Question 1

How much does testing cost?

Accepted Answer

Pricing is per-vertical: peptides start at $189 (GLP-1 class $289), research actives and supplements from $99, kratom from $119. Safety add-ons are flat per sample — endotoxin $199, sterility $195, ICP-MS heavy metals $169 — and net peptide content by AAA is a $29 add-on. Volume discounts begin at 10+ samples, and SLA pricing is available for production-volume QC.

Question 2

When and how do I pay?

Accepted Answer

You pay at checkout on our secure Stripe page — card or stablecoin — the moment you submit, and you can save the card there to reorder in one click. We ship-after-payment: your pre-filled UPS Ground label is auto-emailed once payment lands. It's fully refundable until you pay. Enterprise and API orders can still be invoiced instead.

Question 3

How fast is turnaround?

Accepted Answer

Standard turnaround is 5–7 business days from sample receipt for most panels. Expedited 48–72-hour testing is available on request for an added fee. The clock starts when your physical sample arrives at the lab and is logged in.

Question 4

Do you accept samples worldwide?

Accepted Answer

Yes — we accept samples from anywhere. Domestic clients receive a pre-paid UPS Ground label after payment; international clients arrange their own inbound courier. Cold-pack requirements are flagged on the label where the panel needs them.

Question 5

How do I know results aren't manipulated?

Accepted Answer

Every package is opened on camera, each container is photographed and accessioned before prep, and every instrument run is captured as raw data — not just a final number. A second analyst reviews integration and specification before anything is signed, and the calibration record is cited on the COA. Opt in and the raw files publish publicly so anyone can re-do the math.

Question 6

What standards do you operate to?

Accepted Answer

We operate to ISO/IEC 17025 expectations with GLP-style data integrity, assay-specific USP methods (USP <85> LAL, <71> sterility, <232> elemental impurities), and 21 CFR Part 11-style record retention. Primary instruments are calibrated weekly against traceable reference standards with daily system-suitability checks.

Question 7

How does COA verification work for customers?

Accepted Answer

Every public COA has a unique accession number (e.g. GSA-2026-018432) searchable at goldstandardanalytics.com/coa-lookup. Anyone can type it in — no login — and see the result, instrument, date, and signing analyst. A QR code on the COA links straight to that verification page.

Question 8

What exactly does a peptide test include, and what costs extra?

Accepted Answer

The base price covers RP-HPLC purity (C18 reverse-phase, diode-array at 214 nm) and LC-MS identity confirmation on one public COA — $189 standard, $239 complex or large sequences, $289 for the GLP-1 class including Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, and Retatrutide. Priced separately so you only buy what you need: Net Peptide Content (true mg of active per vial) $29, TFA / counter-ion quantification $179, Karl Fischer water $49, endotoxin $199, sterility $195.

Question 9

Is net peptide content measured against a reference standard or from the vial weight?

Accepted Answer

Against a reference standard. Net Peptide Content is quantified against a traceable reference standard, so the figure is the mass of actual peptide rather than the mass of everything in the vial. Our reference standards are sourced from Thermo Fisher Scientific, with weekly traceable calibration and system-suitability checks on every batch. Gross powder weight includes counter-ion, residual water, and excipient — which is why a vial can be 99% pure by HPLC and still carry only about 7 mg of active against a 10 mg label.

Question 10

Do you report TFA, acetate, and water separately from the active peptide?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as their own COA lines and as separate paid assays. TFA / counter-ion quantification by ion chromatography is $179, reported in % w/w; water by Karl Fischer is $49. Keeping them distinct from Net Peptide Content is the entire point — counter-ion and residual moisture are the two things most often mistaken for active peptide when content is quoted from gross weight.

Question 11

How much material do you need — is one unopened vial enough?

Accepted Answer

One unopened vial covers the base scope. A single sealed lyophilized vial is enough for RP-HPLC purity and LC-MS identity, and the same dissolved material carries Net Peptide Content and TFA if you add them, because those assays share the prepared solution. Sterility and endotoxin are destructive and each need their own vial, so the injectable-grade panels ask for extras. Send it sealed — an opened vial of a hygroscopic peptide gains water mass within hours, which moves the content number.

Question 12

Can I submit blind, without naming the supplier?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it is common. Name the compound, leave the supplier field out, and the analyst runs the sample without knowing whose material it is. The supplier never appears on the COA unless you choose to put it there. The certificate shows what was tested and what was found — not who sold it.

Question 13

Can I drop a sample off in person instead of shipping it?

Accepted Answer

No — every sample must come through the online sample intake, and there is no in-person drop-off at the lab. That is a chain-of-custody requirement rather than a front-desk preference: intake mints the accession number, records custody, and triggers the automation that issues your prepaid inbound label, receipt confirmation, testing status, and published COA. A vial handed over at the door carries none of that provenance.

Question 14

Are you ISO/IEC 17025 accredited, or aligned?

Accepted Answer

Aligned, not accredited — and we would rather say so plainly than let it be inferred. The lab is operated to ISO/IEC 17025 expectations with documented method validation, weekly traceable calibration, system-suitability criteria on every batch, and audit-trail data integrity, but we do not currently hold formal ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, so no method of ours sits inside an accredited scope. SOPs and method references are available to clients under NDA on request.

Question 15

Do I get the chromatogram and the mass spectrum with my results?

Accepted Answer

The COA carries the full HPLC chromatogram plus the peak-integration numbers for every analyte — retention time, area, height, theoretical plates, tailing factor, resolution, and signal-to-noise — alongside the run's calibration and system-suitability record. The mass spectrum and the native instrument exports travel with the certificate as the raw-data bundle. If you want observed versus theoretical mass and the mass error stated as explicit numbers on the identity line, ask in the order notes and the analyst will report them there.

Question 16

Can I see a completed example COA before I order?

Accepted Answer

Yes — every public certificate we have issued is browsable at goldstandardanalytics.com/coa, searchable by compound, lot, or accession number, with no login. Filter by the compound you are considering to read real, already-anonymized certificates end to end before you send anything.

Question 17

What does a Gold Standard COA include?

Accepted Answer

The accession number, dual-method results (HPLC purity % and identity with observed m/z), label-claim potency where applicable, any safety assays ordered, the analyst's signature, instrument IDs, method references, a clear pass/fail versus the stated specification, and a QR code linking to public verification.

The receipt
every product
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Every category we test —
and how we prove it.

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You can't cheat the system.
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Proof, not promises.

The receiptevery productshould carry.

Every category we test —and how we prove it.