Over the last decade steroids have become increasingly easy to find on the average college campus, in the gym, and especially online. As a result, it´s become a bit of a buyers-market for those in the know, but a good chance for someone who isn´t in the know to get ripped off, or scammed over charged. Although I can´t tell you where to get steroids, I can definitely tell you if you´re paying too much for them.
It´s a bit difficult to really pin down what someone "should" be paying for steroids, as there are really several factors that will come into play. The first factor depends on the intent of the manufacturer of the actual steroid. If the manufacturer is a large pharmaceutical company, who is producing anabolic steroids for human use, then expect to be paying top dollar.
(Testosterone Enanthate, by STERIS)
This is because the large Pharmaceutical companies go to great lengths to insure sterility and accurate dosing. They also typically have a very high overhead, with regards to production of their steroids. The price for that bottle of testosterone you get that says "STERIS" on it doesn´t just reflect the manufacturing costs, but also many other costs that you imagine a large company would have. Marketing, research and development, shipping costs, clinical trials, and employee salaries all factor into the price of a bottle of testosterone produced by a large company. Then that bottle is going to pass through a number of hands (a regional distributor, a pharmacy, etc...) until it finally ends up in the hands of the person who sells it to you. And each step along the way means each person who sees that bottle will mark the price up to make their individual profit. So as you can see, the manufacturer as well as their "intent" (i.e. making it for human consumption) is actually very important in determining the end price you´ll pay.
But perhaps you´re buying a bottle of testosterone from a large pharmaceutical supply house, but the bottle was intended for animals. Perhaps there is a picture of an animal on the bottle, or a reference to an animal in the name of the product or manufacturer&
(Testosterone Enanthate, by Quality Vet)
If this is the case, then you´ll probably be paying quite a bit less than if you were buying a product intended for human use. Typically animal-grade products produced by a large pharmaceutical company are no less potent or sterile than human products& but they can be because manufacturing guidelines are usually less strict.
The next cheapest products you´ll find out there are what are known as Underground Lab produced steroids; these labs are called "UGs" or UGLs" for short. These labs operate outside the boundaries of the law and as such are not subject to any type of monitoring for sterility or potency. Some labs are very good, have been around for years, and consistently produce batch after batch that is accurately dosed and sterile.
(Testosterone Enanthate, by SoPharm
Underground labs come and go, and it seems like a new one is popping up daily. Most are decent enough, and I´ve rarely heard of someone getting an infection from something they used that was produced by an underground lab. Unfortunately, under-dosing has been a problem with some of labs. The price difference between an underground lab produced steroids versus the same product produced by a large pharmaceutical company is often 50% or more. This huge difference in price is why most people tend to by their steroids from Underground Labs rather than trying to find human or animal grade preparations. In addition, this is why underground labs are almost never counterfeited while human grade products are. Why make a counterfeit dollar bill when you can make a fake twenty dollar bill?
The final way you can purchase steroids is to buy them in raw powder form. This means you will actually have to purchase the raw hormone (the actual steroid), Oil, a solvent, materials to transfer the product with and filters, if you are making injectable steroids- and you need to buy empty capsules, a capping machine, and other equipment if you´re making yourself orals& as well as vials or bottles to put the end product into.
This is the cheapest way to buy steroids, but the initial cost of buying all of the necessary equipment simply isn´t worth it to most recreational users. This route is for those who intend to do numerous high-dose cycles. Also, you need to keep in mind the fact that you need somewhere to actually keep all that stuff when you´re done with it, and you also need a place and some time to mix up your batches. Converting powders into useful injectable or oral steroids is both time and labor intensive, but not costly.
So there are our choices, right?
We can buy Human Grade, Vet Grade, Underground, or Powders. But that´s only the type and brand of steroid - there´s still other factors that will play into how much someone ultimately pays for their steroids.
As with anything else, the quantity you purchase will be a factor in determining how much you pay, as will the time of year. Often prices in the gym and on college campuses can go up immediately prior to spring break and just before the summer, as a result of the law of supply and demand.
Another factor is whether you decide to purchase from a domestic source or an international source because with a domestic source, the risk of importation has already been taken for you, and this will inevitably drive the price of your goods up.
Finally, and most importantly who you are and who you buy from will factor heavily into how much you will pay. This is a bit of a weird one, but I´ll try to give you an idea of what I´m talking about. See. . . if you´re the local IFBB pro and you buy steroids in your gym, the dealer could very well give you a huge price cut. This is because it´s good for his business to have prospective customers know that you get your gear from him. If you are a staff member of a large internet steroid website or forum, you probably get very good prices on anabolics, because there is an understood agreement that if the name of the source is ever brought up, you´ll say he´s a good guy (or "bro" as the case seems to be). If the person you are buying from is a huge established source, then it may be the case that you get a lot of freebies form him, as thanks for your continued patronage. If you buy from a small and new lab, then you may be getting very good prices also, as they typically want to establish a client base quickly.
See what I mean? You need to realize that the products you are buying, the quantity you buy, where the dealer is located, and even who you are - factors into how much you´ll ultimately be paying for your stash. Remember, even though I´ve tried to make the list below as comprehensive as possible, there will always be market fluctuations and exceptions to the rule, as far as pricing goes. SO if you´ve kept up with me this far, you know that there is no "set price" for anabolics, but hopefully this will help you avoid paying too much.
