Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Bulk Apothecary's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Bulk Apothecary

  115 Lena Dr Aurora, OH 44202-9202

• 

  Bulk Apothecary

  125 Lena Dr, Streetsboro, OH 44241

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/02/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Purchased a tiny bottle of essential oil from this company. Just discovered them. On April 16th made my first purchase. Still haven’t received it. I actually purchased items from them since then that I have received. Those other orders not appearing on my customer account I created is concerning as well. But Because the lovely person “****” handled a $14.49 purchase problem so poorly. Will never be shopping with this company again. The item was ordered April 16th. Was in ************ on the 18th of April. Which is 5 miles away. After so many days I contacted the company because the tracking keeps saying “In Transit to Next Facility, Arriving Late” I pointed out to **** that I could literally walk back and forth from ************ at this point to go get it and the item is “not moving”. Oh no according to **** every time the postal service puts In Transit to Next Facility, Arriving Late. “That’s movement.” There would only be one more stop between here and there if that. Bolded in the email about the 15 days and said that is the company policy and he could do nothing. Are you serious? It isn’t my responsibility to file a claim with USPS as I did not ship the item. Since USPS is now daily posting In Transit to Next Facility, Arriving Late. I asked **** on April 30th can we officially deem the item lost in 15 more days which would be May 15th a full MONTH from when it was shipped so I could get a refund. Which I thought was more than fair. Then he just stopped answering me. I did try calling the company. Every time during business hours it would ring and then just disconnect. Tried multiple times in row. Did the same thing every single time. When I find a good company I am very loyal to them. Will spend thousands of dollars. Losing someone this early on over $14.49 who was willing to wait and work with you. Was extremely foolish

  Business Response

  Date: 05/12/2025

  I have forwarded to our customer service manager to address. She will be contacting customer tomorrow.

   

  thank you 

  Business Response

  Date: 05/13/2025

  The customer's order was shipped on 4/17/2025. The customer emailed on 4/25/2025 and said the order was lost and wanted a replacement. We were told by the post office that claims are not accepted before 15 consecutive days of the shipment date. The customer service representative advised that we can file a lost package claim after 15 consecutive days of no movement, and then provided the delivery date, per USPS, of 4/29. Unfortunately, the package was not delivered. The delivery date was updated to 5/5/2025. The customer was contacted on 5/5/2025 to discuss options. The customer stated she would wait to see if the original delivery was delivered and requested that we not send a replacement at this time. The original package was delivered on 5/5/2025 and we have not heard anything from the customer. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/14/2025

   I am rejecting this response because: I did not request a replacement. Never asked for that. I asked when a refund could be issued. That item was moving thru transit for almost a month. The message your customer service director/manager left was that “the item is most definitely lost, we are going to send a replacement” Her words in the voicemail not mine. I ordered and had received the EXACT SAME PRODUCT thru ******. Arrived in 4 days from the time I ordered it. I called back to speak with the customer service manager and was told she was “on another call” I literally called right after they left the message but whatever. When I asked how long I had to wait for a product to arrive from the incredibly RUDE **** I got no reply. Ok. That’s when I went on BBB. Could have avoided this entire mess if your customer service people responded to emails. The respond on here is not much better. I won’t be using Bulk Apothecary again or recommending them to anyone so we should be all set here. 
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/11/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I placed an order with Bulk Apothecary on 1/20/2025, I have not received this order. I requested a refund on 2/10/25 and that request was denied. It appears that their company policy changes regarding refunds every time I have contacted them. Please see attached documentation for details regarding this order and correspondence with **** and Bulk Apothecary.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/05/2025

  On January 24, 2025 the customer order was shipped by USPS as she had requested. On January 29, 2025 the USPS sent a confirmation email stating the customer would be receiving her order by 9:00 pm. USPS was contacted by the customer and was told to contact us the shipper. We had the same information as the customer. We agreed with the customer to wait until February 4, 2025 for delivery. USPS did not deliver. We confirmed with USPS that they had the order for delivery. They did not provide us with any delivery confirmation date. On February 22, 2025, we credited the customers credit card for the amount of the order and we proceeded to file a claim with USPS. On February 22, 2025 we received a call from the customer indicating she had received the order. The customer chose to return the order rather than have us re-bill her credit card. The order was returned to us which we received on February 27, 2025.

