Summertime presents a challenge for the purchasing and sales departments at Amcon when it comes to stocking and delivering certain pharmaceuticals. The reason is the weather.

Amcon carries eight different pharmaceuticals that must be stored between 2- 8 degrees C (360 – 460 F) or they are subject to degradation or breakdown if they get too warm or are kept too long at room temperature. To maintain this temperature our vendors ship them to us in coolers and we store them in our warehouse in a refrigerator.

When it comes to shipping them to our customers, we use special packaging to keep them insulated. We also avoid shipping these pharmaceuticals when the temperatures are high. This time span can be up to three weeks during the summer.

So what does this mean for you?  Stock up now before it gets too hot.  To help incentivize our customers to order these pharmaceuticals while we can still ship them, we have put some of them on sale.   Please visit our web site for more information.

The following Amcon pharmaceuticals must be refrigerated.

PO-6362 Fluress
PO-6366 B&L Fluorescein Sodium & Benoxinate Hydrochloride
PO-6368 Altafluor
PO-6437 Proparacaine/Fluorescein
PO-6439 Flura-Safe
PO-6383 B&L Proparacaine
PO-6372 Proparacaine
PO-6431 Vigamox

Guest Blogger and Amcon Imprint Expert, Amy Finigian, clarifies the 2012 Amcon Return Policy

Return Policy Changes 

by Amy Finigian

Every new year brings change to Amcon Labs.  Our beautiful new 2012 catalog includes many new products and updated pricing on some of our old products.  After careful consideration and comparison of others in the industry, Amcon has altered a few points on our Return Policy for 2012.

We have always asked that customers call for a Return Authorization Number before sending an item back for any reason.  This year, we are adding a word.  It’s now called a Return Merchandise Authorization Number (RMA Number).  Having this number associated with your return helps us ensure that the credit is applied to the correct account in the most efficient manner.

We have added a 15% Restocking Fee.  Many of our competitors have a 20% fee, and 15% is the lowest we found.  We hope this Restocking Fee will encourage our customers to discuss the items being ordered more carefully with our Sales Team to make sure we are shipping exactly what is needed for the office.  This will, in turn, cut down on shipping packages back and forth, which is very costly.  Cutting down on unnecessary returns will help Amcon keep our pricing competitive.  We strive to be the lowest in the industry whenever we can!  (If you don’t believe me, then take a minute to thumb through your new catalog and note all the neon yellow “Lower Price!” starbursts throughout!)

We often hear from our customers how pleased they are with our level of customer service.  With this in mind, we have tried to make the Return process as simple and painless as possible.  There is a Product Return Form in the back of your 2012 catalog, or you can find a link to it on the Contact Us page of our web-site.  In addition, you may have noticed that all Amcon invoices now state:

SHORTAGES/DEFECTS MUST BE REPORTED WITHIN 7 DAYS.

ALL RETURNS MUST HAVE A RMA NUMBER AND
ARE SUBJECT TO A 15% RESTOCKING FEE.

So you might be asking yourself, how can I best use this updated return policy?  Here’s a few tips:

1. As soon as you receive a shipment from Amcon, you should review the invoice and make sure that all items are what was ordered and nothing is missing.
2. Make sure all items received are in working order.
3. Be sure to report anything we forgot to put in the box, or anything damaged/defective ASAP.  “All shipment shortages/defects must be reported with 7 days of delivery.”
4. Do not get rid of any original packaging and paperwork included in shipment until you are sure your order is exactly as it should be.
5. If you should need to report any problems, call our Customer Service line at 800-397-0012, or fax a completed Product Return Form to 800-397-0013.
6. Wait until you have received you RMA Number from our Customer Service Department before shipping any items back to us!

Finally, if you have any comments about how Amcon has treated you, feel free to let us know.  Even negative comments are positive to us, because we can learn from them how to be better next time!

I was sitting there waiting for my niece to perform in her school talent show. She was to perform with a group of girls and they all looked adorable in their matching skirts and scarves. Before the show started, one of the girls came up to her mother and asked for some make-up. The mother whipped out her cosmetic bag and began applying eye shadow, blush and lip stain to the eight-year-old’s face. She applied all of this color with one brush.

I didn’t think too much about it until a second girl came up wanting the same thing. Suddenly all the girls were waiting for a turn. I sat in disbelief as the woman applied the eye shadow and lip stain to each child using the very same brush. I wanted to reach down and hand her some of our sterile Cotton Tipped Applicators.

As the brush went from mouth to eyes I shuddered. What if the Herpes Simplex virus was lingering on someone’s lips? According to WebMD this virus often starts working before you actually see any evidence of a sore. As anyone who has ever had a cold sore knows, that is often the case. You usually feel sensations on your lips or mouth before you actually see anything. Touching an infected area, and then your eyes, can spread the virus.

Just opening a cosmetic product and exposing it to the air, leaves it vulnerable to bacteria. If elements like saliva or water are introduced, this only boosts the contamination possibilities, say many experts. Since saliva is loaded with germs, you should never lick your finger and then use it as an applicator.

