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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Questions about Dr. Shen's

Does Dr. Shen exist?

Why do I have to take so many pills?

What is California Proposition 65?

Shipping and Returns

What are your shipping policies?

What is your return policy?

What is your privacy policy?

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Does Dr. Shen exist?

Shen means “spirit” or “supreme being” in Chinese.

Dr. Shen’s was founded by Joel Harvey Schreck L.Ac in 1994. Joel is often referred to as Dr. Shen, although that is not his real name.


Why do I have to take so many pills?

The Chinese invented the pill. Chinese doctors were prescribing pills in the twelfth century, much as we do today. Ancient formulas were often prepared as pills made from milled herbs bound with water, honey, ginger juice, or other substances. Dosage, by weight, of pills is generally 1/5th the amount that would be used in a decoction.

Depending on the size of the pills, that can amount to three to twenty pills at a time, taken two or three times a day. That may seem like a lot of pills to take if you’re used to taking pharmaceuticals. But it’s really only a few grams of medicine.

Besides, you can’t compare this to pharmaceuticals. Our body perceives and responds to herbal medicine as it does to food, not as it does to a hyper-concentrated chemical. Herbs are like vegetables, very powerful vegetables.

Dr. Shen’s has a standard dosage which is 3 tablets every three to four hours. This varies depending on weight, severity of condition, and sensitivity. If you have a question regarding how much to take, please ask your practitioner, or call us at 510-848-4372.

What is California Proposition 65?

If you live in California, you may have noticed that the labels on some of our products have a PROP 65 Warning Label.

Any warning can be concerning, so we totally understand concerns around this label. Rest assured, our products are safe. Used for generations, they’ve never caused any harm whatsoever. The issue is trace amounts of lead, which occur everywhere on Earth in plants and water.

The issue is not confined to Chinese herbs. Every plant medicine contains, and likely always has contained, trace amounts of lead.

Many nations have established standards for lead in herbal medicines. Japan allows 20 parts per million (ppm) for total metals in herbal medicines. The World Health Organization allows 10 ppm for lead. The Australian TGA allows 5 ppm for lead in a product. Germany allows 5 ppm as well. The US Pharmacopoeia has no standards for herbs, but allows 3 ppm in drugs.

Our products test at an average of 1-3 ppm, which is considered safe and incidental by all international standards for medicine. However, California’s Proposition 65 requires warning at only 1/2 ppm in food, and in California, herbal medicines are considered food rather than medicine.

We test every batch of our medicines to eliminate any possible contamination. However, herbs grow in the earth and are naturally rich in minerals. Even ours may exceed the amount allowed for food or water. Prop 65 allows the sale of these products, however it requires a warning.

The typical American diet is said to contain 15 – 25 micrograms or more of lead daily, mainly originating in fruits and vegetables. Other environmental exposures can result in up to 200 micrograms consumed daily. A maximum dose of herbal medicine can add 3-15 micrograms of lead per day.

Though these figures may sound high, they are actually quite low. Despite alarms in the media, the lead in our bodies today is actually the lowest in recorded history. Thirty years ago, when lead was in gasoline and most paint, we absorbed five to ten times as much lead as we do today.

Be assured that Dr. Shen products meet all internationally accepted standards for herbal medicines. They remain, as always, the purist and most potent herbal medicines you can buy.

What are your shipping policies?

At Dr. Shen’s, we make every effort to ensure your orders are handled and delivered with care. Please take a moment to review our shipping policies:

  • Processing time varies, but most orders are sent within 1-2 business days from the time received. Orders placed after 3:00pm PST will be considered placed the next business day.
  • Most orders will take 1-5 business days to arrive from the date shipped. Orders are shipped via USPS or UPS ground shipping.
  • Free shipping on orders over $75.00 within the contiguous 50 United States and the District of Columbia.
  • $4.95 standard flat rate will apply for orders less than $75.00.
  • We are not responsible for shipping delays due to reasons out of our control (address provided is not accurate, issues within the shipping company, held by customs, etc.).
  • For international shipments, the recipient is the importer of record and must comply with all laws and regulations of the destination. Orders shipped outside of the United States may be subject to import taxes, customs duties and fees levied by the destination country. The recipient of an international shipment may be subject to such import taxes, customs duties and fees, which are levied once a shipment reaches the recipient's country. Additional charges for customs clearance must be fulfilled by the recipient; Dr. Shen’s has no control over these charges, nor can Dr. Shen’s predict what they may be.

