iHerb.com - The Complete Guide + Discount Coupons

Last Updated on January 23, 2021

iHerb.com offers a wide variety of vitamins, nutritional supplements, cosmetics and natural health products, all at amazingly affordable prices.

Although iHerb is not yet very well known globally, many people who have already discovered the site use it frequently, and rightly so.

1. What is iHerb?
2. How does iHerb work?
3. Shopping on iherb
4. Advantages and disadvantages of buying on iHerb
5. iHerb shipping
6. iHerb shopping tips

1. What is iHerb?

iHerb.com is a retail website that sells a large variety of nutritional supplements, environmentally friendly makeup products, cosmetics, proteins, vitamins and more.

The company has been operating since 1996 through two major distribution centers located in the United States.

iHerb is considered one of the world’s largest online stores selling natural products, with over 1,200 brands and 35,000 products.

The prices of products on iHerb are often significantly cheaper than in offline pharmacies and stores.

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2. How does iHerb work?

In order to buy products on iHerb, we must first open an account and sign up for the site, following a simple process:

1) Click the white arrow next to the “My Account” link at the top right corner of any page.

2) A small rectangular window will open, with the words “Create an account”.
3) You can sign up using Google’s social network (blue icon) or create an account on the site (green icon).

4) Registering through Google can be done using your Gmail address or mobile phone number. You will then be redirected back to the iHerb site.

5) Those who do not want to use their Google account or have no Google account, can click on the green icon and move on to a short registration form.

Once the short registration process is completed, we can start shopping on iHerb. The remaining personal details such as address and means of payment are not necessary until the final part of the purchase process.

3. Shopping on iherb

There are several ways to shop on iherb:

If you know in advance what product you want to buy, the simplest way is to search the product name in the search window located at the top of each page.

Once you start typing the product name, iherb’s algorithm will start suggesting products based on common search terms.

For example, if we search for Solgar’s VM-75, we can just type in the search box the letters VM and notice that a window opens up with suggestions of product names and pictures, helping us find the right product.

After we select a search term, using the “ENTER” key or by clicking the magnifying glass icon, a new window will open with all the products options, distinguished by a variety of features and parameters.

For example – the number of capsules, the type of capsules, etc.

Once we located the product we want to purchase, we can then choose the “Add to Cart” icon and then proceed to checkout or go back shopping.

Please note that under some of the products on iHerb, a blue cube will appear with the words “Shipping Saver”. This means that if we purchase the product, we will receive a discount on the shipping fee.

As we add more products tagged as “Shipping Saver” to our cart, the discount on our shipping fee will be bigger.

If we are not familiar enough with the product and would like to check out more details about it, clicking the product’s name will take us to the product’s page for additional details – expiry date, weight (relevant to the final shipping price), ingredients etc.

Using customer reviews can be another useful source for information on the product.

User reviews on iherb.com are quite reliable, and even if a product is recieving poor reviews, the site administrators usually will display them, as long as the review is real, in an ideology of transparency and authenticity.

The product’s rating is on a 5-stars scale. Clicking on the star’s icon will take us to the reviews page where we can read the insights of previous customers.

Another way to find products on iherb.com is by searching by category, brand or medical condition.

The categories selection option is located at the top left of the page, just below the logo.

For example, if we select “Categories”, a window will open displaying the various categories – Supplements, Herbs, Bath, Beauty, Baby, Spots and more…

If we select the category “Bath”, for example, a new browser window will open, showing the sub-categories within this main category. After selecting the required sub-category (for example “Bath Bubbles”), the main window will open, showing the products of the sub-category.

iherb usually has dozens of products in each sub-category, so we recommend using the filtering option located above the products images on the left.

By filtering, we can display results according to parameters like price, rating, popularity and more.

We can also choose the number of products displayed on each page. Once selected, the page will change accordingly.

4. Advantages and disadvantages of buying on iHerb

Advantages

1) One of the most prominent advantages of the site is the affordable pricing for most of the products.

2) Reliable and efficient customer service.

3) Discounted or free shipments (with certain weight limit restrictions).

4) A green agenda in which all packaging materials are recyclable.

5) “Fresh” products with long expiration periods.

Disadvantages

1) Some of the products can not be shipped to some of the countries, and there is no way to figure out if a product can be shipped to a certain location before reaching the payment stage.

2) The free shipping method does not include a tracking number or insurance, but it can be upgraded for a fee.

5. iHerb shipping

On iHerb’s shopping cart page we can see all the products we chose. Here we can remove products by clicking “Remove” or change their quantity in the designated pane. The prices will be updated accordingly.

Make sure the address and shipping details displayed at the bottom of the page are accurate.

The free shipment has weight limitations, and does not provide insurance or tracking number.

The upgraded shipment option has a significantly higher weight limit, and includes insurance and tracking for the shipment.

As we choose more products for the shopping cart, the more likely it is to get offered a free upgraded shipment.

There is a permanent 5% discount on all items on iherb, using the coupon code HAC7131, in the “Apply – Rewards Code” box on the final payment process.

Now, all you have to do is press the orange button – “Proceed to Checkout” and finish the purchase.

At this stage we will be asked to sign in or register, and fill any missing shipment details – address, phone number, payment method (we recommend using PayPal, for additional buyer protection).

After entering all the details, we confirm the order by clicking on the “Place order” button, thus completing our purchase on iHerb.

All the purchase details, including the tracking number, if available, can be found on the “Order History” page, which can be accessed by logging in to “My Account”.

As long as the order’s status in “Order History” is “In Progress” or “Ready to Pick”, there is still an option to cancel the purchase, by clicking “Cancel Order”, Without contacting the customer service.

Once the status of the order is “Ready to Ship”, it cannot be canceled.

6. iHerb shopping tips

1) iHerb coupon – iHerb discount coupon code

Discount coupon code HAC7131 will enable a 5% discount on any purchase on iherb. You can also access the site via this link and the coupon will be automatically updated on your account.

2) We recommend visiting the “specials” page, which offers a nice variety of discounted products.