Help Center

Please CLICK HERE for a brief summary of Chinese Herbs and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Chinese herbs have long been used to promote better health in people around the world. At Chinese Herbs Direct, we work with our suppliers to ensure that our products meet the safety expectations of our customers. We source almost all of our herbal formulas are from internationally certified "GMP" (Good Manufacturing Practices) factories who extensively test the raw herbs and finished products for quality and purity.

Most herbal formulas have dosage instructions on the label. This should be your guideline for the maximum dosage you should take of an herb or formula. Keep in mind that the maximum dosage is usually based on an adult male of 150-200 lbs. Individuals with lighter weights and those sensitive to herbs would typically take less than the maximum dosage.

If you're taking an herbal formula for the first time, you may want to start out at a reduced dosage to make sure your body and digestive system tolerate the herb satisfactorily, then increase the dosage to reach the desired effects. Many herbalists also recommend "breaks" for continuously used herbs to help rest your body (i.e. not taking an herb every 4th day and every 4th week).

Raw herbs and extracts do not contain detailed dosage instructions, as these herbal products are intended for those individuals who have the proper experience and knowledge to prepare the herb.

Please Note: we are unable to provide specific dosage instructions beyond the manufacturer product labels. Please consult a trained herbalist for individualized dosage instructions.

We are a retailer of herbal formulas and supplements sold in the US as dietary supplements. Unfortunately, we DO NOT provide diagnoses for customers. If you'd like professional advice on your condition, we recommend you meet personally with your physician or a trained herbalist. Please note that we are unable to respond to any email or phone inquiries requesting advice on a specific disease condition.

You should first check to see if it's already in our online store by Searching Our Site. If you still can't find what you're looking for, you may Contact Us with the following information about the formula: (i) name of formula, (ii) manufacturer or brand name, (iii) brief description. If we can't find the exact formula you're looking for, we may point you toward a similar formula.

The beginning words in a Chinese formula usually signify the primary ingredients, or recipe, of the formula. The end of Chinese formulas typically signify the format (i.e. pill, powder, tablet, etc.).  The following terms are a general guideline to the various formats we sell:

• PIAN - Tablet (flat pill similar to many vitamins)
• WAN - Pill (round, waxy dark pill; teapill)
• TANG - Water Decoction (boiled whole herbs; may be concentrated)
• SAN - Herbal Powder (milled or granulated)
• SHUI - Tincture (extracted with alcohol or other solvent)
• GAO - Paste (topical or plaster)

Please CLICK HERE for our current Clearance Specials.

Take herbs preferably at least two hours apart from each other, and any other medications you may be taking (consult your doctor for any potential contraindications). Always follow the instructions on the label of the herb you're taking.

Whenever possible, take herbs on an empty stomach, at least half an hour or more before meals or one hour after meals (note that if you experience stomach discomfort from taking herbs on an empty stomach, you may want to take the herbs with light food or drink).

Herbs in pill, tablet, capsule and teapill form are ideally taken with warm water, tea or another beverage to aid in absorption. They should normally not be taken with coffee or other caffeinated beverages or carbonated drinks.

Powdered formulas should be mixed with a hot liquid such as tea (if powder is not mixing properly, increase heat and/or liquid amount).

Be patient. Most Chinese herbs and other herbal formulas take time to build up in your system and produce the desired effects. Medicinal herbs are similar to nutritious foods, acting to strengthen your body and optimize your health over longer periods of time. While some herbs (such as certain functional herbs and women's formulas) produce effects within a few days, most take several weeks to several months of regular use to produce the desired health effects.

If you're taking prescription medication and/or currently under treatment by a doctor, we urge you to check with your doctor BEFORE ordering or taking any herbal supplement.

We are not medical professionals, and are therefore unable to provide any advice related to contraindications or issues with your current medical treatment.

We do NOT recommend taking any of our herbs while pregnant or nursing, due to the lack of adequate safety data on possible effects on the fetus and/or infant, unless the product specifically states otherwise on the product label.

Certain herbs and formulas may increase the quantity and duration of bleeding during menstruation, so caution is advised in using herbs other than specific formulas intended for menstruating women.

