The Book of Peptides

CASE FILE · BOOK FOUR165 ENTRIES · 12 CHAPTERS

Industry Dirty Secrets.

165 ways a vial, a certificate, a price or a promise isn't what it looks like. Every one graded on the strength of its evidence. Every one ending with how to tell.

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One entry is open below. Membership unseals the other 164, the ten checks, and the whole interactive site — monthly or annually, cancel anytime.

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101
Grade: DOCUMENTED

Hard source: a regulator, a lab, a court, or primary-sourced journalism.

42
Grade: CORROBORATED

Multiple unlinked sources with no shared commercial interest.

22
Grade: RETIRED

Widely repeated, traced to one origin or to nothing — and retired here.

Where to start

Start with the moment you're in.

Twelve chapters is how the file is organised. It's not how anything actually happens to you. Pick the sentence that matches right now.Titles are open to everyone; the bodies unseal with membership.

The file

Every entry — titles open, bodies sealed.

Titles and grades are the table of contents. The first entry is unsealed so you can see what every one of the other 164 looks like — the claim, the comparison, the mechanism and the how-to-tell under each are for members.

165 entries

Labelling & potency

What the number on the vial refers to — and what it quietly leaves out.

S-001Grade: DOCUMENTEDUnsealed for everyone

"99% pure" is a typography choice

The purity percentage on a peptide label is typically asserted, not measured — one test-purchase study found peptide content of 7.7-14.4% against a printed 99%.

WHAT YOU SEE

A chromatogram showing one clean peak, and "99% pure" on the label.

WHAT IT MEANS

The peptide is a small fraction of what's actually in the vial.

Purity is the spec buyers rank sellers by, and the one they can't check without a lab. A peer-reviewed study bought semaglutide from three sellers and ran LC-MS: each chromatogram showed one clean signal, yet peptide mass was only 7.7%, 8.97% and 14.37% of vial powder — all three labelled 99%. A vial can be chromatographically clean and still be mostly something else by weight; purity and content differ, and stating only one picks the flattering one.

HOW TO TELL
  • Ask for purity AND peptide content as two separate figures, not one number standing in for both.
  • Request the chromatogram itself, with method, column, date and lab name, not just the percentage.
  • Match the lot number on any certificate to the lot printed on your vial before trusting either.

PROVENANCEPeer-reviewed LC-MS on product bought through a real buyer's ordering path (JMIR 2024). Three vials, one compound, one point in time — not a market rate.

That was one. The other 164 read exactly like it.

Claim, comparison, mechanism, how to tell — for every entry in the file, plus the ten checks.

Unseal all 165
  1. S-004An Expiration Date Is an Assumption Until Proven OtherwiseGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  2. S-005An International Unit Requires an Answer KeyGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  3. S-006Blank vials and code-only labelsGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  4. S-007Bulk powder, relabelled into something that looks manufacturedGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  5. S-008Compounds renamed into house codeGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  6. S-009Made here, allegedlyGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  7. S-010Overfilled, not underfilledGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  8. S-011Reading the cakeGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  9. S-012Same name, different molecule: the salt-form swapGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  10. S-013Subpotent, With a PrescriptionGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  11. S-014The Label Said TirzepatideGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  12. S-015The warnings are the first thing removedGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only

Identity & substitution

When what is in the vial is not the compound on the label at all.

  1. S-016"You Can Spot a Fake by Looking at It"Grade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  2. S-017A Different Salt, Sold Under the Same NameGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  3. S-018A Manufacturing Identity, Printed OnGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  4. S-019No Name You Can Look UpGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  5. S-020Nothing in the VialGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  6. S-021Nothing to Check It AgainstGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  7. S-022Sold as "The Generic" of Something That Has No GenericGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  8. S-023The Bulking Agent the Detector Never SawGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  9. S-024The Drum Said One Molecule, the Assay Said AnotherGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  10. S-025The Pharmacy on the Label That Made NothingGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  11. S-026The Repackager's Name Is Not the Maker's NameGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  12. S-027The Storefront That Vanished; The Same Product Kept ShippingGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  13. S-028The Substitute That Never Passed Its Own TrialGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only

The paperwork

Certificates, chromatograms, and documents easier to fake than the product.

  1. S-029A Certificate of Conformance Is Not a Certificate of AnalysisGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  2. S-030GLP Is Not GLP-1, and Almost Nobody Here Actually Has ItGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  3. S-031Identity Is the Test They SkipGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  4. S-032Ninety-Nine Percent, Measured in Single DigitsGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  5. S-033Purity Is Not PotencyGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  6. S-034Sterile Is Not the Same as Safe to InjectGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  7. S-035Tested After It ShippedGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  8. S-036The Calibration Nobody Shows YouGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  9. S-037The Failure Rate That Cites ItselfGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  10. S-038The Impurity Peaks Are the ReportGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  11. S-039The Inspection That Never HappenedGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  12. S-040The Report That Doesn't ResolveGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  13. S-041The Sample They Chose, Not the Vial You GotGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  14. S-042The Vial You Have Is the Only Evidence That Will Ever ExistGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only

The arithmetic

Concentration, units, and the conversions where money quietly goes missing.

