New NetPharmacy blog

As we stated before, we probably won't be updating this blog any more. We have a great new Netpharmacy blog called Afternoon Tea Time which you can view here: http://netpharmacy.co.nz/blog

See you at the new blog! :D

Updates

Most of our blogging is now done on http://twitter.com/netpharmacynz and http://facebook.com/NetPharmacy. However we do have some big plans for this blog so stay tuned! 8)

New Products - Alba Botanica Sunscreen

The weather in Auckland was gloriously hot yesterday and to top it off we received our brand new shipment of Alba Botanica sunscreens!

Beautiful packaging and just the right size to fit into any purse or beach bag, these sunscreens use pure botanical extracts along with light fragrance to make your skin smell and feel great.

There are a few different fragrances available, at the moment the staff here are going nutty over the Aloe Vanilla and the Green Tea sunscreens. Very, very nice.

To see our pricing and availability for these products click here: http://www.netpharmacy.co.nz/catalogsearch/result/index/?primary_use=380&q=alba+botanica

Update: These sunscreens were very popular and have now sold out for the season.

NetPharmacy: A Retrospective

The past year has seen a lot of change for NetPharmacy. With the launch of our new (new) website it got us thinking about how far we've come since Netpharmacy launched over 10 years ago.

1999-2000.
The first incarnation of NetPharmacy was a pretty basic affair. Making the most of retro 1990's web styling the site soon gained momentum and was popular with people wanting discount pharmacy products.

Sticking with the green theme it was time to expand...

2004-2006
To a newer layout. With a wide range of products the site was streamlined and all the categories were displayed at the top.

More emphasis was made on usability and an account management panel was set up.

It was around this time we introduced Loyalty Club, Bulk Discounts and increased our payment options.



2006-2008

Never being satisfied with staying still we introduced the new layout of our website which focused on our great selection of products and weekly specials.

The green colour scheme came back in spades and each section was divided by colour schemes.

We introduced free freight over $100 and also won an award for being a top ranking website! All in all a great few years.



2009-2010
We decided to take a big gamble. In order to make our website more future proof we completely changed the software in order to have tracking numbers, order history, wishlists, saved searches and more.

While the software was fantastic and many customers loved the new design we felt we could do much better. We wanted to go in the same direction but focus on stability and usability...

Which leads us to the current incarnation of our website...

2010-?

Through the years many things have stayed the same at NetPharmacy. The same team of dedicated staff. A great selection of products. Amazingly low prices. A love of the colour green.

The new website is faster, more stable and easier to use.

Even with all these changes we remain passionate about natural health, pharmacy and beauty products. We hope to see you all on the new NetPharmacy.co.nz!

Launch of new website

We have been really busy during the past few months trying to improve the performance and functionality of our website http://netpharmacy.co.nz.

When we launched our new website last October we had hoped it would improve the shopping experience for our customers. NetPharmacy was one of the first online pharmaceutical and health shopping sites when it launched in 2000 and our website at the time was considered to be at the forefront of shopping experience. Flash forward 10 years and it simply wasn't practical to keep the same software and website layout.

We worked for months implementing the new system and launched in October 2009. The launch wasn't as smooth as we had hoped. Although the user functionality was vastly improved from our previous website there were performance issues.

We have been working tirelessly since October 2009 to correct all of the errors and slowness the website had.

Our new features include:

1. An improved search engine that allows the user to refine search results by price, brand, specification (e.g. Kosher, Vegan, Vegetarian) and many more options.
2. A drop down navigation menu that allows the customer to directly go to the page they want without having to trawl through pages of sub categories.
3. A simplified and compacted home page which is fast loading and great for people on slower or dial-up connections.
4. Faster website speed and (fingers crossed) minimal to zero downtime.
   

Unfortunately we were unable to transfer the old user ordering history. This means when customers log into their account they will not be able to see previous orders. We wish that we could have transferred over the history but this simply isn't possible. We think that the great new features on our website will make up for this issue.

We are constantly working to improve our website and appreciate any feedback you may have. A website is an ever evolving machine which requires constant attention and we are dedicated to being the best online pharmacy, health and beauty store on the web.

Thompsons Junior Immunofort

We've received several questions about the Vegetarian/Vegan status of Thompsons Junior Immunofort recently and we took it upon ourselves to clarify whether the product was suitable. Unlike many other Thompsons products the Junior Immunofort does not have the Vegetarian symbol.

