*This is not a sponsored post.
Are you on the quest to adopt a healthier lifestyle? Do you dream about better self-care? And are you becoming more careful about the kind of products you use around your home and allow to come into contact with you and your family?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you have probably been scrambling around like me, trying to find the right kind of products to serve yours and your family’s needs best.
And if you have not yet jumped on the ‘healthy living’ bandwagon, you might not realize that it requires quite a bit of shopping around initially because there are not many shops dedicated to that purpose.
So, you can imagine the pleasure it brings when the search can finally come to a nice sweet end…with the two amazing solutions I discovered both for people in the United States and for international shoppers like me as well.
I have recently been switching to more natural products for my personal hygiene, skincare, cleaning and house scents. And I was fast realizing that driving to a zillion different health and beauty shops to search for the items I needed while praying for there to be a discount on, was not going to make my natural self-care journey any easier.
So, I did what any modern savvy healthy lifestyle wannabe naturalista would do. I turned to the internet to look for an affordable way to have them delivered to my doorstep with the hope of saving my time, energy and money as well.
Imagine my glee when I discovered that I can actually get my natural products cheaper than shopping locally (after a brief ‘interesting’ experience that I will elaborate on below, that is) and with free shipping most of the time (more on that too below)!
First ‘Experiment’: The Grove Collaborative + Shop&Ship
When I first began my search, I came across a ton of youtube videos and blogs that recommended the Grove Collaborative as THE source for natural personal and household items.
I decided to try ordering from them even though I live outside USA because they had many of the cleaning products, tools and soy candles that I wanted and they offered a number of free items for orders that were at least $20.
Plus, I have a Shop&Ship account which enables me to shop online from many different countries and have my goodies delivered to my doorstep for an affordable shipping cost.
So, I went ahead with my order and had it delivered (at no extra cost with the Grove Collaborative initial free VIP membership that comes with free shipping) to my Shop&Ship warehouse address in the US, from where it was re-shipped to my doorstep.
When I received my parcel however, it was ‘interesting’ to discover that the shipping ended up costing more than three times the amount I paid for the items.
Yeah yeah, I know I should have expected that since cleaning supplies and the glass jars of the amazing smelling Mrs Meyers candles do weigh quite a bit.
Plus, it should be understandable since I got $20 of extra cleaning tools and products added in, right?
Well, logical as the explanation was, I did not need anyone to tell me that this was NOT going to be overall an affordable or sustainable source for me, regardless of how the customers in the US raved about the convenient subscription service that the Grove Collaborative offers.
So, I did a little more searching online and then stumbled upon iHerb.com.
Eventual All-in-One Solution: iHerb
I really do not understand why this store is not more popular, considering the savings I have made shopping for my natural products from there and that is one of the things that spurred me to write this article.
iHerb is a US company that lays claim to having the world’s best value for over 35,000 brand name natural products and have been serving customers worldwide for more than twenty years.
And in the case of iHerb.com, you can order not just your cleaning and household supplies but also your favorite natural health and beauty products, as well as your natural supplements, baby products, herbs, spices and so much more in one single place.
No more shopping around in hundreds of different shops, yay!
The wide variety of products is one of the top reasons that makes iHerb.com a one-stop shop for anyone on a healthy lifestyle journey, but there are so many other reasons to choose iHerb over other shops such as the huge savings, the fresh products and more.
I’m mostly able to find my usual natural grocery items on iHerb.com or close substitutes for them on the rare occasion that they are not in stock and this shop has easily become my favorite online source for natural products and I’ll touch on some of these reasons why below.
Lower prices on iHerb = Savings for You
The regular prices on iHerb.com are typically 30% – 50% less than the prevailing market value of those natural products.
The shop also runs weekly and daily online specials over various product ranges.
In addition, iHerb offers a selection of trial items at unbelievable prices, which you can add to your order to try out for as low as $0.37.
Plus, there are always clearance items, many of which are available at more than 60% discount off the recommended retail prices.
This means that you can usually get your natural grocery and household needs at fantastic prices and you can even stock up for longer-term savings during the further savings offers. Wow.
Clear descriptions and reviews
Products on iHerb.com have their images clearly displayed with full descriptions, ingredients list, suggested usage and warnings.
The expiration or best-by dates of the products are clearly indicated on the website so you can shop with your mind at rest.
All customer reviews are also displayed below each item and because iHerb only allows confirmed purchasers from their website to leave reviews, I feel that you can trust those reviews to be candid unlike reviews on many retailers’ sites where third-party reviews are displayed.
