"My vet only allows online prescriptions to be filled through them (although they actually ARE the cheapest place online) and the three times I've ordered from them, I've never had any issues. On the fourth order, FedEX Smart Post/USPS misshipped my order of Interceptor. I gave them a call about it and their pharmacy told me they would get a new order out and overnight it to me for free. I'm really surprised to see such bad reviews on here, they've always been great with me!"

"Slow shipping, non-competitive prices. Sends large waste-of-paper monthly catalog after one order, will not stop even after emailing them to stop."

"I will never use drs foster again lost my order and now been tring to get my money back they sent my stuff to the wrong house and when talking with them im always on hold for 30 or more mins DONT USE THEM !!!"

" The carrier miss delivery all my package and lost them(nano cube 29 hql plus stand..worth value $ 500) and this site resend the full package without any questions ask when i'm email them about this matter.....
The best website order i had ever make....thanks"

"WARNING: Foster & Smith are now selling a lot of pet treats made in China and subject to nuclear radiation as a preservative method! This is called food "irradiation" and is typically indicated somewhere on the packaging with a symbol called a "radura" (you can find a picture of it online if you do a search on "radura.") It is usually printed VERY small on the package (they don't actually want you to notice it and read it, but legally they are supposed to have it on there) and it looks a little like a flower inside a double circle. Nuclear irradiation is a HIGHLY controversial food preservation method, as it destroys many nutrients in the food and can cause changes to the molecular structure of fatty acids, among other things. Its use is BANNED in the U.S. for most human food because of its questionable safety. But "Industrial Food" likes it because it extends the shelf life of the food practically forever (partly by destroying the nutrients in it).

I have shopped with Foster & Smith for about 20 years, and have had mixed experiences, overall. Good products, lousy products; good prices, extremely high prices; prompt shipping, slow shipping; good packaging, crappy packaging; excellent customer service, terrible customer service. It has run the gamut. So I now buy some things from them sometimes, but I have found some other online sites now that consistently have better prices and service, so I purchase many things elsewhere that I formerly would have bought at F&S.

Anyway, about the "nuked" treats: The ones I got from F&S were "Shrimp Snappies" and "Conger Eel Steaks" both of which are F&S house brands. Other pet retailers also are selling irradiated treats too -- I recently received as a gift some "Beefeater's" brand freeze-dried salmon treats from either PetCo or PetSmart that were labeled irradiated.

I received the "eel steaks" last week. When I opened the plastic package, there was NO tamper-resistant seal at all, on either of the two packages I received. When I called to complain about this (and the irradiation) the CS representative told me that NONE of their pet treats are in tamper-proof packaging (which was a total, complete lie -- I've ordered many kinds of cat treats from them -- they ALL were in tamper-proof packs) and that if I didn't like the irradiation, I could send the stuff back -- at MY expense, of course -- for a refund or exchange. She actually was quite rude, and clearly didn't know what she was talking about. Truthfully, she didn't seem too bright, either.

Later, I called CS again about a question on whether there would be additional shipping charges if I exchanged the items rather than just returning them for a refund (the rep said there would not be) and the person I spoke with was delightfully polite and helpful, and appropriately aghast when I told him about the irradiated treats. So, go figure -- I think it is the luck of the draw with this place in many respects.

You would think that a pet supply company owned by two veterinarians would have more knowledge and sense than to be selling irradiated food to customers. Apparently not. I have a Ph.D. in Behavioral Medicine, with a subspecialty in the health effects of ionizing radiation. My husband is a Ph.D. chemist. So we both have some expertise in this issue. My husband was equally as horrified as I was about the irradiation, and said of feeding irradiated food: "That's a recipe for CANCER!" Exact quote.

So, folks -- buyer beware at this place. And if you have on hand pet treats purchased from F&S (or elsewhere, for that matter) look on the packaging for the "radura." And then make your own decision about whether you want to feed your beloved animal companion potentially hazardous "treats." I would suggest you return such a product to wherever you got it, complain, and ask for a refund. The only way we can stop this poor practice is by refusing to buy such crap products from retailers.

I'm sending the "eel steaks" back to F&S tomorrow. And in fact, they made me so mad that I'm sending the rest of the order back too! Phooey! "

"I see that Drs. Foster & Smith has received a rating of less than THREE here on ResellerRatings. It's easy to understand why.

On my first order, they shipped a rabbit water bottle (glass) in the same box as THIRTY POUNDS of food. The bottle arrived cracked & was exchanged at my expense.

My most recent order included an order of 'Happy Frutti & Popcorn' snacks for rabbits. This was a combo deal (1 bag of each for $2.99)

Check it out here:
http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp264/hopper0001/dfs.png

or here, if still available:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+20028+12692&pcatid=12692&r=478

They ran out of the Fruit variety, so they just shipped more popcorn, instead of asking me what to do.

Here is the abbreviated EMail response to my inquiry:

... The picture on the page does show both the Happy Fruiti and the Popcorn, but the Happy Frutti is sold out; the product description at the top of the page and in the product overview box state only popcorn. Because it is a clearance item, we are offering two packages for the low price of $2.99. We apologize for any inconvenience this matter may have caused.

And that's it. My only option is to keep it & shut up. Despite what they say in the email, the title of the page is 'HAPPY FRUTTI & POPCORN FOR RABBITS'.