Many daily, or "tonic" herbs and formulas are inappropriate during the initial stages of a cold or flu. In addition to making the body stronger, tonics may make the cold or flu more virulent. Instead of tonics, use specific seasonal immunity formulas and resume tonic formulas once the illness has run its course.

In general, it is okay to take several formulas concurrently provided they do not contain overlapping ingredients or functions. Check the primary ingredients for each formula to be sure you're not getting too much of one particular herb. If there are overlapping ingredients, you may lower your dosage appropriately.

Similarly, try not to take full strength dosages of formulas which serve the same function (e.g. pain, laxative, etc.). Even though the ingredients may not be the same, they could have similar effects on your body - so it's best not to overdo it.

As with any herb or remedy, it's always a good idea to listen to what your body is telling you. If taking more than one herbal formula concurrently is causing discomfort, you should reduce the dosage and/or discontinue use.

For individualized instruction on taking multiple herbal formulas, we strongly recommend you see your physician or trained herbalist.

To produce teapills, powdered formula is added to a concentrated liquid to form a sort of herbal dough. The dough is rolled out and machine cut into small round pieces that are then spun into teapills. Teapills should not be compared to highly-concentrated Western pharmaceutical formulas, where 1-2 pills provide the desired effects. Teapills are more similar to herbal tea broth, and are taken in food-like quantities to gradually build up in your system. While the average weights can vary depending upon the formula, a single teapill normally weighs approximately 150-250 milligrams.

Please see the following link for more information: California Prop 65

To place an order, try the following steps:

1. On the product page that has the product you want to order, enter the quantity you want to order and then click the blue "Add to Cart" button (Try scrolling down if you do not see it). This will take you to the Cart page. 

2. On the Cart page, click the blue "Check Out" button (Try scrolling down if you do not see it). This will take you to the Check Out page.

3. On the Check Out page, enter your email and shipping address. Scroll down to choose your Shipping Method.

4. Scroll further down to enter your payment Credit Card Information, and then click the blue "Pay now" button. This will complete your order and you should receive an automatic order confirmation email soon, please check your spam folder if it does not show up.

If you are still having trouble placing an order, you can reach us at support@herbsdirectstores.com or call us at 1-213-599-7518. We will help you through the process or we can place the order for you.

We want you to feel confident that your purchase is transacted with the utmost security. We employ the Internet's strongest security technologies, including 256 bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

Transactions are protected by the highest levels of encryption available to ensure security and privacy. The information is encrypted on your computer, sent through the Internet as jumbled code, and decoded on our merchant processor's secure server (Herbs Direct does not store your credit card information).

To verify that our checkout process is secure, look for the little padlock logo at the bottom right of your browser window during the checkout process, or notice that we use "https" in the URL to signify our secure protocol whenever sensitive customer information is passed.

If you are uncomfortable with using your credit card online, you may phone in your order details and credit card information. In addition, we accept payments by Check and Money Order. Please see Phone/Mail Orders for more information.

To keep our prices low, Chinese Herbs Direct was founded as an online health store with all orders made through our secure online shopping cart. Ordering online is still the fastest and most accurate way to place your order. However, as a courtesy to our customers who prefer to place orders over the phone instead of online, you may order via phone during normal business hours. If you're calling outside of normal business hours or we're helping other customers (which is frequent), please leave a detailed message with your callback number, and we will return your call as soon as possible.

When calling our order line, please be ready with your product names or item numbers, credit card information, billing address and shipping address (if different). You can reach us at 1-213-599-7518 or Contact Us.

Yes - we do accept personal checks, bank drafts and money orders.

If you've never ordered from us before, we ask that you first Create an Account to ensure that we have your proper name and shipping information spelled correctly. To pay by Mail or Fax using a credit card, personal check or money order, please download our mail order form here: Mail Order Form.

If you can't download the form, you may send your order and payment to Chinese Herbs Direct, 2527 W 237th St, Ste E, Torrance, CA 90505. Please include the following information: (i) the quantity and product number (i.e. AA1000) of each item you'd like to order, (ii) your shipping address and phone number and (iii) a check or money order for your total order, plus $5.95 for U.S. shipping (flat rate for all mail orders) and 9% sales tax if your shipping address is in California (no sales tax outside of California).

