Where to buy peptides in Europe: 9 checks before ordering

What it is

This is a checklist for judging a research peptide supplier in Europe before ordering. It applies to any shop, including the one that publishes this site, AuraVia Research. Most of the checks take less than a minute and need nothing more than a phone. Research peptides are sold for laboratory use only. None of the compounds discussed on this site is an approved medicine in the EU or the UK, and this page is not advice to buy or use anything.

The 9 checks

1. A lab report from an independent laboratory. A shop's own certificate is a claim. A report from a third-party laboratory such as Janoshik Analytical is evidence. HPLC, the most common test, separates a sample into its components and gives a purity percentage.

2. The report can be verified on the lab's own website. Janoshik prints a key on each report. Anyone can enter it on verify.janoshik.com and see the original. If a shop only shows a PDF or a screenshot, ask for the key. An example: retatrutide pen batch 0426, test 153429, 99.809 % purity and 14.74 mg per ml, key J7GIEWDX43JH (Janoshik test 153429).

3. The batch on the report matches the batch on the product. A report for another batch, another size or another format (vial instead of pen) says nothing about what arrives. The batch or lot number should be printed on the box or label.

4. The report shows quantity, not only purity. Purity says what share of the sample is the right molecule. Quantity, in mg per vial or mg per ml for a pen, says how much is actually there. A very pure product can still be under-filled.

5. The report is recent. Peptides can degrade, especially in solution. A test from the last few months says more than one from two years ago.

6. A real company behind the shop. Look for a registered company name, a company number and an address in the legal notice or terms, and a working email. Anonymous shops leave no one to hold to account.

7. Shipping from inside the EU, with tracking. Parcels from outside the EU go through customs, can be delayed, held or returned, and may carry import VAT and fees (European Commission). For the UK, check who pays import VAT.

8. Clear payment, refund and replacement terms. Written terms for lost or damaged parcels, a contact that answers, and payment methods you can dispute if something goes wrong.

9. Honest labelling. A serious research supplier does not promise cures, weight loss or results in people, does not give dosing instructions, and does not call its products medicines. Big promises are a warning sign, not a feature. Regulators warn the public about illegal online sellers of medicines for the same reason (EMA).

What the checks cannot tell you

• A lab report describes one sample from one batch. It does not guarantee every unit, and it says nothing about how a product was stored afterwards.
• No checklist turns a research compound into a medicine. The trials of these compounds used products made under medical-grade conditions and given under supervision.
• The law differs from country to country. Buying for research may be allowed where you live while use in people is not.