BTB: Think Smartpaks are expensive? Part I

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Think Smartpaks are expensive? Part I Posted: 05 Oct 2010 01:33 PM PDT The other day, someone on Facebook commented that Smartpaks are so expensive.  My first response was "Hey, what's your time worth?" But then I wondered, are they really more expensive? If so, how much?  I decided to attempt some math (gulp) to answer this question. The cost analysis I've talked about the benefits of Smartpak (e.g., convenience, dose control, ease feeding) in other blog posts, so this post will focus on costs. For this comparison I chose three representative supplements that are  popular, reputable, and widely available: Cosequin powder, Farrier's Formula, and Grand Complete. To get costs for the supplement by-the-bucket purchases I selected Valley Vet. Why? Because in a previous blog post on online horse product suppliers I found them to be the cheapest source of many equestrian items.  Comparing Smartpak to a traditionally pricey  source (e.g.,  Dover Saddlery) would be too easy. About the chart The chart below shows cost per serving  and cost per day (including shipping costs) for these three supplements purchased from: Valley Vet by the bucket Smartpak by the bucket Smartpak by the pack If you can't read the tiny print, click here to see the Google spreadsheet. Comparison of  costs: Valley Vet vs. Smartpak Buckets vs. Smartpak Packs Smartpak buckets vs Valley Vet buckets First, look  at per serving costs. Smartpak provides a per-serving cost on all of it's products but I added in shipping to that cost. After adjusting for shipping and servings per bucket... Smartpak buckets from Grand Complete and Farrier's Formula are cheaper by about 25 cents.  Valley Vet is offering free shipping for Cosequin Equine Powder right now, so it is cheaper by 10 cents/serving than Smartpak at this time. Valley Vet buckets vs Smartpak packs Next, compare Valley Vet buckets to the value-added sealed Smartpak packets. Here's the big surprise: Grand Meadows Complete in Smartpak packs is more than 30 cents cheaper per serving than Valley Vet buckets.   For Cosequin Equine Powder, Smartpak packs cost only 1 penny more per day, even though Valley Vet is running a special (free shipping).  For the Farrier's Formula the Smartpaks are about 6 cents cheaper per day.  For someone buying all three supplements, Smartpak is significantly cheaper (by almost 40 cents per day). I did similar comparisons across a few other supplements to make sure these weren't flukes. My conclusion:  many, if not most supplements cost the same, or even less, in Smartpaks. What is the most significant factor determining cost? I have a few more observations which I'll share in Part II.

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