  1. S-043A Unit Is a Volume, Not a DoseGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  2. S-044More Water Does Not Make More DrugGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  3. S-045One Number for Two CompoundsGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  4. S-046The Chart That Assumed a Different VialGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  5. S-047The Conversion Factor That Outlived Its Reference MaterialGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  6. S-048The Dose Left in the NeedleGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  7. S-049The Milligram That Assumes a Chemical FormGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  8. S-050The Rat Dose Nobody ConvertedGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  9. S-051The Split-Dose Percentage From NowhereGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  10. S-052The Symbol That Loses Its Left HalfGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  11. S-053Three Units, One Syringe, Ten Times the DoseGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  12. S-054Titration Built for Retention, Not ToleranceGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  13. S-055Your Maths Is Only as Good as the LabelGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
SEALED · 04 OF 12 CHAPTERS BEHIND YOU

Four chapters of titles. Members read the bodies.

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Where it actually comes from

Rebranding, drop-shipping, and the distance between a brand and a factory.

  1. S-056"It All Comes From the Same Factory Anyway"Grade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  2. S-057A Doctor Handed It to You. That Is Not Provenance.Grade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  3. S-058A Label Printer Is a FactoryGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  4. S-059One Box, Fifteen Parcels, No ManifestGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  5. S-060Sixty-Six Networks Behind Nearly Six Thousand StorefrontsGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  6. S-061The Drug Was Real. The Fridge Wasn't Secure.Grade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  7. S-062The Fake That Came Through the Front DoorGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  8. S-063The Supplier Who Invented Its Own InspectionGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  9. S-064The Tracking Number That Was Never Going AnywhereGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  10. S-065Whose Powder Is It, Really?Grade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only

Cold chain & decay

What happens between the factory and your fridge, and who absorbs it.

  1. S-066Every Puncture Takes A Bite Out Of The StopperGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  2. S-067Light Is A Storage Condition, And Nobody States ItGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  3. S-068No Expiry, No Storage Condition, No ClockGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  4. S-069Nothing About A Ruined Vial Looks RuinedGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  5. S-070Shake To Dissolve, And You've Made Something ElseGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  6. S-071Stable At Room Temperature For [Number]Grade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  7. S-072The Beyond-Use Date They Didn't Quote YouGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  8. S-073The Cold Chain Ends At The Warehouse DoorGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  9. S-074The Expired-Drugs-Still-Work Study Wasn't Testing Your VialGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  10. S-075The Glass Is Not Inert EitherGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  11. S-076The In-Use Clock Nobody StartsGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  12. S-077The Intact-Cake TestGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  13. S-078The Water That Was Never Meant To Be InjectedGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  14. S-079The Wrong WaterGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  15. S-080When It Stops Working, You Blame YourselfGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  16. S-081Your Refrigerator Is Not A 2–8 °C EnvironmentGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only

What the marketing is doing

The tricks aimed at the buyer rather than at the product.

  1. S-082Endorsement You Were Never Told Was PaidGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  2. S-083One Transformation Photo, Marketed as Everyone's ResultGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  3. S-084Reading a Withdrawal as a BlessingGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  4. S-085The Additive That Exists to Be MarketedGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  5. S-086The Claim That Is Everywhere and Comes From One PlaceGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  6. S-087The Clock That Was Never RealGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  7. S-088The Comparison Site Is the StorefrontGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  8. S-089The Disclaimer That Protects Only the SellerGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  9. S-090The Equivalence SentenceGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  10. S-091The Failure-Rate Statistic Everyone QuotesGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  11. S-092The Reviews You Were Allowed to SeeGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  12. S-093Trial Data Borrowed for a Vial That Was Never in the TrialGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only

Price as a signal

Per-vial, per-milligram, and the arithmetic of a bargain.

  1. S-094A guarantee from someone you cannot invoiceGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  2. S-095Eighty percent off a price almost nobody paysGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  3. S-096Five percent off, and your chargeback with itGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  4. S-097Per vial, per pen, per pack — never per milligramGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  5. S-098Price is proof of nothingGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  6. S-099Shopping around, inside a single sellerGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  7. S-100The advertised price you were never meant to payGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  8. S-101The bulk discount that concentrates the lossGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  9. S-102The countdown that resets when you doGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  10. S-103The discount code is a commission trackerGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  11. S-104The margin is in the water and the syringesGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  12. S-105The number you compared was never the number you paidGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  13. S-106The price that changes because you're the one looking at itGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  14. S-107The reorder you never agreed toGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  15. S-108The second invoice is the actual productGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
SEALED · 08 OF 12 CHAPTERS BEHIND YOU

Eight chapters of titles. Members read the bodies.