Do you ship internationally?

International shipping is available to many countries via USPS for a flat rate of $29.95. International shipping times can vary greatly, and buyers assume responsibility for all orders that are delayed or confiscated by the customs in their country. Legal status for Traditional Chinese Medicine varies from country to country.

What is your return policy?

Please note that this return policy only applies to products purchased from drshen.com and not from other retailers, nor other websites.  Customers should consult the return policy of the original place of purchase if not purchased from us directly.

  • New, unopened items in saleable condition that were purchased through www.drshen.com can be returned within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.
  • We are not responsible for the cost of return shipping. Damaged and incorrectly shipped items may be returned to us within 30 days at no cost to the purchaser.
  • Payments will be refunded to the card used for your order.
  • To initiate a return, contact us at info@drshen.com or call (510) 548-2181 x3.

 

What is your privacy policy?

This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit or make a purchase from Drshen.com (the “Site”). 

Personal information we collect 
When you visit the Site, we automatically collect certain information about your device, including information about your web browser, IP address, time zone, and some of the cookies that are installed on your device. Additionally, as you browse the Site, we collect information about the individual web pages or products that you view, what websites or search terms referred you to the Site, and information about how you interact with the Site. We refer to this automatically-collected information as “Device Information”. 

We collect Device Information using the following technologies:

  • “Cookies” are data files that are placed on your device or computer and often include an anonymous unique identifier. For more information about cookies, and how to disable cookies, visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org. 
  • “Log files” track actions occurring on the Site, and collect data including your IP address, browser type, Internet service provider, referring/exit pages, and date/time stamps. 
  • “Web beacons”, “tags”, and “pixels” are electronic files used to record information about how you browse the Site. 

Additionally when you make a purchase or attempt to make a purchase through the Site, we collect certain information from you, including your name, billing address, shipping address, payment information (including credit card numbers, email address, and phone number. We refer to this information as “Order Information”. 

When we talk about “Personal Information” in this Privacy Policy, we are talking both about Device Information and Order Information. 

How do we use your personal information? 
We use the Order Information that we collect generally to fulfill any orders placed through the Site (including processing your payment information, arranging for shipping, and providing you with invoices and/or order confirmations).

Additionally, we use this Order Information to: 

  • Communicate with you; 
  • Screen our orders for potential risk or fraud; and 
  • When in line with the preferences you have shared with us, provide you with information or advertising relating to our products or services. 

We use the Device Information that we collect to help us screen for potential risk and fraud (in particular, your IP address), and more generally to improve and optimize our Site (for example, by generating analytics about how our customers browse and interact with the Site, and to assess the success of our marketing and advertising campaigns). 

Sharing your personal Information 
We share your Personal Information with third parties to help us use your Personal Information, as described above. For example, we use Shopify to power our online store--you can read more about how Shopify uses your Personal Information here: https://www.shopify.com/legal/privacy. We also use Google Analytics to help us understand how our customers use the Site; you can read more about how Google uses your Personal Information here: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/. You can also opt-out of Google Analytics here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. 

Finally, we may also share your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, to respond to a subpoena, search warrant or other lawful request for information we receive, or to otherwise protect our rights. 

Do not track 
Please note that we do not alter our Site’s data collection and use practices when we see a Do Not Track signal from your browser. 

Your rights 
If you are a European resident, you have the right to access personal information we hold about you and to ask that your personal information be corrected, updated, or deleted. If you would like to exercise this right, please contact us through the contact information below. 

Additionally, if you are a European resident we note that we are processing your information in order to fulfill contracts we might have with you (for example if you make an order through the Site), or otherwise to pursue our legitimate business interests listed above. Additionally, please note that your information will be transferred outside of Europe, including to Canada and the United States. 

Data retention 
When you place an order through the Site, we will maintain your Order Information for our records unless and until you ask us to delete this information. 

Changes 
We may update this privacy policy from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to our practices or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. 

Contact us 
For more information about our privacy practices, if you have questions, or if you would like to make a complaint, please contact us by e‑mail at info@drshen.com or by mail using the details provided below: 

Dr. Shen's 
Attn: Privacy Compliance Officer
PO Box 8343, Berkeley CA 94707, United States

 

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