Money grabbing *********

[threaded]

I have varying generations of Roombas dotted on the variety of levels in my country pile. They keep the animal hairs and dust down very well.

[Tarquin Farquhar]

My cat requires a daily pill to keep it's sorry arse alive.

Now my vetinary has been charging me £32 a month for the pills.

Thought I'd google said medication and find I can buy it online (with a prescription from the vet) for £11 a month.

Greedy fookers. Vet is about 23 years old and drives a £200K car. Now I know how he does it.

Agents, all is forgiven. You are amateurs.

No, he is just using an antiquated business model, where the price of the goods includes an element of fee for his knowledge and advice. It worked OK while you couldn't get the pills on the net.

It's not a con, you are paying not just for the pills but for having them dispensed by him. He does it that way because most people don't realise the value of good advice, and won't pay for it.

Adam Smith described this model (of what seems to be price of goods, but is actually fee for advice, or if you like, time) in The Wealth of Nations (1776), using Apothecaries in his example.

My local optician charges £25 for an eye test for contact lenses, plus an extra £20 to let you have a copy of the prescription in the event that you choose not to have them fulfil it. They understand the model: buying the lenses from them not only pays for the lenses, it pays for the optician.

[DodgyAgent]

My cat requires a daily pill to keep it's sorry arse alive.

Now my vetinary has been charging me £32 a month for the pills.

Thought I'd google said medication and find I can buy it online (with a prescription from the vet) for £11 a month.

Greedy fookers. Vet is about 23 years old and drives a £200K car. Now I know how he does it.

Agents, all is forgiven. You are amateurs.

Your pussy clearly needs an agent

[norrahe]

I've always wanted one of thopse - they're HUGE aren't they?

yep, lovely temprament, but highly sensitive

[Zippy]

Mrs. W also buys all her 'specialist'* cat food and their flea/tick protection on-line at a considerable discount. If you have fussy and/or pedigree cats it would be worth looking into, some of the stuff she gets is half the price the local vet charges and that's including carriage.

* She has two Maine Coons.

Specialist food - are you soft?
My mogs get Tescos own brand or Whiskas if I'm feeling generous, and they don't seem to be wasting away.

[Tingles]

Most cats have 2 or 3 'owners' - can't you get one of them to pay the vet bills?

[wobbegong]

Specialist food - are you soft?
My mogs get Tescos own brand or Whiskas if I'm feeling generous, and they don't seem to be wasting away.

I heartily agree, but as you can see, they're not 'my' cats, they're Mrs. W's cats. I don't 'do' pets. Been there, done that. I don't get involved.

[IR35 Avoider]

My local optician charges £25 for an eye test for contact lenses, plus an extra £20 to let you have a copy of the prescription in the event that you choose not to have them fulfil it. They understand the model: buying the lenses from them not only pays for the lenses, it pays for the optician.

According to the glasses-direct.co.uk web site FAQ, you are "entitled" to a copy of your prescription after an eye test, presumably meaning you don't have to pay.

Boots opticians charge £20 for an eye test. A few years ago when I had my eyes tested at Boots near Liverpool Street, they didn't charge me for the prescription.

They did make a mistake copying the prescription though, so when the glasses I ordered off the internet were wrong, Boots replaced the lenses for free.

[norrahe]

Specialist food - are you soft?
My mogs get Tescos own brand or Whiskas if I'm feeling generous, and they don't seem to be wasting away.

Mine get Royal canin always have and it works out cheaper buying online

[IR35 Avoider]

Going back to the original post - this reminds me of the Doctor (sports injury specialist) I saw in Austria after I hurt my knee skiing. The receptionist explained to me before-hand that the cost of his time and X-rays were free (paid for by the Austrian tax-payer under reciprocal agreement) but that I'd have to pay for items like crutches etc. After I saw him she charged me £140 for the knee brace his assistants fitted at the end of the examination. I later saw a similar one in a shop for abour £50 and an identical one online in the UK for about £70.

I didn't lose out though. Initially I got only the difference over my £120 excess back from my insurers, then later I got another £50 from them, as they'd reclaimed money from the NHS, and weren't allowed to keep any profit. Then some NHS computer I didn't know had heard of me sent me a cheque for a few pounds more. So it ended up costing me what it should have done. And the NHS the same again.