Apte4ka.com

apte4ka.com is a relatively new online pharmacy. It has officially launched its activity in 2008. It's office is settled in New York, on McDonald' Ave Brooklin. It appears to be a Russian provider of pharmaceutical products, since the name of “aptechka” is the Russian translation for “pharmacy”. Moreover, we can discover from the content placed on the site that the main language of the texts is Russian. It seems that apte4ka.com targets mostly on Russian foreigners that settle in America,or for foreigners who speak Russian. apte4ka.com provides pharmaceutical products on the entire territory of USA. The basic spectrum of products proposed by this online pharmacy includes brand drugs as vitamins,supplements, herbs, homeopathic remedies, alternative medicines, sports and fitness items,as well as multivitamins and nutritional medicinal options. 

Speaking about drugs in particular,apte4ka.com proposes following categories of health conditions:diabetes,gynecological problems, herpetic problems, urinary tract conditions, antiseptic medications, ear infections, low immune system, viral and fungal infections, allergy and cold conditions. As what refers to cosmetic products, apte4ka.com proposes following brand products: Planeta Organica, Green Mama, Avantra, Dr. Bio. In this category are also included remedies of traditional medicine, “Grandma recipes” (in Russia, there is a strong belief that in the past, grannies were able to treat any kind of health problem with the help of mixtures made by different sorts of herbs) , Chornii Jemchug, Siberica, Triniti M, Erilem. On apte4ka.com, it is possible to find a large list of herbal teas, with additional information with regard to what exactly one or another tea can treat. Surprisingly, www.apte4ka.com offers the possibility to buy undershorts and underpants for both men and women. It is interesting for me why the manager of this online pharmacy has decided to place such kind of products on a pharmaceutical site. 

The bad part of apte4ka.com is that there is no possibility of selecting any other site language than Russian. It is really disappointing the fact that an online pharmacy that provides pharmaceutical products on entire US territory doesn't manifest a little respect for the natives and doesn't give the possibility to choose the English version of the site, at least. It means that if I don't speak and understand Russian, I cannot order from it, since I don't really understand the meaning of one or another phrase. So, I need to use google translator or other tools to make the content clear for me. In my personal opinion, it is more convenient searching the wanted products on other web sources than wasting the time for translating the meaning of the content. 

As far as I understood, apte4ka.com offers free shipping on US territory, whenever the client orders for more than 50$. If clients do not find the necessary product they need, they are encouraged to call the client support service in order to confirm the info (in many instances, apte4ka.com doesn't manage to update the content of the site with available products, so one product may be absent on the site, but present in the real stock). To get in contact with apte4ka.com, the client should dial the following number: +19172923912. 

Based in the info provided by apte4ka.com, this online pharmacy does not carry responsibility for the effects of its products. It insistently suggests to call a personal doctor prior to decide whether one drug is or not suitable for each patient. The pharmacy does not offer medical recommendations, nor prescriptions from specialized and authorized medical representatives. So, the decision of taking a product appertains exclusively to the patient who orders the medicine. 

I can't avoid mentioning an interesting fact that I've noticed with the prices proposed on apte4ka.com for cosmetic products, in particular. Sincerely speaking, I'm not well informed about such brands as Chornii Jemchug or Siberica. So, I've asked one of my Russian friends to find out some info about them, including prices. It turned out that The quality of such brands is quoted as “so-so” in Russia. You can compare the prices by yourself: day cream against wrinkles is 14$ on apte4ka.com, while on Russian territory it is 6,50$; “expert cream for the face skin”  (Chornii Jemchug) costs 16.29$ on the site, while in Russia it is about 8$. I understand: shipping fees, additional percent for paying salaries and so on...but I still believe that the prices are somewhat inflated. And something else to appoint: on apte4ka.com there are some discounts placed on the site. Here they are- instead of 9.99$, apte4ka.com offers the discount of 9.55$; or for the price of 17.99, the discount is 17.29- what a “surprising” discount!!!

There are 4 ways to pay the orders on apte4ka.com. These include MasterCard, Visa, Discover Network and American Express. Comparing to other online sources, this online pharmacy does not accept Bitcoin payments, as the majority of other American sites. No specifications about discounts are available through payment by one or another method ( I've recently found an online source which promotes Visa payments by offering 15% discount, and it was really pleasant for me). As you can observe, bank transfers are also refused by this site. 

Nothing spectacular with this online pharmacy. Unknown Russian and Ukrainian brands that are considered of medium quality on manufacturing territory make me wonder about the effectiveness of the products. There is an incomplete info with regard to points that one can accumulate with the orders he makes. I didn't understand at all how exactly I can accumulate these points and how exactly I can use them. The discounts are not generous at all, some cents that apte4ka.com offers as discounts do not make big difference. Other loyalty programs are lacking or are not presented clearly to make the client understand how and when could he use it. 2 out of 5 points would be enough by now.