8 Tips on Buying Supplements Online Safely for Beginners
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We now depend on online shopping for almost anything. But we always hesitate when it comes to purchasing anything related to our diet, health, or fitness needs.
Have you ever thought about buying supplements online? We are now taking our fitness more seriously than ever. Whether trying to bulk, get shredded, or maintain our overall wellbeing, we have made supplements a part of our lives.
You may depend on your favorite nutrition shop, smoothie cafe, or even your gym to purchase supplements. But if you want the convenience of online shopping, you want to make sure you are buying supplements online safely.
We’ve prepared this guide to help you out.
The Guide To Buying Supplements Online
The first step is to research the most popular supplement brands. Make sure you only purchase from well-known brands. Once you create a shortlist of your brands, then you can do further research on which ones are best suited for your needs.
You also need to consult with your doctor on how to pick supplements for your needs.
Here’s what else you need to know on how to buy supplements online:
1. Make Sure It’s Not A Fake Brand
Unfortunately, there are many fake brands popping up in the supplement industry. Particularly on popular online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, any third-party seller can create a fake product and sell it. They can mask the product to make it seem like it belongs to a prominent brand.
Marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay should have dedicated pages for well-known brands. Access these pages directly and order your supplements from there.
As a general rule, however, we don’t encourage using online marketplaces for supplements. It’s always better to use a specialized store. These will do their due diligence in selling the best brands and products.
2. Make Sure It’s Not Overhyped
Many supplement brands are trying to make a quick buck. They will overhype the product to lure in consumers. They will use rhetoric such as how this can help you lose weight in no time or gain muscle without much effort.
They may even show images of ‘before’ and ‘after’ images of supposed clients and even use other forms of fake testimonials.
All you are looking for are the features and ingredients. Let customer reviews (that any customer can post) be your credentials. Do not fall for these scams that promise shortcuts with your supplements.
3. Look At The Website
You should also study the supplement’s website intently. You want to make sure it is well-designed and functional. You should be able to easily order the supplements directly from the website.
You should not be obliged to sign up for a subscription plan or a free trial that is difficult to opt-out of. You should be able to contact the company easily through the website. Product pages should have an option for customers to leave reviews. If the website is filled with products but doesn’t have any customer reviews, you should avoid this brand altogether.
You should also see if there’s any content for the website. Is the brand active on social media? Are there press releases or blog posts about the brand and what it offers?
If these are not available, you should look away from the website and search for another brand or retailer.
4. Look At Consumer Reviews
You should research the brand and products on consumer review websites and magazines. These will be publications that review products – providing the pros and cons of a product.
Consumer review websites will also contain authentic reviews on the brand and its products. This is the closest you will get to understand the supplements and their quality.
Consumer review websites may also give reviews of websites where you can purchase supplements. They can give you an accurate review of which websites have the best deals, shipping options, and customer service. Even when you settle on a brand, it’s important to shop around to find the best online retailer for the supplements.
5. Ask Around
You should also ask around to see where others go to buy supplements online. Ask your friends, family, and gym partners what online stores they purchase their supplements from.
You should ask them about the pricing and shipping options. Ask them if they have ever had any issues with the quality of the supplements. Ask them if there has ever been an issue with the order arriving in a timely manner.
You should ask them if they have considered different online retailers and the pros and cons of each one. Ask them about the different payment options available on these retailers – credit card, PayPal, cryptocurrency, cash on delivery, etc.
Your close network is the best people to vouch for an online retailer. You can trust their opinion on buying supplements online.
6. Look At The Details
You should also look at the details of the supplements on the product page of the online retailer. If there are no clear details as to what the supplement is made of, you should avoid this online retailer.
It should list all of the ingredients in the supplement. It should also give a weight of the jar and the approximate serving size – for example, 60 tablets or ‘approx 60 servings’ in the case of protein powder.
The supplement industry in the USA is currently not regulated and the supplement packaging should note this. It should give warnings if it contains material that could arouse allergies. For example, many protein powders will give the warning that it contains nuts and lactose or was produced in a factory that contains nuts and lactose.
The product page should also give the contact information for the brand so that they can be reached if there are any issues. The more details on the jar and the product page, the more trustworthy the brand and the online retailer are.
Get Fit!
Now that you know the guidelines for buying supplements online safely, you are ready to choose the best supplements for your needs. We wish you good luck with your fitness journey.
In fact, we would like to answer any questions you may have. Reach out to us today with your questions!
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