I feel silly complaining about a small item (my entire order was almost $80.00!), I just don't like getting told to pound sand when there is an error on their website. My next order for supplies will be with Petco or someone else. Drs. FOSTER & SMITH: YOU HAVE LOST A CUSTOMER!


"

"To have different web sites and payments if you have different pets is ridicules. It makes you pay 2-3 different times. It is stupid to have your web site broken up in to 7-8 sites depending on the pets you have. What were they thinking of, is this so they can take advantage of shipping rates free shipping but you have to spend so much in each pet category. Very dishonest set up in this day of website technology. It is really outrages.....really.... there set up is horrible and I will not use them again. Really poor business."

"According to their customer service, my order was declined by my bank. When I call back, they told me to place new order which dicount for $15,00 is not good anymore. I am not happy for their response since I do not see any reason for decline by my bank. I double check everything when I place order in online. I am an frequent on line purchaser. Do not trust on discount offer. "

"The cover on this bed is wonderful, however the fill leaves a lot to be desired. I bought two - one for a large lab, and another for a small dog, and neither will get on the beds, as they are too full of air, (unless you stomp them down beforehand) and make an unsteady surface to stand on. The alternative offered by customer service was to spend more $$ on extra fill for the beds. I'm going to have to eat the cost, since return shipping is over $60. So, Caveat emptor. Wish they worked, as the size of the beds, and durability of the cover is awesome."

"The pharmacy dispensed the wrong medication to my dog. The pills should have been in a blister pack prepackaged by the manufacturer with the brand name on it. All the pet pharmacy had to do was slap an sticker on it with the Rx number and dosage, there were no individual pills involved with this prescription. I've ordered this medication many times and it always comes this way.
So I was baffled when Drs. Foster & Smith sent me a pill bottle they had dispensed themselves. The label they put on the bottle said the correct drug name but the pills looked nothing like the brand name. They should have an octagonal shape and be white. What was sent to me were long skinny peach colored pills. As far as you can get from what they are supposed to look like. I assumed they substituted a generic without asking for my permission. They also charged me the same price I would pay for the brand name in the blister pack. Something didn't seem right so I called them to ask why they sent a generic instead. I described the pill and the woman says "that's not a generic, that's something else". And then she put me on hold while she tracked down what it was they sent. Turns out it was a completely different drug! Had I not known what this medication should look like I would have thought this was accurate and given it to my dog until it was used up, never knowing he was getting the wrong drug all along! It could have had disastrous consequences.

This was a blatant & careless error, to confuse two totally different pet medications this way shows lack of experience and knowledge by the person who dispensed this drug. I no longer trust the people this company hires, I seriously doubt they are using qualified pharmacy techs to dispense medications. "

"Ordered several items from this site. Good prices and shipping cost was reasonable. Received items in good condition, and shipping time was reasonable considering the cost paid. I would recommend this merchant!"

"I have been ordering from them for over ten years. At first I would order gifts for my cat via their mail-order catalog with a money order (I was a teenager without a checking account then) and now I am happy to use their website. Their order processing was fast, their shipping reasonable, and it got here fairly quickly--I placed the order on the 23rd of February and it got here on the 1st of March. The cat also loves their food. I noticed that it even smelled better than the grocery store kibble the minute I opened the resealable bag. They have good products and a wonderful selection. I will be signing up for their catered pet program soon."

"I have placed two orders with Foster and Smith, and have been delighted with the pricing and delivery of each. The last was a very elaborate Ferret cage, and the pricing I found at Foster's and Smith could not be touched (even close) by anyone, and I consider myself a saavy price shopper...

They are not always the best price, but they are definitely worth considering in the mix of options. The conversation I had with the operator attempting to get a couple cage answers, was polite, friendly, and capable.

I will shop here again!!!

-Vaughn"

"This store is great. I ordered insulin for my dog and got it in 2 days(insulin has to be delivered the next day because its refrigerated). The last place took 3 days to just contact my vet and another 2 days for delivery.I was so impressed I then made a second order for needles on Nov 9th and it was deliverd on Nov 13th.I used their regular delivery which was free. All my future shopping will be from this store!!
"

"I made the mistake of ordering from this place, but won't do so again. Why? I might as well have driven there myself and picked it up in the time it's taking them to deliver it. Despite charging as much for shipping as most other places that ship orders via a real method, Foster & Smith use a method to ship called "Fedex Smart Post", which isn't all that smart at all. It's some mess that Fedex and the USPS have gotten into where Fedex delivers things part way --- to one of a few distribution centers in the U.S. --- and then hands it off to the USPS, which delivers it to your door via parcel post, which takes forever. So although my package was shipped Monday, 10/26, and arrived at Fedex's facility in Denver on Wednesday, 10/28, it is going to take another 6 business days to reach me in an adjoining state --- Utah --- because the USPS is delivering it via "parcel post".

The most idiotic thing about all of this is that for the price I paid for shipping, Foster & Smith could have sent it via the USPS using Priority Mail and it would have been here in 2-3 days. Ridiculous. With all the things I've ordered online over the years, I've never had slower shipping in my life. (I've had faster shipping from places that didn't charge for shipping actually.)
"