Understanding what you're looking for from an online pharmacy is important when searching for the best one. With the number of different pharmacies online in the UK these days, there are many options. Whether it’s prices, subscriptions, discounts or medicine variation, you should familiarise yourself with the different options.
In this article, we will look at what makes Oxford Online Pharmacy (OOP) unique. We will also see how it differs from other online pharmacies.
What makes Oxford Online Pharmacy stand out?
- Care - We care about the customer first, not the sale. We will let you know if a medicine is unsuitable and review the alternatives with you.
- Competitive low prices - We constantly check our prices against competitors to offer you the lowest price possible.
- We offer constant discounts - Unlike most online pharmacies, we provide constant discount codes, which can be found in our email or SMS mailings. These codes could give you 10% to 20% off our services (excluding weight loss injections).
- Founded nearly 100 years ago - OOP is part of the Frosts Pharmacy Group, which was founded in 1925.
- A family business passed down generations - Frosts Pharmacy Group was founded by our CEO’s Grandfather, John Frost.
- Experienced healthcare professionals - Our team includes doctors, pharmacists, and other medical experts with expert knowledge about the conditions we treat. These include hair loss, erectile dysfunction, and hormone replacement therapy.
- A large selection of treatments - You can find almost everything you need for your health in one place.
- Reviews - With over 29,500 TrustPilot reviews, people trust us with their information and their health. We are so proud of our 4.8/5 star excellent rating.
What else does OOP offer?
- Free delivery - Free standard delivery when you spend over £40. This offer excludes refrigerated products, like weight loss injections.
- Lowest price promise - We have a price match service. If you find a better price for your treatment online from a registered pharmacy, we will match that price and refund the difference.
- Discreet packaging - Our boxes are plain brown. They have no labels showing what is inside. This way, your order and its contents are kept private.
- Next-day delivery - At Oxford Online Pharmacy UK next day delivery is one of the delivery options offered when you place an order.
- Refrigerated deliveries - We send our refrigerated products out in special packaging to maintain the correct temperature until they arrive and the treatments are scheduled for next-day delivery.
- Informative healthcare articles - We regularly post informative healthcare articles about our products and services to help answer our customers' questions.
- Providing NHS services - We can fulfil NHS prescriptions, meaning that once you send your NHS prescription to us, we can dispense the medicines to be delivered to your door as soon as the next day.
See our online medicines
Browse treatmentsComparing the different types of online pharmacies
Different ways that online pharmacies operate:
- Subscription sites such as Numan and Hims
Subscription site pharmacies are growing in popularity as most heavily advertise their services. They use platforms such as TV and social media, and their eye-catching ads are well-targeted and influence people to sign up.
These days, signing up to subscription sites is easy and convenient. Who wouldn’t want to set up a direct debit and forget about needing to reorder their medicines?
Heavy advertising must come at a cost, so where does it come from? Well, the answer is your subscriptions. These companies rely on people not to look around and compare prices, so their sites are often expensive and do not offer as good a price as they might initially seem.
For example, a subscription site usually offers a significant discount, such as 70% off your first order. Once you subscribe, you will receive this discount off your first order, followed by months of their much higher ‘usual price’.
Subscription sites do not offer ongoing discounts on your monthly orders, as you will sign up for a one-off subscription and pay a set amount each month.
Another thing to consider is the different strength treatments and the variable costs. For example, if you were on Mounjaro weight loss injections, each dose varies in price, starting with the cheapest being 2.5mg and gradually getting more expensive as you get up to 15mg injections. Most subscription sites will charge a flat price, whether you are getting the 2.5mg or the 12.5mg pens, you will be expected to pay a set price each month.
So, is a subscription site really worth it? Does the benefit of not needing to think about reordering your medicines outweigh the amount you spend?
- Well-known big brands
Unlike subscription sites, well-known big brands do not have to do a great deal to advertise their online pharmacy service.
When was the last time you went into Boots, Asda or Superdrug? It was probably in the last year, right? These companies are well-known high-street stores across the UK, and almost everyone living in the UK is aware of one or all of them. This is why they do not have to spend a lot on advertising their service; a lot of advertising is done in person through their brick-and-mortar stores.
For example, people who go to Boots Online Pharmacy for their NHS prescriptions will receive advertising through leaflets, in-store displays, and postal campaigns. These advertising methods are not expensive and catch the right people's attention.
These companies are well known and have already built customer trust.
On the other hand, because these companies are well-known, they also know that people will pay a premium price to use them. Most people do not even realise how much more products cost from large companies because they don’t feel the need to look elsewhere.
Nowadays, there are numerous websites where you can find information about companies and their trustworthiness. This is particularly important for online pharmacies; ensuring that you use a registered one and have confidence in the service you receive is essential.
Trustpilot is a review platform where customers can leave reviews on a company's products and services, and it is all held in one place, making it easy for customers to look up before deciding to make a purchase.
- NHS serving pharmacies
Some online pharmacies' primary business model is providing NHS prescriptions, like a community pharmacy but online. These pharmacies often offer private services, but you may find their range is smaller, and there is no access to medical experts on topics like hair loss or erectile dysfunction.
These companies promote their NHS prescription delivery services, which greatly benefits those who do not have the time to go and collect their monthly medicines from a high street store.
A pharmacy UK online that promotes NHS services as its primary focus may mean that competitive private treatment pricing isn't their priority, making it a slightly more expensive option than private prescription-focused pharmacies such as Oxford Online Pharmacy.
Campaign mailing list discounts are also not as frequent, and receiving a weekly code can sometimes be rare. After all, these pharmacies have plenty of customers using their NHS services.
- Independent smaller companies, like Oxford Online Pharmacy
We may be biased, but an independent, smaller online pharmacy has many advantages, like lower competitive prices, price matching, and more personal service.
So, what is the best online pharmacy UK? Well, it all depends on your preference. You can take the information provided above to make an informative decision that is best for you. We have also created a dedicated blog article on which is the best pharmacy in the UK with a more detailed analysis for you.
If you like the sound of OOP and want to learn more, read on.
Is Oxford Online Pharmacy legit?
Yes, Oxford Online Pharmacy is a legitimate, registered UK online pharmacy selling genuine treatments and medicines. With a team of healthcare professionals inlcuding UK doctors and pharmacists, we can safely prescribe medicines in the UK following an online consultation.
How do you know which online pharmacies are legitimate and which are not?
You should consider things such as whether it is a British online pharmacy. Sometimes, pharmacies from other countries can pop up in your search history. Not only is it illegal to get prescription medicines online from another country, but they may also not be legitimate medicines and could make you unwell. This is why it’s important you check the business address of an online pharmacy in the United Kingdom.
Is it an online drugstore, pharmacy or beauty site selling healthcare products? It’s probably no surprise that many unregulated beauty sites promote medicines such as Mounajo weight loss injections. If this is the case, be very careful. These treatments may be provided without a prescription, or these medicines may not be genuine.
Well, you must always check for the following before buying medicines online:
- Is the pharmacy registered?
- Can you call up and speak to a pharmacist?
- Does the registered pharmacy link work?
- Are GPHC and MHRA logos clearly visible on the site?
- Are they offering prescription-only medication without a prescription?
For more information, we have a dedicated article on how to spot a fake pharmacy here.
Oxford Online Pharmacy discount code
Before you go, here’s a pharmacy online discount code for you to use: B1T25DF
You can get 10% off any product (excluding weight loss injections) on the site at no minimum spend!
Savings don’t stop here, sign up to the mailing list to get regular pharmacy online coupon codes straight to your inbox!