Even our own lashes harbor bacteria. The folks at Brigham and Women’s Hospital explain that if a brush touches your lash and then goes back into the product you are using, bacteria is being added to the cosmetic. The germs on our own lashes normally don’t bother us, but if there is a virus, such as Pink Eye hovering there, it can easily spread to the next person should they use the same brush or wand. All cosmetics, and especially mascara which directly touches the lashes, should always be a one-person product.

Thankfully no mascara was presented to the girls, and since my niece was the last one in line, I just hoped no one was ill. Cosmetics are fun, but like everything, they need to be used carefully, especially when touching them to your precious, precious eyes.

It’s Monday morning and I am late on writing our weekly blog entry.  I’m still WIPED from the Sjogren’s Syndrome Patient Conference in San Diego, CA.  We (Dakota Labs – maker of VIVA Drops and sister company of Amcon Labs) were sponsors of the conference and gave out over 700 samples of VIVA Drops to the attendees.

The reception was fantastic.  Everyone seemed to be looking for a new eye drop that would help with their extreme dry eye syndrome, a side-effect of Sjogren’s.  Some tried VIVA and then came back for more after they used it.  Two of the physician’s who spoke at the conference (experts in Sjogren’s) requested samples for their office to share with their patients back home.  Sjogren’s Syndrome support group leaders from all around the country wanted samples to bring back to their local support group.

We showed up in San Diego with 300 VIVA Drop samples and had to have 400 more overnighted to us in order to meet the high demand.  What a thrill to supply this population with a product that can really make a difference in their lives.

If you are interested in trying VIVA Drops – we are happy to send you a sample.  Visit: http://www.vivadrops.com

I really should not be allowed to wear contacts.  I live waaaaay too dangerously.  Although I am fairly nearsighted (-4.25 in each eye) I have traveled without my glasses AND without a spare pair of contact lenses.  Stupid, I know.  I would not be able to function without my glasses or contact lenses. But I just don’t stop and think long enough to consider the consequence of my actions.  What if I tore a contact, or my eye got infected, or even if a speck of dirt got in my eye?  I would be completely out of luck.

So this is the reason I am so excited about this new product we are offering at Amcon: the Contact Lens Care Compact.  It’s a screw-top contact lens case enclosed in a larger plastic case with a pair of tweezers and two small vials for solution.  It is small enough to throw in your purse, glove compartment, briefcase or suitcase but large enough to accommodate all the essential contact lens care items.We are currently offering them in sets or eight: 2 pink, 2 purple and 4 black, as we imagine black will be the biggest seller when these are retailed from the practitioner’s office.

Personally – the hot pink one is my favorite and I am planning on hitting up the purchasing department for a sample.  (A nice perk of my job).  So when contact lens disaster does inevitably strike in the future… i will be prepared!

 

In my neighborhood the utility company is trimming trees. The notice I received, in preparation for this event, indicated that limbs or entire trees could be eliminated if they are found to be interfering with electrical wires.

A sense of dread filled me when I saw the service truck park in front of my house. I watched as the utility men surveyed the area and lingered beneath the big walnut tree that hugs my backyard. This tree is my neighbor’s, but I am privy to its beauty and shade. A series of thick cables threads through its branches and for years it has cradled the wires like a giant sentry.

Slowly the men assembled their saws, ropes and ladders. Then they climbed. My breakfast was cooking on the stove, so after shoveling it down, I headed for the back door to ask how much damage the crew intended to do. Limbs were falling, and sawdust fluttered like snow as I stepped out onto the patio. Like a bullet, my dog flew past me, breaking her stay command.

She raced to the fence, looking up. Suddenly she yelped and stumbled. She began frantically pawing at her right eye. I scooped her up as she desperately clamped her eye shut between violent blinking. I could see a mass of tiny particles swimming over her dark pupil. Remembering the Eye Wash I had purchased from Amcon a couple months prior, I took the dog into the house and wrapped her in a towel. Gently I held her lids open, and flushed the eye with the sterile isotonic buffered solution. Within a couple minutes she had stopped blinking. Her eye looked clear, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The eye wash worked great, and I made a mental note to never be without this inexpensive aid again.

They severely trimmed the walnut instead of cutting it to the ground. I managed to keep the dog out of the yard while the debris was carried away, but with my girl you never know when she’ll find something else to dig her face into. Yep, better keep the Eye Wash handy.

New Ficklets

With spring in the air and new catalogs in the mail, we thought now would be a great time to feature some new children’s products that we just introduced.

We have introduced 6 new Ficklets: Smiley Face, Puppy, Tiara, Cupcake, Cowboy Boots, and Ballet Slippers. We currently have 22 different designs in stock.
New Weezers Our popular line of children’s sunglasses (Weezers™) are evolving. We have introduced 3 new toddler styles: “Checkered Flag”, “Racy” and “Savage.”
Animaru Microfiber Cleaning Cloths Check out this new cute and colorful assortment of Lens Cleaning Cloths packaged in clear cases. They are sold in assorted animal dozens, 3 of each animal: dog, cat, monkey, and raccoon. Pinked edges. Cloth size: 6” x 4”.