  USPS was totally at fault for this order being delayed. We acted according and responded to company policy. The customer was instructed that a claim could be filed against USPS. She chose not to. We were in the process of filing the claim against USPS when the customer contacted us and stated she received her order and was returning the order. We waited 5 days for a return that we credited to the customer not knowing if the customer did return the order or was keeping it. 

  There are a number of people that order product contact us about not receiving their order. In the past, we would confirm the information and would issue credit within 7-10 business days. We eventually changed the company policy due to excessive fraud. We issue credit too soon, customer receives order and does not return order. We then remove the customer from our data base from ever ordering again. This process is extremely expensive which caused us to change our policy in issuing credit to customers too soon.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/10/2025

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I placed an order on January 2. According to the information posted on the vendor's website, it should've been shipped to me the next business day, or January 3, and arrived within 1-3 business days. So, it should have arrived on January 8 at the latest. Well, the business claims that they shipped it on January 8 (!!!), yet the tracking information provided indicates that the shipper did not acknowledge the package. It's January 10, and I think my package is NOT arriving any time soon, if at all. There is a reason people order the item that I did, and it is to that there is a necessity to treat something - a bad cough in my case. The vendor's behavior is therefore not only extremely mesleading, but also very callous and shows lack of concern for its customers' wellbeing. Proposed resolutions: either fix your bad by shipping what I ordered immediately by the fastest means you have at your own expense (I waited long enough already) or refund my money IMMEDIATELY, without the usual foot-dragging (you know the deal, we will refund your money within 2 weeks nonsense), so that I can order from someone else. Let me know ASAP which one it is.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2025

  I had our customer service manager, ****** contact the customer explaining the shipping method chosen was USPS Priority. The customer believed the shipping method chosen to be expedited. That is not the case with USPS Priority. The order was tracked and the customer was informed as to deliver date and time. The customer was offered a 15% discount on a future order for her patience and understanding. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/24/2025

  I reject the business's explanation because: the business is lying through their teeth. They are
  presenting me as an idiot who cannot read, and it also looks that they may have
  changed the website since I placed my order. At the time of the order
  placement, as I was considering my shipping options (and believe me, I can read
  and understand information just fine - I have a PhD in Applied Mathematics),
  the information presented to me was that my order would be filled and shipped
  out the next business day (Friday, January 3) and the shipping would take 1-3
  business days (so, I should have received my order by next Wednesday, January
  8, at the latest). The good-for-nothing liars only shipped the order on the 8th
  (!), they claim, and it arrived on the 14th. So, there were discrepancies with
  both the business not filling and shipping the order when they promised (being
  very late with that), and the shipping taking longer. There is also another
  issue. The USPS did not acknowledge the receipt of the package for several days,
  which is very strange, as USPS has very good automated operations. I order a
  fair number of things online, and any time a USPS tracking info is provided, it
  yields the desired tracking info either right away or the next day. In this
  case, as of January 10, the tracking number provided did not show anything on
  USPS website. It was only on January 11th that USPS started showing anything
  about the order. So, I think what actually happened was that the package didn't
  leave the business's premises until January 10th or 11th (despite their claims
  that they shipped it on the 8th), the USPS acknowledged it on the 11th, and in
  fact USPS did their job within the time frame promised (11th to 14th). So, the
  likeliest scenario is that the business really dragged their feet with filling
  my order and shipping it out, actually delivering it to USPS more that a week
  after the order was placed, not the next business day, and the poor result is
  ENTIRELY their fault. They should just own it and stick it up their collective
  sorry ***. They are a crappy set of jerks who don't care about their customers,
  have very poor operating practices and no controls, and everyone should know
  about it. I certainly made sure of it, by posting negative reviews with all the
  relevant dates everywhere I could think of. BTW, it is in this process that I
  found out that I am far from the only one with such a bad experience.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/29/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have ordered from this business for many years with no big issues until this month. I ordered two cases of two different items. One was delivered the other was not. I received Zero communication from Bulk Apothecary. I had to email and call multiple times to try and get information about the missing items, which, of course I had already paid for. The sales rep was cordial and shared that they received one of the boxes back from FedEx as a damaged and not deliverable. Again, no communication to me about this. After multiple emails and her saying that it was on its way, I have discovered that it actually was not on its way. *******, who is the sales rep, not only did NOT reach out to explain but informed me that they were in dispute with FedEx about this and "when it is resolved" they will then ship out my order to the tune of " maybe " in 6-10 business days! Are you kidding me??? What kind of horrible policy is that? Throw the customer under the bus as they resolve their shipping issues? This order is now 3 WEEKS LATE. Horrible service, zero logical resolution, zero apologies for their mistake and now are NOT honoring my request to just cancel that part of the order and refund me so that I can purchase the much needed items elsewhere. This is a time sensitive need for my business. I am appalled at this business practice.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/29/2024

