Methodology — scoring v1
Version 1, applied to 247 vendors on September 27, 2026. The score reflects what a vendor publicly shows on its own website. It is a measure of observable evidence and transparency — not a certification that any product is safe, pure or effective.
What is scored (100 points)
- Publishes lab reports6
- Newest lab report within the last 12 months2
- Newest lab report within the last 6 months3
- Newest lab report within the last 90 days3
- Ongoing testing: reports in 3+ different months of the last year6
- At least a quarter of reports can be verified with the lab3
- At least half of reports can be verified with the lab3
- At least three quarters of reports can be verified with the lab4
- Reports carry lot / batch numbers2
- Most reports carry lot / batch numbers2
- Identity (mass spec) and purity (HPLC) tested3
- Sterility and endotoxin tested3
- Legal business name disclosed6
- Real street address (not a mailbox or registered agent)6
- Contact email published4
- Phone number published5
- Refund / return policy page5
- Shipping policy page4
- Card payments (chargeback recourse)12
- Research-use labeling present3
- Website registered 1+ years ago8
- Website registered 2+ years ago7
Evidence coverage
Shown separately from the score. 100% means we could read the vendor's website directly. Some stores sit behind age or research-access gates or block automated visits; those show lower coverage, and their score reflects only what we could see.
What is never scored
- Affiliate commissions or relationships
- Advertising spend, sponsorships or paid placement
- Vendor subscriptions or responses to our outreach
- Social media popularity
How lab reports are read
We open each vendor's lab-results page (in a real browser when the page builds its gallery with scripts) and read the reports it links to: PDFs as text, and report images with on-device text recognition. From each report we record the testing lab, the test date, the lot or batch number, the methods and panels (mass spec, HPLC, sterility, endotoxin) and whether the report can be checked with the lab itself (a lab-hosted report, verification code or task number). "Recent" and "ongoing" are based on those dates.
Batch/lot lookups — where you enter your vial's lot number to see its report — earn the "publishes lab reports" and lot-number checks, but not recency or lab verification, because nothing is visible before you buy. If we couldn't read a vendor's reports, the profile says so and shows lower evidence coverage: that's our gap, not necessarily theirs.
Not yet measured
Whether the measured amount matches the label; weighting reports by the lab's own track record (lab profiles in progress); and refund terms. These will be listed here when they count.
Corrections
Vendors can claim their profile to submit corrections or missing documentation. PepAssess re-checks every submission.