Comment · Fri, November 11, 2016 · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
Vendor product quality - how times change.
Original post in this thread
Schneidercarrot · 6 points
My first nootropics purchases was made through Nootropics depot back in October 2014. I was quite happy with the quality of the products, though I came across PowderCity a month or two later and ended up switching over due to the great selection. I have been taking Tianeptine and Adrafinil and a number of other nootropics for some time and have noticed the potency/quality from PowderCity drop over the last year.
The effects from some of my main compounds slowly decreased and didn't return even after a lengthy break which I can only attribute to potency as I gave myself ample time (two months) for tolerances to return to normal.
It's unfortunate as for years PowderCity has been my number one source.
Their recent split left me looking for a source that offered my normal stack from one website which led me back to Nootropics Depot. I am amazed at the quality of products from them (and I would assume Ceretropics). All the beneficial effects I was getting from my stack that had been lost over time with Powder City products returned to my surprise as I had assumed that I had a permanent tolerance to a number of nootropics.
I would definitely recommend checking them…
What they were answering
Waitwhatismybodydoin · 1 points
I reread your part about the safety. That is a very good point. I'll have to ask them about that. I guess I'm just so used to the kratom community where we self-police pretty well, and when you buy kratom it is very rare to worry that you might be getting something that is not at least baseline useable. Kratom has come a long way in the last few years so except for some bunk batches which causes a bloody ruckus, we don't have too many problems with quality control.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
Not to be too confrontational, as I use kratom myself, but the kratom community has a looooong way to go in the quality and safety side of things. I do not really see any vendors doing serious identity or quantitative analysis of their batches. I don't see anyone doing UV-VIS or HP-TLC analyses to determine the species. I don't see anyone doing HPLC analyses to quantify the active ingredients. I don't see anyone doing pesticide analyses or heavy metals testing to ensure the batches are free from contaminants. It's really in its infancy right now, and needs to come a long way to be at the quality and safety level that we have brought nootropics to.
The issue with a kratom vendor jumping over into the synthetic side, or even the natural side, of nootropics is that they do not have the experience to be able to ensure the purity and safety standards for their customers. I have seen everything you can imagine. Fake batches happen regularly. Impure batches happen even more often. Literally every single Chinese vendor we have ever used, and that's over 50 now, has sent fake or impure batches at one point or another. EVERY SINGLE ONE. It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when. If a vendor is not treating testing seriously, they are endangering their customer base.
I get why a kratom vendor would be opening a nootropics and supplement vendor. Their main revenue stream was just almost completely taken out by the DEA. So I get the allure of doing what they are doing. However, they have to be responsible when doing it. They need to immediately start a purity testing program, and iron out their QA/QC procedures, before anyone is going to take them seriously. I take that very seriously, and the vast majority of the nootropics community does as well. It's imperative that every vendor does as well, or we run the risk of the FDA thinking they need to come in and regulate things to protect people. If vendors are responsible, and have the testing and QA/QC procedures in place to ensure the safety of their customers, then it will be less likely that the nootropics industry as a whole is interfered with on a legal or regulatory level. If we start having a bunch of irresponsible vendors popping up, and things start affecting people adversely, it's going to bring the kind of unwanted attention that will affect the community as whole. Nobody wants that.