Start with the pathway, not the price
Price comparison is the wrong first step, because you are often comparing two different products. A research-use compound and a pharmacy-dispensed prescription are not the same thing sold at different margins.
Decide first whether you want clinical oversight. If you do, the search narrows immediately to telehealth providers and pharmacies, and most of the search results disappear.
The checks that take two minutes
Payment methods: does checkout accept ordinary credit cards through a real processor? Sellers who route you to Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, or crypto — particularly with instructions about what not to write in the memo — have been declined by processors.
Product naming: are compounds spelled correctly? Deliberate misspellings exist to evade automated screening.
Testing: is there a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis from a named third-party lab, ideally verifiable on the lab's own site?
Contact and entity: is there a real business address, a working phone number, and a named entity behind the site?
What a prescription purchase looks like
You complete a health assessment, a provider licensed in your state reviews it, and if appropriate, a prescription is issued and filled by a licensed pharmacy. You are charged only if that happens.
This is slower than a checkout button. What you get for the delay is a clinician evaluating whether the compound suits you, a regulated dispensing channel, and documentation.
Red flags worth walking away from
Guarantees of specific results, before-and-after claims, or any language promising a compound will treat a condition.
Countdown timers and manufactured scarcity on medical products.
A COA page that 404s, or testing described as available "where applicable."
Pressure to buy in bulk to unlock a price that only exists at volume.