Reading an offer · An explainer
When is it time to pause?
If an offer leaves a basic question unanswered, keep the question open. A lower price or a polished page does not supply the missing answer.
Pause over gaps in a medicine offer.
As of September 26, 2026, dispensing a prescription medicine without a licensed prescriber's order is against federal law.
Federal law · A prescription is requiredAsk who assesses your need before an order is issued, and who answers questions after that assessment.
The offer blurs approval and registration.
Medicine review is the job of a federal agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Registration alone gives you no answer on product approval: that is the position at FDA as of September 26, 2026. Medicines prepared through compounding have no FDA approval.
FDA · Understanding a claim of approvalAsk which product has approval, then read the answer about that product. A registration badge does not replace it.
A research label sits beside human-use advice.
In its dated letters to sellers, FDA said peptide products were being offered as medicines for people despite labels saying they were for research. FDA said selling those unapproved drugs broke the law.
FDA · An enforcement letter on research wordingA warning letter states what FDA says a named firm did wrong. It is not a court decision.
Keep the care question in view: who has assessed your need, and what exactly are they proposing?
The pharmacy is unclear, or payment feels forced.
FDA found fraudulent compounded versions of semaglutide and tirzepatide whose pharmacy labels were false. Some named a nonexistent pharmacy; others named a real pharmacy that had not made the product.
FDA · False pharmacy details on labelsGet the pharmacy name before proceeding, then check the state record. Ask for help matching any details that do not line up.
Watch for a seller insisting on payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire or bank transfer, or a payment app, says the Federal Trade Commission. Cryptocurrency is digital money sent online. The agency says a demand to pay only in these ways is a sign of a scam.
FTC · Payment demands used in scamsKeep the written terms and the offer itself. You can step away while you check the unanswered parts.