We also accept credit card orders via fax at 1-866-526-8359.

Please note that all orders by check or money order will not ship until the payment clears.

There are 3 ways to verify that your order has been placed.

1. Your order has not been placed until you confirm your payment and order details by selecting the blue "Complete Order" button at the bottom right of the Checkout page. After you confirm your order, you will be taken to another screen which shows your order number. This number (which begins with the letter C) tells you that your order has been placed.

2. Your order details will be emailed to you a short time later to the email address you specified earlier.

3. If you established an account with us during the sign-up process, you may check your order details at any time by Signing In.

If you're still concerned about whether your order was placed with us, please Contact Us.

Orders over $35 are shipped free anywhere in the U.S.

Orders under $35 will be charged a $4.95 shipping fee.

International orders start at $14.95 per order.

Expedited Upgrade Shipping costs:

USPS Priority Mail: $8.95

UPS Ground: $8.95

USPS Priority Mail Express: $32.95

UPS 2nd Day Air: $19.95

UPS Next Day Air: $39.95

UPS Next Day Air Saturday: $55.95

Please see our Shipping Page for more information or Contact Us for any questions or shipping issues.

The majority of our orders are shipped out within 1 business day of the time an order is placed. If there is delay and it is taking longer than 2 business days, this is likely due to a stock or backorder issue. We will then send out the order as soon as our restock arrives.

We will contact you or cancel/refund your order if the restock will be an excessive amount of time.

Please contact us if you need a more accurate estimate in these cases or in an emergency case.

UPS 2nd Day/Next Day Air orders must be placed before 12 pm PST for same day shipping, otherwise it may be shipped the next business day.

UPS Next Day Air will be estimated to arrive the next business day. Therefore, orders placed on Friday will be estimated to arrive on Monday. If you do need a Saturday delivery, please choose the UPS Next Day Air Saturday on checkout.

Please see our Shipping Page page for more information or Contact Us for any questions or shipping issues.

After your order is shipped out, you should receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking information. Please allow some time for the tracking information to update after receiving this.

Below are estimated shipping times, we cannot guarantee these shipping times as it is ultimately under the control of UPS/USPS.

These delivery services sometimes experience delays which are beyond our control. A small amount of packages may be delayed for period of time, but the vast majority of these will be ultimately delivered.

Estimated Delivery Times:

Free Shipping (3-7 Business Days)

USPS Priority Mail (2-5 Business Days)

UPS Ground (3-5 Business Days)

USPS Priority Mail Express (1-2 Business Days)

UPS 2nd Day Air (1-2 Business Days)

UPS Next Day Air (1 Business Day)

UPS Next Day Air Saturday Delivery (1 Day)

Please see our Shipping Page page for more information or Contact Us for any questions or shipping issues.

No, we can not. We truly want your package to arrive quickly and on time as much as you do. However, we can not guarantee shipping times as we do not have our own delivery service.

We can only control when the package leaves our warehouse and by what shipping carrier/option. Shipping times are ultimately under the realm of UPS/USPS.

We can and will contact them on your behalf if there are shipping issues, but our power is limited.

If there are shipping issues, we can and will work with you on a solution, but we can not guarantee shipping times.

Please see our Shipping Page for more information or Contact Us for any questions or shipping issues.

After your order is shipped out, you should receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking information. Please check your email spam folder if you do not see the email and allow some time for the tracking information to update after receiving the email.

Please see our Shipping Page for more information or Contact Us for any questions or shipping issues.

After your order is shipped out, you should receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking information. Please check your email spam folder if you do not see the email and allow some time for the tracking information to update after receiving the email.

There are some circumstances where UPS/USPS forget to scan or have scan errors that result in no updates with tracking information or the tracking states they have not received the package yet when they have. They can also sometimes mis-scan a package to show the wrong tracking information, or location. There are other situations where UPS/USPS will also scan a package as delivered when it is still en route, actual delivery can take up to a few more business days after this.