  My sincerest apologies to *** ******** for the inconvenience she has experienced with her order. A portion of her shipment was sent out twice. The first order was damaged by the carrier, which we confirmed with the carrier and it was reshipped. The second order supposedly lost by the carrier. We are awaiting confirmation. I had ******, our Customer Service Manager reach out to *** ******* directly to get it resolved. It is my understanding *** ******* has spoken with ****** and the issue is resolved.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/20/2024

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a $400+ order and paid for overnight shipping which would have arrived on Friday, 5/17/24. My ordered did not arrive and I contacted, emailed, etc to get compensated for the shipping cost. I was advised to contact **** *** does not have an option to compensate me for the extra charge for overnight shipping. Filing a claim only allowed for an option of damaged or lost packages and my order is neither. It is now 5/20/24, 3:16pm CST and my package is 3 days late. Bulk Apothecary has my money that I paid for shipping and will not compensate me for a service of expedited shipping that DID NOT happen.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/27/2024

  I will follow up with our shipping department and will provide follow up to customer

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/13/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased 5 containers of overrun lip balms on 7/4/23. The order is #*********, the lip balm was $42.29 after a 15% new customer discount, plus $3.81 in tax, and $14.17 in shipping.
  
  The company has a no return policy for the overrun lip balm. The problem is that I was sent expired, rancid lip balm. The lip balm burns your nose it smells so horrible. This is what happens when butters and oils have gone rancid. It is not safe to use and should be thrown out. They had me take pictures of the product and then I was then told they would not honor a return due to their policy, even though the product is unusable.
  
  I feel I should be allowed to return these at their cost, because they sold me a product that is unsafe to use. I would understand no returns if I changed my mind, but I did not. These smell so bad it hurts your nose which clearly is a sign they are no longer good. The fact that they don't seem to care that they are selling unsafe products is very concerning. I would like a full refund, including tax and shipping so I may purchase lip balms from other company. I do not feel I should lose my money because they are selling old product.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/25/2023

  Please find attached a copy of the refund  that was issued to this customer on 7/14/2023 in the amount of $52.86 for the product that was received. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/11/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I bought hundreds of dollars of Essential oils from Bulk Apothecary. My first purchase was in 2017. I keep my essential oils in the refrigerator or the basement, where they remain cold. A few days ago, I noticed a strong garlic smell coming from my refrigerator. I visually checked my Garlic Essential Oil to ensure it was correctly closed. I picked it up, and part of the refrigerator's shelf came with it. The bottom of the canister developed a leak and fused the canister to the refrigerator door shelf, putting a permanent hole in it. As I walked to dispose of the canister, Garlic oil spilled onto the floor from the canister's bottom. I am concerned about the other canister I bought from Bulk Apothecary, specifically the sizeable 5-pound canister of Garlic, which I have yet to open. Also, I have health concerns regarding the canisters and oil. If the Garlic Oil could dissolve the canister to produce a leak, what does that do to the oil inside the canister? I have Orange, Eucalyptus, and Oregano Essential oil, which I bought from Bulk Apothecary. What was I putting in my body? Because of obvious health concerns, I will not be using these oils. I contacted the company, and they indicated they could be of no help because I bought them years ago. The oils should be stored in reliable canisters that can hold the oil for years to come. I want a refund for all of the Essential Oils I bought from them. I have trepidations of using them for obvious health reasons! The total is $346.67. My refrigerator will never be the same. I do have emails I can send. If you want them, please let me know. Thank you!

