I have been purchasing flea/tick treatments for my pets from a website
for a couple of years now. Recently I logged in and tried to place an
order and found that Bayer (the big drug company) had shut them down.
Forced them to post a humiliating message written by Bayer on thier
website. Bayer had also won a judgement for $40k plus 3x any profits
they had ever made selling Advantage.
The website was linked through various URL's petsitters.com,
nofleasnoticks.com, Petsitters.net, Petsits.net, 2ebay.com,
nofleasnoticks.com, bestpetz.com, and jimshanklin.com.
The "crime" they had committed was to sell European branded Advantage
(and Frontline presumably)at rock bottom prices.
As far as I can tell the only reason Bayer shut these people down was
to shut them up. They were clueing people in to the fact that the
large dog package of Advantage has the same exact medicine as the small
cat package. If you buy the large tubes and divide them into smaller
doses the cost per pet could be up to 1/3 of what is charged for
smaller pet pachages.
Bayer has convinced the EPA that only Vets. can sell this stuff because
normal pet owners couldn't handle buying it over the counter. In the
message posted by Bayer they assert that, by shutting these people
down, they a

"committed to protecting veterinarians, pet owners and pets from the
potential risks associated with purchasing Advantage from unauthorized
vendors"

What a load of bull! If they really wanted to protect people and pets
they would sell thier products over the counter and displace the stuff
on the shelves right now. The flea treatments that are currently sold
in walmart/kmart are fairly toxic compared to Frontline and Advantage.
If anybody out there knows more about this case, please add what you
know to this discussion. If this ticks you off (pun intended ha ha) as
much as it does me then please take a few minutes and go to Bayer.com,
find thier customer comment area and give them a piece of your mind!
While you are at it, go to the EPA "www.epa.gov" and comment there as
well. Tell them to go protect the environment and leave your pets
alone!