I use Chewy to regularly save up to 10% on pet supplies - it's even known to send personalized pet portraits as a surprise

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• Chewy is an online pet retailer that carries over 1,000 preferred pet-related brands and delivers right to your front door.
• A key feature is autoship, which allows you to create automatic recurring orders while saving 5-10% on select brands.
• There is no membership fee or hidden fees related to your Chewy account.
• Its customer service is available 24/7, 365 days a year. On top of that, Chewy is known to send its customers personalized gifts like a portrait of their pet.
• Free shipping is offered on orders over $49.

I know I speak on behalf of every pet owner when I say that our pets are members of the family. They have specialized food they eat, treats they snack on, and a bed (ok, ok - multiple beds) they sleep on at night. Having a pet is equivalent to caring for a child who has needs, likes, and dislikes that are specific to them.

Owning a pet came with a lot of responsibilities. That meant monthly, even weekly, trips to the pet store and lugging home a 20-pound bag of dry food, but that didn't mean caring for my pet had to be back-breaking and time-consuming. I needed to find an online market that specialized specifically in pet supplies. That's when I heard about Chewy.

What Chewy is:

Founded in 2011, Chewy is an online hub where you can purchase animal supplies for your furry friend from the comfort of your home. It's basically Amazon for pets where you can easily browse over 1,000 quality and highly-rated brands, making finding what your pet loves easier than ever.

They offer a buyer-friendly autoship service that saves you 30% on your first autoship order, and then 5-10% on select brands for subsequent recurring orders. Chewy has already congregated a list of brands for easy savings. On top of that, shipping is free for orders over $49, or just pay a flat rate of $4.95.

If you and your best friend are just looking to try something new, the site lists hundreds of shopper reviews so you'll always get an honest opinion. This feature was especially helpful when I was looking for a supplement to help my old boy's joints in his senior years.

How it works:

When you go to Chewy's online site, there will be an account creation tab - which is 100% free - where you list not only your information, but your pet's as well.

It's important to do this first for a couple of reasons: You can't checkout without an account and Chewy uses this to customize your shopping experience. It will ask you a few simple questions like what is your pet's name, birthday, and breed, plus some optional questions regarding their weight, allergies, pre-existing conditions, and medications. It also gives you the option to upload your pet's photo - trust me you're going to want to do this. After that, you're free to shop!

The browsing tab on Chewy is first broken down by animal type, then by subcategories like food, toys, and supplies. Other than your basic pet needs, Chewy carries preventative care and prescription medications as well. The company isn't focused on just cat and dog owners either; it offers thousands of products for every type of pet like birds, fish, horses, reptiles, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and more! Just add your product to the cart, checkout, and wait one to two days for delivery.

Key site features:

As mentioned above, Chewy provides exclusive savings to customers who enable the autoship feature. Meaning, you can create a custom recurring order for products your pet uses frequently, like food and treats. Chewy offers a 30% discount when you set up autoship, and then 5-10% off recurring orders from 30 select brands like Blue Buffalo, Greenies, World's Best Cat Litter, the Honest Kitchen, and more.

In this day and age convenience is key. Just like us humans, our pets require a lot of food and supplies to live a fur-tastic life, so you'll always know that they're taken care of. Chewy understands that their needs change throughout their life, so altering and canceling autoship orders is as simple as one click. It just asks that you make the necessary changes at least 24 hours before your scheduled order date.

In addition to the convenient shopping and shipping features, Chewy has created a handful of "Watch and Learn" video tutorials that can be found at the bottom of the homepage. These videos cover topics like transitioning your pet from wet to dry food, how to prevent ticks and fleas, and how to keep your pet from getting bored of their food. These videos were helpful for me when my dog needed medication in his older years. It left me feeling comfortable and confident that I was taking care of him the best way possible.

Customer service:

The best aspect of Chewy hands down is its customer service. The creators of Chewy pride themselves on how they handle their two-legged and four-legged customers. Their website states: "Our success is measured by the happiness of the people and pets we serve, not simply by the amount of pet supplies we deliver." Standing true to its mission statement, Chewy offers 24/7 live support via phone, email, or chat all year round.

It also boasts a 100% Unconditional Satisfaction Guarantee Policy on every order. Your pet doesn't love their new treats? You're not happy with the bed you ordered? No problem. Your money is returned to you, or customer service will figure out a way to fix the problem.

Besides setting the standard in customer service for order-related issues, in my experience and from what I've also heard from friends and family, Chewy truly goes above and beyond to make sure their customers feel appreciated and valued.

Remember that photo I told you to upload? Well, Chewy uses that photo to create a custom painted portrait of your pet. My coworker had an issue with his food delivery, and a week later had a custom portrait of his cat was on his doorstep. While Chewy can't send everyone a custom portrait, they do use those photos to surprise their customer's pets at random, which is truly something special.

I can't stress enough how A++ the customer service team is. Many of my family members also rely on Chewy for their pet supplies. When a family member of mine canceled their recurring order because their beloved dog crossed over the rainbow bridge, Chewy sent a fresh bouquet of flowers and a handwritten note to their house within days of the cancelation. If that doesn't show how deeply Chewy cares for all of its customers, then I don't know what does.

Pros:

If I haven't already convinced you to give Chewy a try, here is an overview of the website's pros:

• No membership fee
• 24/7 customer support, 365 days a year
• Save 5-10% on brands you love when you enable autoship
• Honest reviews from real shoppers
• Free shipping over $49
• 100% Unconditional Satisfaction Guarantee Policy (meaning full refunds)
• Never have to remember to run to the pet store again

Cons:

Not everything about Chewy is perfect, so here are some potential cons:

• Cannot ship to a P.O. Box address
• Cannot ship internationally
• There are shipping costs on low-priced orders
• Maximum discount of $20 with 30% off your first autoship order
• Prescriptions are non-refundable (unless they are incorrect)

Bottom line:

Chewy is THE one-stop-shop for all of your pet supplies. It takes the ease and appeal of the online-shopping giant Amazon and translates it to something along the lines of Prime for Pets. With over 1,000 brands to choose from, it's worth your time to grab your laptop - and your pet - and check out Chewy.

Shop Chewy for all of your pet supplies

Learn what brands offer 5-10% in savings on autoship orders