  Business Response

  Date: 07/24/2023

  We issued a return form for the canister in question. Upon the receipt and investigation of the empty canister, we determined that the can did not leak as customer claimed. There was no product left in the canister to perform product testing.

  Upon further investigation we discovered that the original purchase of the empty can returned to us was 6 years ago in 2017. Our Certificate of Analysis strictly states the shelf life of the garlic oil purchased is one year from date of purchase. We do not guarantee beyond this time frame. Furthermore, the customer implies that she ingests the oil. We do not sell garlic oil for human ingestion.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/25/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I saw the previous review think they would have resolved this issue, but they have not. I purchased the 50 pound of lye and when I mixed it with the water BLACK RESIDUE appeared. Then I switched utensils and containers to test it again and same thing happened. I contacted customer service to see what could be done and after being given the 3-hour run around i was told that because it wasn't in its original container that they couldn't refund it. I never asked for a refund, but something would have been better than being blamed for the poor quality they produced. When i told them i still had plenty left in the original container to test to assure its a defective product I was told that they're not sure how I should test it but they can't give me a refund. I thought the product was bad, but the customer service was much worse.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/26/2023

  I have confirmed that Lot #****** of the Lye that was purchased passed testing and was approved for sale. We have reached out to the customer for a virgin sample of the lye and a sample of her contaminated product for testing. We should be able to determine the root cause of the contamination and provide better direction. If the product was contaminated we would refund the purchase cost without question. However, we have not had any complaints of this nature on any of the product that has been purchased to date on Lot #******.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/27/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  They never contacted me and they said I would have to test it myself and the attached image is a previous complaint from another customer having the same issue. So instead of lying and saying that black residue was never a problem, pay attention to the reviews left on your page.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/28/2023

  We have no issues addressing the customers request providing we can determine the cause of the product failure. We do not manufacture the product that was purchased. Without proof of the problem we cannot go back to our supplier for resolution. Our retain sample tested within the guidelines provided by the manufacturer. We have no idea what the customer has experienced other than condemnation for asking for a sample for us to test.  We provided a return shipping label so that the customer has no cost to return a sample to us. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/05/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  They are lying!!!! I was contacted AFTER I rejected the first response and they called and told me that I can send in a sample and they would send out a package so I can send in the samples. After that phone call NOTHING ELSE has been done. They lied and said no one else has had these issues but let me attach the review again from a DIFFERENT CUSTOMER that had the same EXACT ISSUE. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/10/2023

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 3/22/2023, I purchased online from www.BulkApothecary.com: 1) 192 oz. of (Our Version of) Bath & Body 'Cool Citrus Basil' lotion; 2) 192 oz. of (Our Version of) Bath & Body 'Eucalyptus Spearmint' lotion; 3) 192 oz. of (Our Version of) Bath & Body 'Lavender Vanilla' lotion; and 4) 192 oz. of (Our Version of) 'Sea Island Cotton' lotion. The total cost of the lotions was 119.40. In order to re-bottle the lotion, I also purchased 50 plastic bottles and 50 lotion pumps for a total of $57. In addition, I also purchased several bars of soap and jars of bath salts. The total shipping cost (primarily due to the weight of the lotion) was $78.06. On 4/4/2023, I inspected the so called 'scented' lotions and discovered that not only did they not even compare with Bath & Body(TM) products, but that they did not smell like anything at all. They certainly did not smell like 'Cool Citrus Basil,' 'Lavender Vanilla,' 'Sea Island Cotton,' or 'Eucalyptus Spearmint' as claimed/advertised. On 4/4/2023, I reached out to Bulk Apothecary to notify them of the defective product. On 4/10/2023, Bulk Apothecary emailed me labels for returning the defective products, indicating that I would be reimbursed the price of the product - minus shipping costs. I feel that I was incentivized in the first place to purchase the lotions because the webpage: *************************************************************************/ went on and on about "Bath & Body" this, "Bath & Body" that. I also feel that I was defrauded by the lotions that I actually received because they didn't smell like anything - as opposed to the scents claimed/advertised.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/13/2023

  I have instructed our staff to reimburse the customer for cost of product and shipping charges once we have received the total return of the items purchased.