Comment · Thu, March 3, 2022 · ND Owner
Why is Melatonin so expensive?
Original post in this thread
FamWithNoChill · 6 points
Hello,
I'm a beginner in the world of nootropics, and I have used Nootropics Depot to source all of my Nootropics so far because I appreciate u/MisterYouAreSoDumb's transparency in their products. Recently, I have come to find out the benefits of taking 300 mcg of melatonin over the gigantic doses seen at OTC pharmacies and convenience stores. I've always known that 3mg has worked better for me than 5mg or 10mg, but I was so surprised to find the research on dosing it at 300 mcg.
However, I wanted to know about the price of melatonin. I found other venders selling 300 mcg of melatonin for wildly different unit prices, so I was wondering what determines the cost. Also, as a side note, it would be really cool to see the unit prices for every product on Nootropics Depot.
Can someone provide more clarification on this? Thanks in advance!
What they were answering
Direct reply to the original post — see the thread post above.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · ND Owner
The melatonin dose is so low that the marginal costs of the raw material that go into each dose are less than the costs that go into making it. So the cost to encapsulate it and the fixed packaging costs are much higher in comparison to other products on a percentage basis. Also, the lab testing costs have to be amortized over a much smaller total raw material size. The cost to do all our barrage of lab testing is similar to other raw materials, but that cost has to be amortized over waaaaay less kilograms than something that has a 500mg dose. So the lab testing cost per dose actually costs us more than the raw material cost per dose. Only things with super small doses run into this situation. Obviously brands that do no lab testing don't have to take that cost into account, so they can just sell it for less without having to amortize any lab testing costs. We are considering offering it in a 365ct bottle to try to amortize that cost over a larger number of doses, and bring the cost per dose down in comparison. Let me check with the team where we are at on that.