I got this question today:
“I purchased Obagi 7 piece Nuderm kit and 0.05 tretinoin cream from you guys for 600$ and online it is anywhere from 250 to 330 dollars. Unfortunately I did not do any research prior to purchasing but I want to know why I have paid double the price”
This is a good question. Thank you for asking and giving me an opportunity to answer.
First, apologies for any confusion and it is always my goal to provide best value. I try to subscribe to the idea that price is what you pay, but value is what you get.
Second, I don’t personally have any experience ordering Obagi from any websites. Thus I can only comment on our own Obagi products on our physical shelves.
Third, if for some reason the pricing makes no sense from us. Just return it. No problem. Hopefully we’ll all be happy – that’s always my main goal is to have happy patients.
Here’s what I know:
- $407.70 is the actual price of the Nu-Derm Obagi kit from our office. This is the original Obagi kit, not the FX kit (which removes the prescription products) The full size Obagi Nuderm set has 7 products and has a list price of $453.00 plus tax. We have it priced at 10% off all the time (as of the writing of this blog). Thus our price is $407.70 plus tax. (as of 8/2/15 – prices subject to change)
- 10% off from us on Obagi. We offer 10% off all the time and sometimes at special events we offer 20% or 25% off. I can definitely see that the internet might offer 20% off or even 30% off? But for my medical office to carry Obagi, I feel that it isn’t worth my effort to have more than 10% off all the time for Obagi. Otherwise, I would just encourage my patients to buy Obagi elsewhere. But I carry Obagi, so I can be responsible for the outcomes and ensure good results.
- Free OBAGI follow ups with your MD or our office staff. I’m hoping what accounts for a better value at our physical location (Surgical Artistry, Modesto, CA) is that we will take the time to explain the products and adjust the usage of the products. Patients follow up with me (Dr. Calvin Lee) or with Dr. Wu. Most of these follow ups have no added charges. I think visits to the doctors office has some value – especially if we can make continued adjustments to the usage.
- Easy Returns / exchanges. I also have a hassle free return policy on the patients who purchased Obagi after talking to me about it (Dr. Calvin Lee). I would say that if you feel the internet is a good purchase, then just return the products to us. My goal of having Obagi in the office is to help our patients look their best with Botox and Juvederm. Botox and Juvederm (and now Kybella) are my primary passions in the office. OBAGI is an adjunct.
- REAL OBAGI. We know that our Obagi products are genuine.
- Doctor’s Presciption for Obagi is included when purchasing from me (Dr. Lee). We also know that we are following the rules regarding prescription products. Clear and Blender which are two of the products in the normal kit and some kits have SunFader. These three products require a prescription from a doctor. I think there are some foreign countries where a prescription isn’t needed for these products – I am not sure.
- Travel Size Nuderm Kit? Sometimes people want the Travel sized Nuderm Obagi Kit. But we don’t currently carry that. I don’t have the pricing on that kit, but I believe that it is in the $200’s. Sometimes the internet pricing is confusing and they might be touting the travel size rather than the full size?
- Because there are 4 additional key products which we sometimes add to the kit, sometimes people think they paid $800 for the “kit”. But the Nu-Derm full sized kit at our office costs $407.70. Then you have to add these other products – which we also consistently take 10% off. There are four (4) add on products that people like to get. For our office, we take 10% off the list price which we revealed below
- Elastiderm eye cream ($112. 10% off would be $100.80)
- Tretinoin 0.05% or 0.10% – ($91-$102 depends on strength)
- Vitamin C serum 15% or 20% ($93 – $115)
- Professional C Peptide Complex Serum ($113)
But I do agree that the internet has great prices, and I myself have bought many other products from the internet. But I haven’t purchased Obagi over the internet and I wouldn’t be a good person to ask about how that would go. These would be my own personal concerns if I were to purchase them (and other skin care products) on the internet. The pricing is so good sometimes that the prices are cheaper than if I bought it wholesale directly from Obagi:
- First, I am concerned about the prescription legality issues.
- Second, I am concerned about the genuine vs. counterfeit versions. Especially if the prices are lower than my own wholesale pricing directly from Obagi. We have had several experiences with patients who have brought in counterfeit Obagi and patients who have suffered damages from counterfeit “Obagi” products.
- Third, I am concerned about return policy.
- And Fourth, I am concerned about the ability to follow up with a skin care professional and make continued adjustments if needed – especially if the products require prescription.
Those are just my own hurdles if I were thinking about purchasing skin care items (ie. Obagi) over the internet. I have to admit, that I have done for other skin care lines for myself (I have bad skin and am guilty of experimenting) and I will admit that I’ve learned (for myself) to regret it. I also purchased a washer and dryer over the internet – that was a BIG mistake for myself.
I will also agree that sometimes our prices “seem” high – this goes for Plastic Surgery, Botox, Veins, etc. But with a higher price, I hope to offer higher skill (such as better advice), follow up, better safety, less pain (in this case, less pain in the return process), better attitude from us, better communication and in the end, better results. That’s my dream practice is to offer these things at the highest level. I’ve built this practice of ours on highest quality with best value, not on lowest price, and I hope it’s worth it.
Thank you for reading about the Surgical Artistry version of the Obagi Nu-derm Kit.
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