In the UK, Pharmacies are allowed to tell you when a commercially available product is available at a cheaper price than the prescription charge.... 'over the counter' remedies that have been prescribed by the doctor. That way, they get a sale and you get a better deal if you have to pay for prescriptions (£6.20 per item last time I needed anything).

Buying standard drugs in a supermarket rather than a drugstore makes a huge difference too..... a pack of 16 paracetamol capsules can be as little as 20p in a supermarket, but have up to £1 markup in pharmacies. The biggest difference I've seen is a markup of £1.25 on a pack of 32 aspirin.

What I object to most is the markup in the same chain of stores. I purchased a sandwich for £1.00 in one store, and an identical sandwich in another store for £1.20, the difference was basically a 5 minute walk across 2 busy streets. My office has a 'Sainsburys Local' store under it, and across 2 busy streets is a 'Sainsbury's Central' store....   For that extra few minutes walk, I can save 20% on my sandwich.

LTS