Trust Score Methodology
How the Assay Trust Score is calculated, what it means, and what it doesn't.
What the Assay Trust Score is
The Assay Trust Score is a single 0–100 rating designed to help researchers quickly evaluate peptide vendor reliability. It is computed by Peptibunny using a proprietary weighted formula that combines multiple public signals — including independent lab testing results, community reviews, testing volume, data freshness, and operational signals — into one number.
What it is not
The Assay Trust Score is not a safety guarantee. It does not constitute medical advice. It does not certify vendor legitimacy. It is a convenience metric derived from publicly available third-party data. Researchers should always review the underlying sources (linked on every vendor profile) before making purchasing decisions.
How it's calculated
The score is a weighted sum of four independent signals:
Lab Testing (60%)
Independent lab testing is the strongest signal of vendor legitimacy. If a vendor has been graded by an independent testing source (e.g., Finnrick Analytics):
- Grade A → 95
- Grade B → 75
- Grade C → 55
- Grade D → 35
- Grade E → 15
- Grade F → 5
- Grade X (formerly tested, dropped) → 10
If no independent grade exists but the vendor publishes its own COA, the signal scores 50. Otherwise, 0.
Community Sentiment (20%)
Community ratings (e.g., Peptide Critic) are normalized to a 0–100 scale and weighted by review volume using a confidence multiplier:
normalized = (rating / 5) × 100 confidence = min(1.0, log10(review_count + 1) / 1.3) score = normalized × confidence + (1 - confidence) × 40
Vendors with fewer than 3 reviews receive a neutral 40, preventing small samples from dominating the score. With no reviews at all, the signal is 0.
Testing Volume (10%)
How much independent testing exists for the vendor:
- ≥ 100 samples → 100
- ≥ 50 → 80
- ≥ 20 → 60
- ≥ 5 → 40
- ≥ 1 → 20
- 0 → 0
Data Freshness (10%)
Days since the most recent verification or test:
- ≤ 60 days → 100
- ≤ 120 → 75
- ≤ 240 → 50
- ≤ 365 → 25
- > 365 → 0
Data sources and attribution
- Independent lab testing signals are sourced from Finnrick Analytics (finnrick.com), an independent peptide testing lab.
- Community sentiment signals are sourced from Peptide Critic (peptidecritic.com), a community review aggregator.
- Operational and freshness signals are derived from Peptibunny's own manual verification process.
Peptibunny does not reproduce the proprietary datasets of any third-party source. We reference the existence, magnitude, and direction of publicly visible signals on these sources as inputs to our formula, with direct links to the underlying data on every vendor profile. If you are a source and wish to discuss this, please contact us.
Update frequency
Scores are recomputed automatically when any underlying signal changes — when a vendor's data is edited, when a review is approved, or when an external rating is added or updated. A daily background job also recomputes the freshness signal so scores age gracefully. Every vendor profile shows the date of last verification.
Limitations and caveats
- • Vendors with fewer than 3 community reviews receive a neutralized sentiment signal (40/100) to prevent small sample sizes from dominating the score.
- • A high Assay Trust Score does not mean a vendor is legal in your jurisdiction.
- • The peptide vendor market moves quickly. A vendor that scores 85 today may not exist in 6 months.
- • External grades and ratings reflect the assessment of those third parties, not Peptibunny.