How to be a savvy consumer on steroid boards

[Mike Dura]

Before buying something from any steroid board sponser, there's a few things you may want to consider. Most of this is common sense but it's worth repeating.

(1) First, consider it's always possible that you can get scammed from a steroid board. That's a great starting point and seems obvious (yet I recently took the leap of faith and got burned and I'd hate to see it happen to other people).

(2) Second, when you see "product reviews" you can bet that "bad reviews" are deleted. In other words, product reviews are woretheless because they are biased for obvious reasons.

(3) Don't buy a product in bulk until you know for sure it's not a scam or that the source is reliable.

(4) Contact older members and ask them about the reputation of the sponsor in question and if there has been any negative feedback about any of his or her products or if underdosing is suspected (using mods for this is unwise due to the obvious conflict of interest). Keep in mind, however, that the members contacted could possibly mislead you. It's a matter of judgement. There's some good folk out there and you can sense who they are if you're on a board long enough and you look at all of that member's posts. Such a strategy may lead to a reliable contact and you can demystify the politics of a board.

(5) In my oppinion, a board is only as good as it's sponsors. If a board is inherently currupt (the moderaters know that their sponsor is a scammer) then how can you really trust any advice regarding source checks or anything else? Better to make sure the board mods are truly looking out for their members (vs. exploiting them). That's useful.

All of this should be common sense. If it has helped one "green" member here to "look before you leap" then I feel I made a contribution. Don't get burned like I did! If anyone else wants to add to this "common sense brief" - please do.