Swanson Health Products retail store

I HAD been a faithful customer. Now I will never use them again. I got an order of CoQ10 that was bad, in fact I called the poison control center and they have referred me to FDA. Since they crossed state lines, its now a federal investigation. The vitamins were contaminated… They want me to send vitamins bad but FDA wants me to send them in to them. Swanson won’t give me credit for refund on vitamins unless returned… this company can use lessons on vitamins and customer service!!! Be careful what you buy from them!

Terrible, malfunctioning website.
They offer payment by PayPal, but won’t connect you.
They offer live chat help, but that doesn’t work, either.

Fine selection of health products, but I’m far more impressed with the outgoing staff. They really seem to embrace the community culture, giving guidance and offering careful advice and suggestions. I shop here primarily because of the great crew.

I was out of PB2 and was tired of paying too much for it at local grocery stores. I did a search online and found Swanson Health. They had a promo for $.99 shipping and and extra 10% of the already low price so I decided to order 6 jars. After ordering I saw on Unilocal that delivery was slow. I prepared myself that it would be a while before it arrived and it’s not likely to spoil during long shipping so it wasn’t that big of a deal. I was completely shocked when it came in 2 days! Everything was packaged well and I am happy that it arrived so quickly. I’ll definitely order from Swanson Health again.

Beware of the Swanson Vitamin coupons. If you reach «$ 50 and want to use a $ 10 off or free shipping coupon, it’s no good. You need to stay above $ 50 after the coupon, so you need to order $ 60 or more.
Also, I tried to use a 25% off coupon that included free shipping. It didn’t work.
I called, and was told that the manufacturer of that product didn’t participate in discount programs. Baloney. It was a Swanson coupon; had nothing to do with the manufacturer.
Their coupon promotions are deceptive.

I ordered at about 4am Wednesday morning, paid $ 11.95 for a two business day delivery on a $ 100 order. You’d think, and I’d hoped, that I’d get it Friday night. But no. It’s coming Monday night. The rest of the world delivers on Saturday and some even Sunday in Southern California, but not Swanson Vitamins. If I ever have a major complaint about Swanson, or a reason to spend extra and get my vitamins through Amazon, with a guaranteed delivery date, it’s Swanson’s delivery record-​always disappointing unless you order first thing Monday morning. I just wasted $ 12 and wished I would have bought through Amazon. Slow learner, but not any longer. Semi good quality. Not bad for the price-​but you’ve got to have it in your hand, people, or it means nothing.

I bought through their website (I’m out of State, didn’t even know they had a store front). I found this company after googling for companies that sell my baby’s organic formula (since it’s hard to find locally and/​or always out of stock). I had never heard of this company before, and their price on this item was not only lower than what I pay at the store locally, there was no shipping cost either. Relunctantly I made the purchase even though this seemed too good to be true. I was quoted a shipping turn time of about 1 week (from what I recall) and the package came within a few days of order. I am so pleased, I only wished I had known about this company previously, it would’ve saved me a lot of money on formula! Will definitely buy from them again, and with peace of mind.
Thank you Swanson Health Products!

Definitely order from them in the summertime or hot weather if you want to wait forever and possibly have food products sit on a truck for days in 93 degree weather before they get to you. Also call them if you love customer service operators who hang up on you after you catch them in a lie when FEDEX tracking says one thing and they want to convince you otherwise.

It took me 30 minutes to set up my account and place a small order. The charges went through to my PayPal but the order was never placed. Now those funds are unavailable to me and I need to place the order elsewhere.
When I tried to log in, I had to reset my password three times. I had written down the information and typed it in correctly. Another 20 minutes wasted.
The person on chat «Brady» was of no help at all. I spent 30 minutes on chat with him and he told me there was nothing he could do.
This forced me to look for the products elsewhere and I found them cheaper.