Ultimately, the vast majority of these packages do arrive. However, if you do see an issue with the tracking information, please contact us and we will look into the issue and contact USP/USPS on your behalf if necessary.

Please see our Shipping Page for more information or Contact Us for any questions or shipping issues.

If your package was processed through a local post office or courier, tracking details may say "Delivered" once it arrives at the carrier's facility, but it may take up to an additional 5 to 7 days to arrive at your address.

If you've waited 5 to 7 days after delivery confirmation and you still don't have the package:

• See if someone else accepted delivery. Check with household members, neighbors, building managers, the mail room, front desk, and anyone else who may have accepted the delivery.
• Look around the delivery location. Carriers sometimes leave packages in a safe, hidden place like on a side porch, in/around your garage, or behind bushes.
• Check your mailbox. Smaller items or items in soft packages are likely to be delivered there.
• Check for a parcel locker key. If your mailbox is in a cluster box unit (i.e., several mail boxes clustered together) or your package is addressed to a P.O. Box, check your box for a key to a parcel locker where the package may have been delivered.
• Check for a mail hold. If the U.S. Postal Service is holding your mail, your package won't be delivered.
• Look for a notice of attempted delivery. You may find an attempted delivery notice in your mailbox or P.O. Box or on your door. Follow the instructions on that notice to request redelivery or pick up the package.
• Contact the carrier. Ask if they have additional information about the package's location. Have your tracking or delivery confirmation number handy.
• Occasionally a carrier will scan a package as delivered before it arrives at the final destination, or the package may have been misdirected by the carrier and it could take an additional 7-10 days to redirect the mail to the proper location.

Please see our Shipping Page for more information or Contact Us for any questions or shipping issues.

We currently ship out to the following countries:

Åland Islands, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czechia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kiribati, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Martinique, Monaco, Montenegro, Montserrat, Nauru, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand (16 of 17 regions), Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Macedonia, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Pitcairn Islands, Poland, Portugal, Réunion, Romania, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa (8 of 9 provinces), South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, South Korea, Spain, St. Barthélemy, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. Pierre & Miquelon, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Turks & Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, U.S. Outlying Islands, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Wallis & Futuna

We currently do not ship to:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Ascension Island, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caribbean Netherlands, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Congo - Brazzaville, Congo - Kinshasa, Côte d’Ivoire, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macao SAR, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand (1 of 17 regions), Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa (1 of 9 provinces), South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, Sudan, Svalbard & Jan Mayen, Sweden, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tristan da Cunha, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

During checkout, the country should be available to select in the menu dropdown selection. If you do not see it, please let us know.

Delivery times may vary from less than 1 week up to 6-8 weeks, depending on the destination and your local customs processing times.

We do not cover VAT or custom fees, please be aware of all international shipping protocols and custom fees before placing an order. Some products may not be allowed to shipped to your country

Please see our Shipping Page for more information or Contact Us for any questions or shipping issues.

International Shipping is usually via USPS International First Class Mail (where available), which transfers the shipment to local postal delivery after it clears customs. Delivery times may vary from less than 1 week up to 6-8 weeks, depending on the destination and your local customs processing times.

Please do not contact us about speeding up your order through customs, as we have no control over local customs delays. Herbs Direct may be unable to ship to some international destinations due to local customs regulations. Please note that you, the customer, are responsible for all shipping charges, taxes, duties or other customs fees assessed in the country of delivery. You are also responsible for ensuring that the items you ordered can be imported legally into your country. Check with your local customs regulations prior to ordering. If your order is refused by local customs and returned intact to Herbs Direct, we will refund your original order amount (less any shipping fees and a 15% restocking fee).

When an order shipped internationally reaches the destination country, the package may be subject to customs clearance procedures which can cause delays beyond original delivery estimates (sometimes up to 30-60 days). We have absolutely no control over customs delivery delays and are unable to locate the packages until they are either delivered to the destination or returned to our warehouse.

International shipments sent via US Postal Service International mail must be handed off to the local country's postal service or other delivery service upon entering the country. Even though the US Postal Service provides a tracking number, this tracking number is usually not utilized by local country delivery services. Some local country carriers will deliver a package to your local post office for final delivery while others will deliver directly to the shipping address. Please check with your local post office for more information.

