How to vet a research peptide supplier. Seven checks, and our answer to each.

What are the seven checks?

Each one is a question you can put to any supplier by email. A vendor who will not answer in writing has answered.

1. Check 1

   Is the Certificate of Analysis per lot, or per product?

   Ask: Ask for the COA of the exact lot number on the vial you would receive.

   Why it matters: A single 'representative' COA reused across months of production proves nothing about your vial. A real certificate names the lot, the date, the method and the laboratory.

   Our answer

   Lot certificates are published in a public library before you buy, by compound and lot — QR-linked COAs on 36 of our 37 products — and where a lot's certificate is published, the QR code on its label resolves to it.

   Open the COA library →
2. Check 2

   Who ran the test, and can you contact them?

   Ask: The lab on the certificate should have a name, a website and a way to verify the report.

   Why it matters: 'Tested in-house' is a claim, not a test. An unnamed or unsearchable lab is the single most common red flag in this market.

   Our answer

   Lots are tested by an independent, US-based laboratory that does not sell you the material: HPLC purity and mass-spectrometry identity, per lot, with the laboratory named on each published certificate.

   See the verification process →
3. Check 3

   What happens if the certificate is wrong?

   Ask: Look for a guarantee with no preferred lab, no claim cap and no arbitration clause.

   Why it matters: A guarantee that routes you to the vendor's own testing partner is circular. The test only counts if you choose the lab.

   Our answer

   Send any vial to any ISO 17025-accredited lab in the United States. If the result disagrees with our published COA: We refund your order and shipping to your original payment method, and pay the lab's fee plus $100 separately — we'll arrange the payment method with you.

   Read the guarantee →
4. Check 4

   Which part of 'made in the USA' is actually done here?

   Ask: Synthesis, fill-and-finish, testing and labelling are four different steps. Ask which ones happen domestically.

   Why it matters: Material can be synthesized overseas and only labelled or shipped here, and both get described with the same three words.

   Our answer

   Synthesis in a US ISO-7 cleanroom, fill and finish at a US cGMP-certified facility, testing by a US laboratory. The chain is short enough to audit, and we state it in full.

   The full chain of custody →
5. Check 5

   How do you pay, and who holds your card?

   Ask: A supplier that can only take wire transfers or gift cards is telling you something about its processor history.

   Why it matters: Card acceptance means a payment processor has reviewed the business. It also means you have a dispute path.

   Our answer

   Credit and debit cards at checkout, entered in Stripe's secure payment form. Card numbers never touch our servers. Every order is covered by a 30-day refund policy.

   Payment details →
6. Check 6

   When does it ship, and what does it cost?

   Ask: Get the dispatch cut-off and the transit time in writing, not 'fast shipping'.

   Why it matters: Free shipping with a two-week dispatch is not free. The cut-off time is the number that tells you how the operation is run.

   Our answer

   Orders cleared before 2 PM ET ship the same business day, later ones the next. UPS Ground ships free on 3 or more vials or on orders of $100 or more, UPS 2-Day at $250 or more and UPS Next Day Air at $600 or more (products after discounts; water does not count). Below those, UPS Ground is $20, UPS 2-Day $15 and UPS Next Day Air $60. UPS 2-Day takes 2 business days, UPS Ground 4–5 business days, and UPS Next Day Air arrives the next business day. Every parcel has UPS tracking.

   Shipping and handling →
7. Check 7

   Is the material stable in transit, and how do you know?

   Ask: Lyophilized material should arrive sealed, with lot and storage information, and the supplier should say what the transit conditions are.

   Why it matters: A vendor who cannot explain stability over the shipping window has not thought about it.

   Our answer

   Lyophilized vials are stable at ambient temperature over the transit window. What arrives is the vials and nothing printed: each label carries the lot number and a QR code that opens that lot's published COA where one is posted, and storage notes are on the COA and on the product page.

   Storage and packing FAQ →

A six-step verification checklist

The same steps apply to any supplier, including us. Work through them with the vial and its certificate side by side.

1. Match the lot number. The lot number printed on the vial label should appear on the certificate. A certificate for another lot, or one with no lot number, does not describe the vial in front of you.
2. Identify the laboratory. The certificate should name the laboratory that ran the tests. Look the laboratory up, check its accreditation (for example ISO/IEC 17025) and what that accreditation covers, and confirm the report through the laboratory's own verification route where one exists.
3. Compare the dates. The analysis date should fall after the lot was made and before it was shipped. A certificate dated long before the lot, or after it left the supplier, describes something else.
4. Check identity by mass spectrometry. The observed mass should agree with the expected molecular weight within the tolerance the laboratory states. A purity figure alone does not show the material is what the label says.
5. Check the purity method. An HPLC purity figure should state the method and the detection wavelength, and the chromatogram should be attached. A number with no method and no trace cannot be checked.
6. Know how you would re-test. Decide which accredited laboratory you would send a sealed vial to, which tests you would ask for (identity by mass spectrometry, purity by HPLC), and what the supplier commits to in writing if the result disagrees.

What arrives, and when?

Common questions

How do I check whether a peptide COA is real?

Match the lot number on the certificate to the lot number on the vial, confirm the laboratory named on the certificate exists and can be contacted, and check the test date is recent. Our published certificates are in a public library, by lot, and the QR code on the label links to the lot's certificate where one is posted.

What does an independent third-party lab test for?

Identity, by mass spectrometry, confirms the material is what the label says. Purity, by HPLC, reports what fraction of the material is the intended compound. Both appear on every one of our per-lot certificates.

Do I need a license to order research peptides?

For the products we carry, no DEA license is required. Orders are for laboratory research use only and every order is certified as such at checkout.

How fast do orders ship?

Orders whose payment clears before 2 PM Eastern ship the same business day; later orders ship the next business day. UPS Ground ships free on 3 or more vials or on orders of $100 or more, UPS 2-Day at $250 or more and UPS Next Day Air at $600 or more (products after discounts; water does not count). Below those, UPS Ground is $20, UPS 2-Day $15 and UPS Next Day Air $60. UPS 2-Day takes 2 business days, UPS Ground 4–5 business days, and UPS Next Day Air arrives the next business day.

What payment methods are accepted?

Credit and debit cards at checkout. Card details are entered in Stripe's secure payment form and never stored by us. Every order carries a 30-day refund policy.

Is there a discount right now?

Code FIRST15 takes 15% off your first order of $200 or more, applied for you at checkout. Any seasonal code is shown in the banner at the top of every page and typed at checkout. UPS Ground ships free on 3 or more vials or on orders of $100 or more, UPS 2-Day at $250 or more and UPS Next Day Air at $600 or more (products after discounts; water does not count). Below those, UPS Ground is $20, UPS 2-Day $15 and UPS Next Day Air $60.