The best health store/​market in Fargo! They have many organic products, which I love! The variety of products is incredible! I buy groceries, supplements, and essential oils from Swansons! I’m never disappointed, the quality is always great! The customer service rocks, I always leave with a smile!

Have been buying from Swansons for years. Shipping has been great and I always received my order quickly. All of a sudden they switched to Laser Ship. This company sends the package all over the place. When they do deliver it is sometimes later in the evening and they just leave it outside without ringing the doorbell. Then the package sits outside all night.
Now they have switched to Fed Ex who then turns it over to USPS. Whatever happened to the great UPS service they used to use!!!

Previous Swanson website order (see my past review) managed, somehow, to ship by slowest possible ground service after I’d paid for overnight shipping — which was acknowledged, the order completed and checked by Swanson personnel, shipping label generated PRESUMABLY with electronic contact from Swanson to UPS, as most firms do it. Discovering the gaffe was left to me, using the tracking number Swanson provided. (I struggle to see how such a situation could even happen, given the checks normal in e-​commerce.)
This time, the exasperating surprises were different. So much for rebuilding my confidence!
Aware of Swanson’s noon-​Central-​Time expedited-​ship order deadline, I started an order midweek 11:38 AM CT. It took 28 busy minutes, mostly spent grappling with Swanson’s RELENTLESSLY problematic e-​commerce design. Details:
11:38 CT My login as a past customer was held up, Swanson demanding new, email-​based username. That’s reasonable. I also agreed to a pop-​up offer, ’10% off plus Free Shipping on Today’s Order,’ in exchange for accepting Swanson promotional emails.
11:48 CT Email acknowledgment arrived: ‘You have successfully changed your username. To log into your account: [on website] Click the «log in» tab on the upper right corner.’ Not a tab, but a hyperlink, said «Sign In,» not «log in.» And DIDN’T WORK. Missing from the ack email was mention of a separate «Validation Email» (requiring a link clicked). I found it cited elsewhere.
Only, no Validation Email was in my inbox. 11:51 CT, I clicked a website option to RE-​SEND the Validation Email.
11:51 CT, Validation Email arrived; I clicked as instructed. REJECTED: Code Obsolete. More checking: TWO Validation Emails had come at 11:51 CT (as if clicking «RE-​SEND» dislodged the first Validation Email from a Swanson queue, but obsoleted it, and sent another).
I could then enter my order. In payment phase, no ”10% off plus Free Shipping” — promised at the start — appeared. The standard of e-​commerce practice is: if customer accepts a pop-​up discount offer on the site, that offer propagates through to the order form. Swanson DID NOT do so. After searching for my missing «10% off» — under time pressure since I’d already passed Swanson’s 12:00 CT deadline due to other Swanson website surprises — I chose expedited ship, completing the order 12:06 CT. This time, the shipment went out promptly with correct shipping option.
Eventually I found, in the Swanson email message flurry, one reiterating «I’m giving you 10% off». Buried in that long, chatty message (13 pphs. not counting fine print) was a link: «click now to activate your 10% Off + Free Shipping.»
BAD MOVE. Pop-​ups promising ’10% off plus Free Shipping on Today’s Order’ (and on Login page, «Sign Up Today For 10% Off: Enter Your Email») create an expectation that such will happen. NEITHER written offer mentioned a separate email step, and it’s unclear why Swanson even organizes it so: the website had my identity, and could have propagated the discount and shipping offer right to the order form, IF configured to. THAT’S HOW OTHER E-​COMMERCE SITES DO IT in my experience.
And, as with the wrong shipment method in previous order, there was NO PROACTIVE FOLLOW-​UP to this gaffe. Swanson possesses electronic records showing that I accepted an offer for ’10% off plus Free Shipping on Today’s Order’ and that no 10% discount occurred. Swanson could CATCH such discrepancies automatically, but again, they don’t care enough. It falls to the customer to bring this Swanson problem to Swanson’s attention (I’m doing so, will report response).
The impression continues of a firm with good products, many conscientious people, but hamstrung by an exasperating SUB-​STANDARD commerce website. When year after year, Swanson employees apologize for the latest website issue, but new errors appear next time I order, this problem at Swanson is DEEP.
Today when I think Swanson, it isn’t products that come to mind, but ever-​surprising dreadful e-​commerce design.
Were I a Swanson senior manager with P&L responsibility, I’d be CENTRALLY CONCERNED over Swanson’s e-​commerce presence — surely, a major Swanson retail channel. Start by personally using other e-​commerce sites like Amazon or Zappos, to learn how good examples work. And examine effects of your website initiatives in combination. (Example: email message acknowledging «successful username change» may need modifying, when you ask everyone both to change their username and to confirm it with a separate Validation Email step. Or, send the «successful username change» message AFTER the Validation step.)
I’m now getting daily promotional emails (my side of a bargain that Swanson didn’t fulfill) — daily reminders of the «10% Discount» screw-​up. Yet again I question whether this firm’s good products justify the relentless, UNNECESSARY problems.