Please see our Shipping Page for more information or Contact Us for any questions or shipping issues.

We unfortunately do not offer PayPal as an option anymore as they have increased their restrictions on which supplements can be purchased via PayPal. Since they do not allow us to sell our full range of herbal supplements through their payment system, we can no longer utilize their payment gateway. We are still currently working with them for a possible future solution. For now, we only accept payment by credit card.

Most credit card problems are caused by a mismatch between the CVV Code you entered on the payment page and the CVV number on file with your credit card company. For your own security, we cannot process your transaction unless these codes match. When these errors occur, you are automatically redirected to the Credit Card Screen and there is an error warning on the screen.

If you're confident that your CVV Code is accurate and you're still having credit card issues, please Contact Us for assistance.

There are 2 common reasons for multiple credit card charges:

1. Declined Transactions

In cases where your initial checkout attempt was declined by our processor, it may appear that there were multiple charges on your account. However, this is a temporary phenomenon relating to the way credit card transactions are cleared - and does not reflect the ultimate charge payment actually made to us.

Using your credit card is a 2-step process: Authorization and Settlement. During Authorization, your own bank authorizes, or sets aside, funds in your account to pay for the attempted charge. After Authorization, the transaction is passed on to our own merchant processor for ultimate approval and Settlement. Note that the transaction may still be denied by our processor even if it was first authorized by your bank (this is usually due to Billing Address mismatch issues).

When a transaction is authorized by your bank, but declined by our processor, the transaction is not Settled (and money never leaves your account). However, banks and credit card companies tend to wait several days before they remove the authorizations from your account. Unfortunately, this is something we have no control over, and depends entirely upon the funds management policy of your particular bank or credit card company. When authorizations remain in an account for several days, they may look like charges - but they are actually uncleared authorizations that the bank hasn't removed yet. The only real charges that will clear from your account would be associated with an order number and/or email received from us. If it's been more than 5 business days since your order was placed and you're still seeing multiple charges in your account from a declined transaction, please Contact Us for assistance.

2. Multiple Orders

Multiple orders occur when a customer presses the Confirm Order button more than once. In such cases, you would have received 2 order verification numbers and 2 confirmation emails. In most of these cases, we identify the problem prior to shipping, and automatically void the redundant transaction. However, if you feel you've made a double order that we haven't yet voided, please Contact Us for assistance.

Please CLICK HERE for details on our Return Policy.

We do offer wholesale discounts to qualified resellers, retail stores, veterinarians, acupuncturists and herbalists. If you'd like to apply for a wholesale account, please fax your resell credentials to us at 213-599-7518 or Contact Us.

Yes we do. Our program is now managed by Share-A-Sale, a trusted third-party that manages several thousand similar affiliate programs. You can get details and sign up for our affiliate program by Clicking Here.

Sorry, but to keep our prices as low as possible, Chinese Herbs Direct is an online-only herbal store, and we do not currently mail out print catalogs.

All of our products, along with detailed product information and descriptions, can only be found online at our website. At this time, we do not sell through individual retail outlets.

Chinese Herbs Direct sends out an email newsletter several times per year. This newsletter includes the latest information on our product offerings, monthly specials and members-only discounts.

In order to sign up for the newsletter, you can add your email address to our newsletter subscription list at the bottom right of our website.

Chinese Herbs Direct respects your privacy. All account and newsletter subscriber information will only be used by Chinese Herbs Direct, and we will not release your information to any third parties. See our Privacy Policy.

Order confirmation and shipping emails are sent out to all customers, regardless of email preferences, to ensure a satisfactory shopping experience. Other emails, such as periodic coupons and special discounts, are only sent to those customers who have created an account or signed up separately for our newsletter.

You may unsubscribe to our newsletter at any time by either following the instructions at the bottom of our newsletter email, or Contact Us.

Chinese Herbs Direct respects your privacy. All account and newsletter subscriber information will only be used by Herbs Direct, and we will not release your information to any third parties. See Privacy Policy.

Please CLICK HERE for a sampling of recent customer comments.

Please CLICK HERE to learn how we are giving back to our community.