changing. There are lots of reasons for this.
The only difference is that when we wrote “Obama” or “Obamacare” we didn’t have any fear openly expressing ourselves. Obama didn’t “hunt” those who disagreed with him. Now it’s different, isn’t it?
I asked this question in another thread but I’ll ask here…
I’m less worried about a tariff and more worried about China halting supplies.
I assume we should we safely assume that many of our US rx’s contain ingredients from China, right?
I’m thinking of using Good RX to buy a large quantity, maybe 12 months worth (is that too long regarding expiration dates? I assume it’s fine).
The only very expensive thing I use is Repatha. Due to that high cost, buying quantity does not sound appealing :). Of course a tariff on that would also be painful. Does anyone know how we can find out which drugs are sourced from China?
I’ve already reached out to my compounding pharmacy to find out what he might use.
no you are correct, the Obama admin only censored through social media, so who really knows who expressed themselves?
Its a really complex issue, to find out what drug (or drug components) are sourced from China; the Pharma companies in the USA are not likely to advertise this information.
China produces, I think, most (or at least a very large chunk of the APIs for generic meds) of the “APIs” , the “Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients” which are then purchased by the drug companies around the world to process into the final tablets, etc.
And most of the generic medications used in the USA are manufactured in India (I believe) and they source their APIs from China - so I don’t think the tariffs are not going to immediately stop us from getting generic medications given the supply chain linkages. And the tariffs on India are a lot lower, so that is a good thing.
But, I know of no way to figure out what the most at-risk pharmaceuticals are, but perhaps there are groups in the USA who are working this out and may publicize it.
And all the Gucci bags 
Living in China and knowing more about the Chinese government, I’d say you don’t have to worry about China not selling pharmaceutical related compounds. However you have to worry about the USA making them unbuyable by putting a 250%+ tariff on them.
That seems to be the thing I’d worry about. This is all getting quite ridiculous.
@RapAdmin thanks for educating me on the supply chain. Interesting, indeed.
@DeStrider, that is great insider perspective, thanks.
The positive of me worrying about this and looking at costs to buy a year supply with Good Rx, I discovered I’m going to do it anyway! If it protects me against tariffs, then all the better.
I’ll share incase this helps anyone
My 5 prescriptions from Rite Aid, using their negotiated price through my insurance, would cost me $2664.52, annually. (That is if I don’t meet my $8500 deductible)
Those same 5 prescriptions will cost me $414.29 for a years supply at Good RX. This is the bulk price when purchasing an entire year at once.
This also reflects the little extra discount you get when signing up for Good RX Gold. They offer a free 30 day trial.
I’m banging my head against the wall that I never looked at the numbers before. It’s so easy to not pay attention when not paying large sums every 30 days at the pharmacy.
ALERT!
Serious problems. I checked the progress of my package from Jagdish, and there in red, I saw
"Alert
Insufficient Address
ISC New York
NY(USPS), NY 11430
April 17, 2025, 6:04 pm"
In the side dialogue box it says:
"Latest Update
Your item was returned to the sender on April 17, 2025, at 6:04 pm at ISC NEW YORK NY (USPS), NY 11430 because of an incomplete address."
WTF?? This is a package Jagdish sent on April 5, 2025. He also sent me a photograph of the package with the address of both sender and destination clearly visible behind the transparent tape.
There is NOTHING wrong or incomplete with my address as shown in that photo. It even has my telephone number. I have received all my international and domestic packages and mail at this address for the 25 years I have lived at this address. I have also received multiple packages from Jagdish as well as multiple packages from other vendors from India at this address. Jagdish’s own address is also clearly visible and the same as all the other packages from him.
I don’t get it. Something is wrong somewhere. Are there cuts at the USPS package handling, and they’re just getting rid of packages by hook or by crook?
I am going to communicate with Jagdish, and have him resend the package once he receives it. Maybe by other delivery service? I’m at a loss as what to do here. There was no attempt by the USPS to contact me either by phone or letter, just sent back. This after it cleared customs and a few distribution centers both international and domestic.
I hope this is not a sign of some underhanded crackdown on packages fom India, just simple incompetence from the USPS. The mind boggles.
I expected many things, but not this particular curveball. Anyhow - alert, folks, it can go sideways through this method too!
UPDATE: I also called the USPS tracking number service, and as it was after hours, I was taken through the automatic process which gave me the same information and nothing more. The following morning, as soon they opened, I called again, got automated responses - they recognized that I called before, confirmed it’s about the same tracking number and said they have no additional information and to contact the sender. Meanwhile, upon being contacted, Jagdish said that as soon as he receives the package, he’ll resend it. I offered that I will naturally fully cover the additional shipping. Of course I am worried and wondering what is going to be different next time as I cannot make the address any more complete. Btw. my tactic of giving the same order to two different vendors was not enough. One has fallen silent for two weeks now and not sent the package (unless he comes up with a good explanation, this is the last time I’m using him, and will expose him here), while the Jagdish package has failed in the USPS system for unknown reasons. From now on, I will revert back to my first effort where I placed the same order with 3 different vendors in case two fail, and if all three fail, escalate to four. If four fail, I give up. Btw. I only deal with vendors who have positive testimony on this site. What the heck more can I do - this is ridiculous.