I usually shop from another (cheaper with more items I use) online company however, they were out of my protein bars so I used Swanson. As far as the company itself I would give them 3 – 4 stars. But… they use smartpost or whatever to ship. Packages start with FedEx who is GREAT and end up being handed off to USPS. USPS lost my package. They claim it was delivered a week ago but NO… it wasn’t. They are delivering to a criminal law office. I promise-​it never arrived. They are still trying to figure out WHO they handed it to but I know it was no one here AND that it is forever lost. (I also bet my bars are melted considering the heat we have had or whoever they delivered it to ate them or tossed them…)
Unfortunately for Swanson, I will no longer be shopping from them because of how they choose to ship. I can’t stand the USPS hand-​offs. This is the second time something has been lost (not the second time with Swanson but with the package either starting with FedEx or UPS) with this type of shipping. Company wants to save money but in the end, it’s costing them more when things continuously get lost. You would AT LEAST think that if they were going to use this type of shipping they would require a signature at delivery! So frustrating!!!
Update: Three weeks later… the package arrived. After the replacement from Swanson.

SWANSON has great prices and a large variety of brands and choices.
What I do not like is, that they use UPS for the beginning of shipping, then pass the package to our local USPS office. That is where all the headaches and stress comes in. I was told by UPS, that SWANSON saves money.
The mailman we have, cannot be trusted. More than (5) times, he «scans packages as delivered», when I got nothing. The tracking number tells me the exact day, and by the end of the day, I am calling the PO, asking, «where is my stuff»?
Just this past week, he «scanned as delivered», and his supervisor said, «he specifically remembers delivering to your house.» WHAT A BOLD FACED LIE.
I called back to remind them, that delivering to the wrong house, could happen. He could scan the package anywhere as «delivered». People can get the receipt, and then IDENTITY THEFT, can occur.
After placing that call, the next day, he walked up with the package! I said: «I thought you scanned and delivered this, 2 days ago?»
«Sorry», he says looking down…” we found it in our warehouse.“
Sounds like they have a warehouse of packages they most likely sell on EBAY.
No wonder the PO is going out of business!
I relayed all of this to SWANSON, and they still insisted, «the package may arrive later than the tracking date.» (BUT IT WAS SCANNED AS DELIVERED, 2 days ago, did they forget?) How can you hand it to me now, after insisting, you remember «specifically delivering it, the correct date?
It would not have arrived at all, had I not filed an online complaint, call the PO 4 times, and remind them of IDENTITY THEFT.
So SWANSON re-​shipped, my order while all this was going on, then asked me, «when you get it, do you want to BUY the second box, instead of writing «return delivery?»
Noooooooo, I do not, and lets see, if the second order even gets here.
Even worse, knowing the behavior of these postal workers, writing RETURN TO SENDER, is no guarantee, that SWANSON, will ever get it back!
That was rude enough for me to switch to the VITAMIN STORE.
They think they are saving money, using TWO shipping companies instead of ONE?
It is a «roll of the dice:» if USPS gets it to me… no thanks, I want a company that uses UPS or FED-​EX all the way through, AND without me having to pay extra, to do it! That is what I was told by CUSTOMER SERVICE. $ 50.00 gets FREE SHIPPING, UNLESS, you want UPS to deliver, all the way through.
VITAMINS ARE GREAT, SHIPPING SUCKS BIG TIME.
I AM DONE!

