[Cthulhu_]

> And realistically what's the more trustworthy alternative?

This hints at a deeper problem; the fact that you can't trust e.g. the government to have an organization that tests and certifies anything sold, be it online or in shops. You should be able to trust things like vitamins when bought online.

Of course, if Amazon would only sell legit stuff, people would order stuff from abroad because like it or not, the general trend remains that people try to get the cheapest products. This is why legitimate products are pushed out of the market. This is why Amazon and Walmart pushed out local shops. Free rein capitalism.

[account42]

The problem is also that when there is government regulation it is often more about restricting sale without prescription or similar bs rather than just enforcing that you get what it says on the label and there is no other attempt to deceive you.

[vel0city]

> the fact that you can't trust e.g. the government to have an organization that tests and certifies anything sold, be it online or in shops

In the US, for things like supplements and vitamins, the regulations are extremely lax. There isn't really any enforcement of the labels being accurate. There isn't really enforcement until people are already being injured in the market.

The only way to actually know what's in that vitamin pill is for you to send it to a lab you trust. The next step down from there is only buy reputable brands from reputable stores but even then, it can be a crapshoot. With RFK at the helm, expect this to get worse and not better.

Gotta love Mel Gibson's fear mongering political ad about vitamins to really show how absurd the messaging was in '94.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6bv92W4YnE