How much should I trust Reddit and forum vendor reputation?

Treat forum reputation as a starting signal, not proof. Threads can tell you a vendor is currently shipping orders and answering messages. They cannot tell you what is actually in a vial. The weakness is that this channel is easy to game. CNN's 2025 reporting found peptide sellers using social media affiliates who coach followers on dosing, and some groups even tell members to swap "researching" for "taking" to skirt FDA rules. Paid posts, brand-loyal regulars, and deleted negative reviews all distort the picture. Weigh it against independent lab data. Finnrick, which publishes results from 8,026 samples across 225 vendors, says "a COA is one data point" and that independent testing exists to cut the conflicts of interest in vendor-run claims. Use a recent batch-specific report from a named lab (Finnrick, Janoshik) whose number matches your vial. Anecdotes are not test results. These are sold for research use only and are not approved for human consumption. Nothing here is medical or dosing advice; ask a licensed provider for that.