It’s highly unlikely that it’s intentional - that would be too much work. It’s possible that the OCR glitched and electronically tagged the package with “incomplete address.” I’ve had two bad glitches in the past 2 months with packages getting routed all over the country before making their way to me. One was an international shipment that went to a city by the same name but in a different state. It eventually reached me. Another was domestically shipped from a neighboring state but went back and forth between that state and another 1000 miles away two times before arriving in my city 5 miles from my house… and then they sent it to another state again before it finally came to me. There was nothing discernibly wrong with the label.
I will give everybody a couple other options. These are vendors that have Indian and/or Turkish warehouses but route the expensive items through another country that I will not name (just because we don’t want to tip off customs or the FDA). The packages are either reshipped by a service (slap a different label on) or they’re renting warehouse space in that country for the meds and paying someone there to package them. Either way, the packages get less scrutiny when they land in NY.
Both of these vendors are very reliable and offer free reshipping if your package is seized, but they are more expensive for many, but not all, items than our usual Indian friends. You are paying an insurance premium in exchange for security. This is probably not worth it for small orders, but it may make sense for high dollar value orders.
I recently used this one to get 2000 pills that they split among 3 packages for a total of $50 shipping. I paid about 20% more than I would have from one of my usual vendors, but I also had a package seized in January and was willing to pay for the “insurance” during these uncertain times. Email and ask for their price list: shop@pct24x7.store
I have not used this one but know many who have. They are very well liked: https://pctzone.ru/
Also note that the second one has a few things available domestically if you get into a bind and are willing to pay through the nose in an emergency.
Thank you very much, AgentSmith, I will certainly consider the options you outlined. The additional cost is fine by me, because with all the duplicating and triplicating I’m doing currently, it’s higher than that anyway. If I don’t get my packages this time, I might just go ahead and use your method instead of trying with yet more duplication - seems my method is diminishing returns… I feel like I’m pushing on a string. Thank you again, that’s a great tip.
Sorry to ask a rookie question, but…
Today I am picking up my 365 day supply of all my prescriptions… common things like progesterone, acarbose, synthroid etc…
Should I store them in the fridge or even the wine fridge (50 degrees)? Or are medications better at room temp?
Thank you!
I think the general consensus is for many pharmaceuticals the refrigerator slows down the deterioration of the drugs but l am sure other’s will offer better insight. In full disclosure l keep almost of my pharmaceuticals in the fridge.
FWIW, I have a dedicated mini fridge for meds. I think the majority of drugs benefit. The exception might be some oil based tinctures, as some oils in lower temps tend to precipitate. But I don’t keep the temperature too low. The biggest factor is avoiding moisture. To this end, I carefully distribute the meds into small discrete containers so that I can just grab what I need without having to keep opening and closing the containers, best done quickly and without taking out if the fridge and putting back in. I take out a strip of, say 10 doses, and use that and then go for the next. I’m in SoCal, so it can get pretty hot and I don’t always turn on the AC immediately, so for me a mini fridge is a necessity.
- Report commissioned by main US pharma lobby
- Warns 25% pharma tariff would add $51 bln a year to US drug costs - report estimates
- If fully passed on, tariffs would boost US drug prices by 12.9%
- Trump administration has launched probe on pharma imports
- Trump wants to lure pharma companies to expand output in US
LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - A 25% U.S. tariff on pharmaceutical imports would increase U.S. drug costs by nearly $51 billion annually, boosting U.S. prices by as much as 12.9% if passed on, a report commissioned by the industry’s U.S. trade group and reviewed by Reuters shows.
The analysis, conducted by Ernst & Young, found the United States imported $203 billion in pharmaceutical products in 2023, with 73% coming from Europe – primarily Ireland, Germany and Switzerland. Total U.S. sales of finished pharmaceuticals that year were $393 billion.
So I think de minimis is ending 05/02/25, which is bad luck for me as my package was sent back by the idiots at USPS for an “incomplete address”, that was not incomplete. Without as much as a courtesy text asking about the address (my phone # was right under the address). Now it’s stuck in Indian customs, but regardless, when Jagdish resends it, it certainly will not get to the states before 05/02/25. I guess the idea is that the tariff on these packages is 90%, with minimum fee of $75, if I understood correctly. Fine, whatever. But how is this going to work in practice? Who is going to contact me and how? And then pay how, CC, what? We’ll see. There will be some adjustment with future med purchases in India. The hassle factor is increasing along with cost, but I’m guessing competence of the USPS will only go down.