Now would be a great time to check out all of our New Products that we have added to our 2012 catalog.

We had a great show at Vision Expo East in New York. Thank you to all our customers who stopped by to see us. See you next year!

It’s hard to believe that the first day of spring is right around the corner (March 20^th) and shortly thereafter is Earth Day (April 22^nd). This time of year is ideal to start thinking about your spring cleaning and ways to be more green, not only at home but also at your office.

The Sierra Club offers easy ways to go green (and save you money at the same time).

44% of your electric bill (on average) is from artificial light sources.  Installing energy star approved light bulbs and fixtures will help curb your electric consumption. Some of these bulbs can use 1/3 as much energy as regular bulbs.

If you use a computer, but get pulled away from it often, going into your settings and enabling “Power Saver” mode will reduce the amount of electricity it needs.  For example, you can have it set to go into power saver mode after 30 minutes.  Just be sure to set the setting long enough that it will not go into power saver mode while you are on the phone or helping someone else out. (NOTE: Some computers will require you to enter a password upon wake up.)

If you have older computers, monitors, printers, etc, consider recycling them.  E-Cyclers, as they are called, will take apart the computer and sort the pieces out so that all similar pieces that can be recycled or reused.  Some groups will even refurbish computers that are less than 5 years old and give them a good home.

The average American worker will print out 10,000 pages a year. If possible, printing on both sides of the paper will cut the amount of paper used in half. Also reusing scrap pieces of paper, for either printing or scratch paper will help cut down on the paper that your office will go through.  Buying refurbished/refilled toner cartridges can cut down on the cost of printing and the amount of waste your office produces. Office Depot states that:

“Office Depot brand remanufactured ink and toner cartridges cost an average of 15% less than national brands and come with a 100% money back quality guarantee. One returned cartridge keeps approximately 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills. Remanufacturing one toner cartridge also conserves about a half gallon of oil.”

Keep in that just because you are not using a machine, it doesn’t mean that it is not using electricity. Whenever something is plugged in, it is using electricity. For example, if you leave your cell phone charger plugged in 24/7, only 5% of the  power that it uses daily is for actually charging the device. If you have a large collection of electronics close to each other, you can plug them all into a power strip and just unplug the power strip when you leave at night and plug it back in first thing in the morning.  The same idea can be applied to appliances that are only used part of the day, for example if no one in your office drinks coffee in the afternoon, have it unplugged around noon, then the first person in plugs it in and starts a fresh batch in the morning.

Amcon offers another way your office can be more green.  Our AR Kleen Concentrate allows you to mix your own lens cleaner and avoid high shipping fees that you might incur when shipping regular lens cleaner.  Just mix the concentrate with distilled or deionized water and – voila – you have a gallon of AR Kleen lens cleaner.  In the spirit of being green this spring, we are offering this item at a special price this week.

Happy Spring, everyone!
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2007/03/10_ways_to_go_g.html
http://www.community.officedepot.com/top20list.asp
http://www.terrapass.com/blog/posts/energy-tip-10-remove-wall-warts-and-slay-electricity-vampir

March is Save Your Vision Month. Health Status.com explains why “Save your Vision Month” was started:

“Save Your Vision Month is held every March and aims to increase awareness regarding good eye care. Organized by the American Optometric Association, the main focus of this event is to encourage more people to go for regular eye exams. With computers becoming an everyday part of people’s lives, the risk of eye strain and damage is higher than before. Apart from ordinary eye care, this month specially focuses on eye care in the work place with an emphasis on employers to take eye care and health seriously.”

Here are a few everyday tips you can use to ensure your eyes stay safe at your work place:

If you work in a manufacturing environment, wear eye protection. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), every day 1,000 Americans injure their eyes in a workplace accident. Of the 1,000 injuries, 600 of them are people who were not wearing proper eye protection. Midwest Eye Care P.C. estimates that each year, injuries of this nature cost $133 million between lost production, medical expenses, and workmen compensation.

For those of you who work in an office setting, prolonged use of a computer can cause eye strain. Vision Works USA says that nearly half of all computer users experience some symptoms of eye strain.  To counteract the effects of computer eye strain they suggest you do a few simple eye excercizes. Among these are palming, scanning, and head rolls.

Prolonged use of computers can also lead to dry eye. The primary reason for this is that when you are looking at a computer you tend to blink less than you would otherwise. We all know that VIVA Drops are a  great way to help lubricate your eyes (See Dry Eye Caused by Sjorgen’s Syndrome and Other Conditions: Why Viva Drops Work Where Other Eye Drops Don’t).

Our vision is something that we usually take for granted,and typically do not pay attention to until there is an issue. Please keep Save Your Vision Month in your mind this month. Maybe its time for an appointment with an eye care professional?

http://www.aoa.org/documents/nutrition/Save-Your-Vision-Month-Release.pdf

http://www.healthstatus.com/health_blog/2009/03/31/make-the-most-of-save-your-vision-month/

http://www.midwesteyecare.com/SubSection/index.php?SectionID=7&SubSectionID=166&ParentID=61

http://www.visionworksusa.com/computereyestrain.htm