Iherb stops shipping to Spain: customs holds orders and costs soar

Iherb and its shipments to Spain: customs holds orders and costs soar

A 20-euro order. Seventy euros in customs charges. The buyer gave up on it: better to lose 20 than 70. That scene sums up the summer of 2018 for thousands of Spanish customers of Iherb, the California-based retailer of supplements and natural products that for years was the go-to source for protein, vitamins and melatonin at American prices. In June, shipments began getting stuck in Madrid. In July, the website stopped accepting Spanish addresses. And in the consumer forum, the question was no longer what to buy but something far more uncomfortable: how do I get it in now?

What has peine to Iherb shipments to Spain

The pattern repeats across customer accounts: orders of between 20 and 62 euros held in Madrid since early June, with customs demands that in one case reached 73 euros on a 62-euro purchase. Another long-time customer received a refund after weeks of delays, with the warning that it was a one-time exception. According to those who have contacted customer service, the company says it will take several weeks to find a solution.

The most common explanation points to a route change. Iherb used to ship to Germany: the package entered the European Union there and arrived in Spain as an intra-EU shipment, with no customs procedure. Now it ships directly to Madrid. And that is where the operator handling the fees comes in: Adtpostales, the company that, according to several posts, replaced Speedtrans after the complaints that brought the previous one down. Same firm, different name.

Some go further and argue the holdup is not customs-related but health-related: a pharmacy inspection that would be stopping everything, regardless of the amount. It is a hypothesis, not a confirmed fact, but it fits with the fact that the block also affects small orders that used to pass through cleanly.

The 20-euro threshold no longer protects you

For years an informal rule worked: order at most 20 or 22 euros, even if that meant splitting the purchase and paying more in shipping. The goal was to avoid the customs procedure. That rule has stopped working. The cases cited include 20-euro orders with 70 euros in surcharges, and orders of nearly 30 euros held with no explanation beyond the customs "issue".

The practical consequence is that the savings that justified buying from across the Atlantic evaporate. If the surcharge can triple the price of the product, the comparison with the local pharmacy or health food store is no longer favorable. And if the package is returned, the buyer enters a limbo of weeks between refund, complaint and waiting.

What alternatives are there if Iherb won't ship

Vitacost appears as the most frequently mentioned competitor, although it shares the same Achilles' heel: according to several posts, shipping depends on the same international operator, so the customs problem would be identical. Amazon is consolidating as the most practical refuge, with the advantage that the final price already includes taxes and there are no surprises at the door.

For whey protein, the debate shifts to European brands: Myprotein and Prozis, with flavors that divide opinion, and Amazon's own brand, Amfit Nutrition. The recurring conclusion is that the real difference between them is minimal, gram for gram, and paying double for a tub of protein has no technical justification. For more specific products, a French pharmacy that ships to Spain comes up, with prices in some cases better than the Spanish ones.

Payments that don't go through and a website that gets stuck

On top of the logistics problems, in the trinc weeks came an operational failure: orders stuck indefinitely in "processing payment" status, unanswered emails and customers who had to cancel and buy again paying by card instead of PayPal. Customer service, which used to respond within 24 hours, stopped doing so.

Not all cases are the same. Some completed their order without incident and received it in ten days via Seur, with no customs. The variability is, in itself, the problem: nobody knows whether their purchase will arrive or get stuck.

The business being lost along the way

While operations fall apart, the catalog is shrinking. Several long-time customers notice less product variety on Iherb and Vitacost, and start seeking refuge in Pipingrock, Vitamin Shoppe or Lucky Vitamin. The question left hanging is the usual one: if the package is lost, who covers the cost? For now, the answer depends on luck and each person's patience. How many will come back once the website works again?