Stiftung Warentest: Online pharmacies in the price check
Online mail-order pharmacies are booming - Stiftung Warentest has therefore subjected pharmacies on the web and on site to a price and service test: can online retailers hang out the small pharmacy on site or are there any risks and side effects? We have summarized the test results of Stiftung Warentest in this article.
Online pharmacies at Warentest: only one in four is "good"
Mail order pharmacies are not lacking in good service; rather, the professional competence is not satisfactory for every web pharmacy. The Deutsche Internet Apotheke tops the product test ranking with an overall grade of 2.0 ("good"). The details of the test winner:
- Professional quality: Deutsche Internet Apotheke was the only online pharmacy to recognize all interactions and to point out to the test customers the sometimes life-threatening interaction of the medication. The test winner also performed best in the category for professional competence.
- Ordering and delivery: The drug search, delivery times and the correct delivery worked without problems, only with the payment methods and the purchase process other providers offer significantly more convenience. For example, PayPal is not offered. In addition, there is free shipping only from 75 euros. Most other pharmacies deliver from a purchase value of 20 euros (the delivery of prescription medication is always free).
- Data protection: Not only the address and account details are encrypted in the pharmacy web shop, the contact form for pharmaceutical advice is also protected. Since this is highly sensitive data, it is actually a must.
"Good" pharmacies on the net: 3 other providers convinced in the test
There was also the rating "Good" for medpex (2.4), Aponeo (2.5) and VersandApo.de (2.5). The pharmacies deliver from 20 or 25 euros (Aponeo.de) without calculating additional shipping costs. The other special features of the individual web pharmacies:
- Medpex.de: Medpex did better than the competition in terms of telephone service and the intelligibility of the information. Customers can also easily find all the important information about delivery, costs and contact with pharmacy staff on the website.
- Aponeo.de: The technical quality was not as good as that of Medpex and the test winner. In return, Aponeo trumps with extremely fast delivery times. For example, orders in Berlin (until 12 noon) are delivered the same day.
- Versandapo.de: The pharmacy website was the best in the test. It convinced with good navigation without annoying advertising and an extensive search function. The website also provides detailed information on the individual medications.
Professional competence: poor (grade: 5.3)
"Zur Rose" is the only mail-order pharmacy to be rated "Inadequate". The reason for this was a poor professional quality in the test.
Online pharmacies: save up to 50 percent
There has been no fixed price for over-the-counter medicines for almost 10 years. The pharmacies can therefore set the prices themselves - there is now fierce competition between the pharmacies. You save up to 50 percent of the list price, especially on the Internet.
- Of the 17 mail order pharmacies tested, 14 sold the over-the-counter medications below the list price and almost without price fluctuations. In comparison: Most local pharmacies are based on the list price of the pharmaceutical companies.
- The catch with most web pharmacies: the shipping costs and the minimum order value. Only the pharmacy mycare.de delivers really free of charge. More information in the article "Free shipping online pharmacies".
- With the test winner, the shipping costs are only available from 75 euros. In the CHIP pharmacy comparison, we therefore show you two cheap alternatives.
- Tip: Stiftung Warentest could not identify a web pharmacy that was always the cheapest. However, search engines such as the medicine fox price comparison help you to find the cheapest medicines in mail order pharmacies.
Online pharmacies in comparison: Are local pharmacies better?
In addition to the mail order pharmacies, Stiftung Warentest also tested 21 local pharmacists. The comparison shows:
- Only one pharmacy (Marien-Apotheke Hannover) beat the test winner of the online pharmacies (grade: 1.8).
- Advice on over-the-counter medicines is more solid in the local pharmacies, but online pharmacies recognize interactions better, according to the product test experts.
- In the price comparison, the online pharmacies were ahead with the tested products with savings of up to 46 percent.
- You can find the individual details of the goods test for a fee at test.de.
App tip: If you need medication as quickly as possible, local pharmacies are of course the quickest solution. The free pharmacy finder shows you the nearest pharmacies on the map. The app also knows the phone numbers and makes contact with the pharmacist at the touch of a button.