This is the most extensive health food and supplement store in Fargo. It’s still a bit small, that’s why it’s only 4 stars. The employees are so helpful! They are truly care about what they sell. Great selection of diet supplements, tea, and health and body products. Check out what organic produce they have in stock, too.

Dear Swanson Health Products: Your RIDICULOUS policy of shipping THE FIRST ORDER to the billing address — which was NOT mentioned in my ordering process– has lost you a sale. I ordered BEANS (St Dalfour cans) and the order was refused because I had it sent to my mother instead of to my address. I live in TEXAS and she is in CALIFORNIA. It’s CHRISTMAS. People are probably ordering gifts. When a customer CALLS YOUR COMPANY and there is no problem with the credit card, I can verify all addresses, and the item is not a «drug»…do you THINK there could be a way to put the order through?
Needless to say– you will NEVER get my business again, and I will be sure to write this incident up on every single website I can think of.
PS– credit card fraud is the credit card company and the customer’s problem. I don’t see how it’s your business to decide to «protect» your customers by canceling sales. In case I haven’t made it clear– I’m…really…ticked off.

18 reviews.
This alone says something!
here are star ratings from Unilocal.
5 stars
8
4 stars
6
3 stars
2
2 stars
1
1 star
1
Add my 1 star review
I filed a BBB complaint!
The jest is, checkout is a pain in the A**S always, if codes and or free shipping used, and PAYPAL payment!
Today I made my little $ 60 order, wasted now over a hour concerning the BS, a call to C/​S for help, and speaking to a sale supervisior!
All this for a 5% and free shipping!
Never again.
Since AMAZON is selling great modern super supplements and such, and other web sites, and I have accounts at wholesale only companies, my Swansons days are coming to a end!
They make I ma told, over 100% profit, gross, off Swanson brand stuff.
My Quijy board says in the last 2 years their market share is down 15%!
Will Lee Swanson wake up?

Worst online experience ever!
Ordered online with my credit card, never received email confirmation.
Instead they sent me email requiring me to send them my bank statement with the order transaction. I did not see the transaction and have never heard an online store imposing such an unheard of bureaucracy. What a waste of time!
If you value your time — stay away from them!

Swanson Health is my favorite place to pick up anything health related that I may need! The selection of vitamins, their line or others, is second to none in the area. Plus, if you are looking for items to help with healthy living, gluten allergies or other food related interests, Swanson’s has a nice, yet small, food selection. There is also an area to find skin and other health care items, with quite a large assortment. The staff is always very nice and helpful as well.

Our family has used Swanson’s vitamins and nutritional supplements for years. We have used both the catalog and the online ordering. Just a word of caution, the prices in the catalog are sometimes different from the online prices for some reason. If you want to order online and get the catalog prices you need to enter the webcode found above your name and address on the catalog as a «promo code» in your online shopping cart then it will automatically make the adjustments to the catalog price.
The products are exactly as described and the prices are substantially less than the same product in local stores. For example, 150 soft gels of 1,000 mg of Natrol omega 3 fish oil is just $ 6.55 at Swansons and $ 13.99 at Sprouts and the Vitamin Shoppe.
The customer phone support is outstanding and they are prompt in sending out your order. They normally have a flat $ 4.99 shipping and handling fee for all orders, but do periodically have free shipping (our order today was shipped for free).
If they ever make the catalog prices and the online prices the same, I would bump them up to 5 stars.