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Payment & recourse

What happens when it goes wrong, and why it so often cannot.

  1. S-109A Guarantee With Nobody Behind ItGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  2. S-110Discreet Everything, Including the ReceiptGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  3. S-111Dispute and You'll Be BlacklistedGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  4. S-112Five Percent Off, One Hundred Percent UnrecoverableGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  5. S-113Not on the Blacklist Is Not on the Allow-ListGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  6. S-114Protected For Everything Except What You BoughtGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  7. S-115Reporting Protects the Next Buyer, Not This OneGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  8. S-116Reputation Rented on a Disposable DomainGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  9. S-117The "Friends and Family" AskGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  10. S-118The Belief That You Cannot Report ItGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  11. S-119The Buyer Who Already Lost Once Is the Best LeadGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  12. S-120The Card-Harvesting FrontGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  13. S-121The Customs Fee Is the ProductGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  14. S-122The Transfer That Was Never "Unauthorized"Grade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  15. S-123Your Dispute Window Closes Before the Parcel LandsGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only

Testing theatre

The appearance of verification, without the verification.

  1. S-124A Certificate For The Drum, Not The VialGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  2. S-125A Colour Change Is Not A ChromatogramGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  3. S-126Milligrams Of Powder, Not Milligrams Of PeptideGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  4. S-127Ninety-Nine Per Cent, Typed Not MeasuredGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  5. S-128Pure, Yes. Of What?Grade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  6. S-129Registered Is A Form, Not A FindingGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  7. S-130Sterile And Still PyrogenicGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  8. S-131Tested After You Injected ItGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  9. S-132The Certificate Nobody VerifiedGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  10. S-133The Panel That's Never On The CertificateGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  11. S-134The Reference Standard Nobody NamesGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  12. S-135The Sting Is Not A TestGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only

Working the rules

Research-use-only, jurisdictions, and the legal shape of the trade.

  1. S-136"Compounded" names a set of exemptions, not a standardGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  2. S-137"Legal to import" is a claim about your paperwork, not their productGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  3. S-138"Nothing ever happens to the buyer"Grade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  4. S-139A "Green List" clears an ingredient at the border, not the pharmacy down the lineGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  5. S-140A "Supplement Facts" panel can be a legal impossibility, not just an unproven claimGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  6. S-141A Certificate of Free Sale is a trade document, not a safety verdictGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  7. S-142A delisting is not a clearanceGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  8. S-143A different dosage form is not a different legal categoryGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  9. S-144An advisory committee's yes vote is not FDA's yesGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  10. S-145Master cartons and mis-manifested freightGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  11. S-146Registered is not inspectedGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  12. S-147The advertisement is itself the offenceGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  13. S-148The brand on the label may not be the compounder the law actually holds accountableGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  14. S-149The research-use disclaimer is a shield for the seller, not a description of the productGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  15. S-150The shortage window that closed, and the marketing that didn'tGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  16. S-151The unlabelled vial: the seller's border risk, transferred to youGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  17. S-152The vitamin bolted on to dodge the copy ruleGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only

Counterfeit pharmaceuticals

Where this trade overlaps with straightforward drug counterfeiting.

  1. S-153"It's The Generic" — When No Generic ExistsGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
  2. S-154Bulk Powder, A Blank Vial, And A Label PrinterGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  3. S-155Counterfeits Come In UpstreamGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  4. S-156Growth Hormone Runs Its Own Counterfeit PipelineGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  5. S-157It Worked, So It Was RealGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  6. S-158Only The Famous Drugs Get FakedGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  7. S-159The Barcode Scans; The Serial Says It Was Already SoldGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  8. S-160The Factory Was Real. The Drug Never Was.Grade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  9. S-161The Lot Number Is Real. The Product Isn't.Grade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  10. S-162The Needles Are Counterfeit TooGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  11. S-163The Pen That Isn't The DrugGrade: DOCUMENTED — sealed, members only
  12. S-164The Seal Was Intact, So It's GenuineGrade: RETIRED — sealed, members only
  13. S-165The Vial That Never Had Anything In ItGrade: CORROBORATED — sealed, members only
If you read one thing

Ten checks, in order.

Everything else in the file is the evidence for these ten lines, sequenced by when they matter.

Sealed · members only
BEFORE YOU CHOOSE A SELLER
BEFORE YOU PAY
WHEN THE CERTIFICATE ARRIVES
WHEN THE VIAL ARRIVES
UNSEAL WITH MEMBERSHIP

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All 165 entries, every comparison and every how-to-tell, plus the ten checks — alongside the reader, the calculators and everything else membership opens.

No seller, vendor or grey-market brand is named anywhere in this file. Every entry describes a practice, never a company — the only names that appear are regulators' and originator manufacturers', attached to their own published actions, recalls, statements and lawsuits. Educational, not medical or legal advice. Members read all of it.