Spring Valley vitamins appears to be more of a mom and pop operation out of Springfield, Missouri. It has been owned by the same person since 1981. And while some may insist that this is not who you should be looking to purchase vitamin supplements from, I don't really agree.

That's because many smaller businesses tend to focus more on the customer service end of things. And that's just what I found. Upon visiting the website I was given a toll-free number for customer service. On a Sunday afternoon, I certainly didn't expect an answer...but...I was surprised when a friendly voice on the other end picked up. I requested a catalog but she informed me that they don't have catalogs.

The rest of my experience and review of Spring Valley Vitamins follows the same kind of pattern...

A strong impression in certain areas...and...a little bit of a letdown in others

Granted, my reviews are a little more stringent than most people. But that is my job. To steer you clear of the duds and guide you towards the supplements that are right for you.

Let's try to give you a feel for where Spring Valley vitamins fits in.

Like I said above, Spring Valley Vitamins excelled when it came to customer service. Many vitamin companies that I call don't even have an operating phone number, let alone a real, live person on the other end picking up and actually talking to you. In fact, I've called other companies with big, flashy, ultra-expensive corporate websites only to find that they've been defunct for some time.

That is not the case with Spring Valley vitamins. It appears that because they are a little smaller they have more of a focus on customer service...which...is a welcomed breath of fresh air in a industry full of marketing smog.

Like I said though, they didn't have a catalog. Which is probably something they should try to work on. Granted, I could see everything on the website. But what if somebody got their phone number who didn't have a computer and wanted to purchase something?

But what about the vitamins?

Spring Valley vitamins also appears to be selling some good products. What do I mean by that? Lets take a look at one of their flagship multivitamins, Life Essentials. For a multivitamin in that price range it is refreshing to see ample amounts of the low B's (vitamin B1, 2, 3 and 6). At least 25mg of each. This is often an area that many multi's skimp in. Not Spring Valley.

But then you look at the vitamin E and C content and it's a little bit of a letdown. Vitamin E is only 250IU's a day and it's not a mixed tocopherol formulation (at least I don't think it is...they never actually said what kind of vitamin E it is). Which leads me to one of my biggest complaints about Spring Valley vitamins:

They appear to put vitamins into their lineup as more of an afterthought, rather than their focus

For example, they aren't really called Spring Valley vitamins, they are Spring Valley Herbs and Natural Foods. My feelings were only supported when I was never able to find what exactly was in their vitamin formulations. For example, many lower end multivitamins don't contain a mixed tocopherol vitamin E. And that is O.K. because you can purchase a separate mixed tocopherol vitamin E and still be in the recommended dosing range of 400-800 IU's/day for vitamin E.

So I decided to check out their selection of mixed tocopherol vitamin E's. It was good. But again, the descriptions weren't. They listed the brands and strengths but then again, failed to mention the percentages and type of tocopherols contained in the product.

Some manufacturers use this little trick to fool customers into thinking they are getting more than they really are. For example, if it is a mixed tocopherol product they should list all the components and the percentages of each. Spring Valley vitamins doesn't have these 2 essential ingredients.

What this allows companies to do is use 99% alpha-tocopherol (less expensive) and 1% the other tocopherols (much more expensive) and pawn it off as a 25% mix of all tocopherols.

I'm not saying that's what Spring Valley is doing, I'm just saying that if you are going to sell a mixed tocopherol product you must be able to list the individual components or it starts bordering 'deceptive'.

And like I said above, Spring Valley Vitamins appears to be a good and reputable company with it's focus on customer service. However, the website design is a bit cumbersome and the lack of a catalog for offline customers is a serious detriment.

Even more important are the products, which appear to be pretty decent at first glance. But the lack of disclosure about ingredients and sources is a little bit concerning for me personally.

Spring Valley Vitamins does include other ingredients that I have heard good things about but am not in the position to comment on in a critical way as I really don't know enough about them. Some examples include chlorella, algae and bee pollen.

The skinny on Spring Valley Vitamins

In short, Spring Valley Vitamins appears to be a reputable company with a focus on customer service. But just when things seem great they have a bit of a letdown in my opinion. Their product descriptions are sparse which, when your selling online, is a bit of a 'red flag' in my opinion. They haven't had any bad complaints or reviews that I could find and their prices are reasonable.

For example, their Life Essentials multi is just under $12 with $4 shipping and handling. But, that will only last you 20 days at the recommended 3 tablets per day. So, you'll be more up in the $20 range for a month supply.

This is a fair price, especially considering the amount of vitamins that are in the product. But, like I said above, their descriptions of the product and where they get their ingredients and the percentages of each is just too sparse for it to warrant a wholehearted recommendation from me.

Spring Valley vitamins had a lot of good points that I like to see in companies, but their deficiencies were in areas that are just too important to ignore. Especially when it comes to your health and your money.

I found myself at times wanting so much to recommend Spring Valley Vitamins but in the end I just couldn't look past some of their shortcomings. But...I'll keep my eye on them and if things change a little...so would my review.