I honestly prefer shopping on iHerb.com than shopping in a ‘brick and mortar’ health and beauty store or pharmacy.
This is due to the fact that asides the convenience of ordering from the comfort of my home (at no added delivery cost if I configure my basket right…i’ll get to that below), I am able to see exactly what I am getting and read loads of customer reviews -all in one place- so that I can make a fully informed purchase!
Quality storage and wide variety of natural products
IHerb has a wide variety of natural hair and skincare products such as these great sulfate free shampoos we found for less than $10, as well as natural beauty products; health foods, drinks and snacks; natural herbs and spices; whole food supplements; essential oils; natural soy and coconut candles; natural cleaning products and more at great prices.
I’m usually able to find my usual natural grocery items on iHerb.com or close substitutes for them on the rare occasion that they are not in stock.
It also gives me comfort to know that the warehouses are air-conditioned, the turnover rates for the products is high and the level of quality control employed by iHerb ensures that the products are protected from humidity, heat and cold so that I get freshest products that I could possibly ask for.
Who does not love free shipping?
In addition to the savings and variety of natural products that you get in one place when you shop on iHerb.com, you can configure your basket so that you get free shipping. Every. Single. Time!
iHerb ships to more than 150 different countries and delivers customers’ orders directly to their doorstep.
Addresses from certain countries receive free international shipping automatically for orders $40 and above.
But even if your country of residence does not fall into that category, iHerb offers certain items as ‘shipping savers’ which you can add to your basket to reduce your shipping cost.
And as you add items you cart, you might suddenly notice that your shipping cost has become $0. Yes…zero shipping…free delivery…it’s kinda like a game. Lol.
Share or repeat your savings
iHerb goes further to make it easy to share shopping baskets containing various items and quantities that you create with others so that they can also benefits from the savings you availed.
You can do this through the use of a short URL which you can easily generate by pressing the share icon above your basket and then proceeding to share it with family, friends or social media.
Your previous orders on iHerb.com are also saved so that you can simply share or place the same order again and again at the click of a button.
Loyalty credit
You need to ensure that you create an account when placing an order for extra perks which are not available if you place your order via a guest account.
With your first order and every subsequent order you place on iHerb, you will receive loyalty credit equivalent to 5% of the order amount (and sometimes it will be equivalent to 10% of the order amount if they have a special offer on during the period that you place your order) after discounts and credits are applied and excluding shipping charges, if any.
This credit can be used towards your next order from iHerb.com as soon as the current order ships.
More rewards…
After you make your first purchase, you’ll also receive a code with which you can promote products that you love to your family and friends.
If a new customer uses your code when ordering, they’ll get 5% credit and you’ll also get 5% loyalty credit or even 10% credit if they purchased products from iHerb house brands such as California Gold Nutrition (natural supplements and health foods), Just a Leaf (certified organic loose teas), Mild by Nature (Natural Baby Bath and Body Products), Sierra Bees (USDA certified organic lip care and skin care products), just to mention a few.
You can use these rewards credits to shop on your future orders at iHerb.com or you actually have the opportunity of cashing out once you have accumulated $300 or more, either via wire transfer or by requesting for a check.
Charitable Donations
As if all of the points highlighted above are not enough, iHerb also makes millions of dollars of charitable donations towards the education of children in Cambodia with a vision of expanding these projects to needy children all over the world.
Convinced?
It’s not often that I come across for-profit institutions with so many positive dimensions to their business so please pardon me if I sometimes sounded like I was gushing above.
If I eventually go into production some day though (it’s nice to think big, huh?), the iHerb model of selling discounted natural products under one roof while giving back from the profits, sounds like a model that I would like to play off of.
Until then however, I will do my bit by simply spreading the word about this affordable convenient source for my healthy lifestyle needs.
You can enter my own discount code (TOY3430) at checkout to get 5% discount off your entire order if you’re a new customer shopping on iHerb.com.
Lastly, don’t forget to share these solutions for getting your natural products cheaply and conveniently. If you found it useful, other people you know could benefit from it too.
Spread the word and you might never have to pay again for your natural health and beauty products, supplements, health foods, drinks, snacks and your natural household and cleaning products ever again.
Dreams do come true. 😉
Isha
* This post contains my honest unbiased opinion of this natural products company and includes a discount code which if used by new customers might lead to me earning a small credit, at no extra cost to the customer.