The product was not officially listed as being Vegetarian friendly so the lovely Amanda (naturopath for Thompsons) did some asking around to find out why the product would not be suitable. The ingredients manual states that no animal ingredients are in the product. After more research the company has officially let us know that the product is suitable for Vegetarians AND Vegans.

We are currently unsure whether this will be reflected on the packaging in the future.

Note: Many of our multivitamins are suitable for Vegetarians. However Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is derived from Lanolin (a wax derived from sheep's wool) which makes them unsuitable for Vegans. Currently our Vegan friendly multivitamins are Thompsons Junior Immunofort and Solgar VM 2000.

Is Malcolm Harker back in business?

Well from early reports...yes! After all of the drama that occured earlier in the year it appears that the popular New Zealand brand has managed to come out of the liquidation and will be relaunching within the next few months.

We'll keep you posted on the progress and will update the blog as soon as we are sure we are able to get the stock.

Edit 25/8/10: It has been confirmed, Malcolm Harker has recovered and will be back to full operations within 2-3 weeks.

DailyBeauty features Karen Murrell

We were really happy to see that one of our favourite product ranges, Karen Murrell, was featured in the popular beauty and health magazine Daily Beauty. They featured the pure honesty cleansing gel which is a favourite of the staff here, it smells wonderful and is really gentle on the skin. As an added bonus they gave a shoutout to NetPharmacy which is very cool. Thanks guys!

You can read the article here and if you feel so inclined you can mosey over to our Karen Murrell page where you can purchase all of her products. Hint, hint. ;)

Malcolm Harker Discontinued

At the start of the year we received sad news from Malcolm Harker HQ that the company had gone into liquidation. As of this point we have not received word as to why such a popular brand could not weather the economy and our remaining stock is now very low. We are working on finding replacements however with such unique products this has proven to be a challenging task.

For coughs and colds we suggest replacing the Eutherol with Kaloba or Clinicians Prospan. For those wanting to clear phlegm (Emphysemol) we have had success with Solgar Wild Oregano Oil.

Verm Xpel can be replaced by Nature's Sunshine Para Cleanse.

If you would like recommendations please don't hesitate to contact us and we can work out the best option for you.

Adorable window display

I couldn't resist posting a picture of this cute little window display that we have at the moment for Radiance ManukaGuard Nutralize. The bees are made 100% out of paper and can be folded flat for storage (very cool). Reminds me of the days watching 'Watch with Mother' making chinese paper lanterns.

Radiance ManukaGuard contains apple cider vinegar and New Zealand Manuka UMF Honey (medical grade honey) for fast digestive comfort. The apple cider vinegar balances the acid/alkaline and the honey is antibacterial. We've had amazing feedback for this product so far so it comes highly recommended. New Zealand Manuka honey is renowned for its antibacterial healing properties and has been the subject of many news reports over the past year. Here's one article from The Telegraph talking about the benefits of manuka honey.

Radiance Manukaguard Nutralize can be ordered from our website or over the phone on 0508 88 11 88 (NZ freephone) or 006493734485 (Overseas).

Grecian & Silvercheck Product Recall

Wilson Consumer Products has issued a product recall for Grecian Lotion, Grecian Cream and Silvercheck following an independent investigation. http://bit.ly/dvpmHj

To claim your refund please return the product to us with your name, phone number and (if you have it) your order number.

This recall does not affect overseas users of Grecian or Silvercheck.

Difference between Mega V and Ultra V

We have had several people asking us about the difference between Mega V and Ultra V. According to the manufacturer the main difference is that Ultra V is slower acting (it takes longer to take effect) but lasts for longer. Otherwise the formulation is pretty similar. Like Mega V, Ultra V also comes in 2 capsules and 10 capsules so you can try the product before spending more money on the large pack. http://www.netpharmacy.co.nz/ultra-v-performance-supplement-for-men

INGREDIENTS PER 730mg CAPSULE INCLUDE -
Eurycoma longifolia ………………. 200mg
Cordyceps sinensis ………………. 150mg
Panax ginseng ………………. 120mg
Horny Goat Weed ……………….. 75mg
Tribulus terrestris ……………….. 50mg

If you have any specific questions about this product please don't hesitate to contact us.