Eight questions to ask before paying

Eight questions, all with factual answers, all of which a competent seller can supply in a single reply. None concerns effects, none asks for advice, and none requires the seller to say anything a framework forbids.

How they answer matters as much as what they answer. Speed and specificity indicate an operation that uses its own documents; deflection and vagueness indicate one that is a step removed from what it sells.

This page sets out the eight, explains what each is testing, describes what a good and a poor answer look like, and says which of them are worth insisting on.

⚠️ Scope. This page describes a process and what can be verified from documents. It does not describe what a product does to a person, gives no amounts, and does not replace a healthcare professional.

🔴 One: which batch, and may I see its certificate

What it asks

For the certificate of analysis corresponding to the specific batch you would receive.

What it tests

Whether documentation exists, is organised by batch, and is available on request. It is the baseline.

A good answer

The document, immediately, with the batch code visible and matching what will be shipped.

A poor answer

A generic certificate with no batch code, an old one, or a statement that products are tested without a document attached.

Two: what is the analysis date

What it asks

When the batch was tested, which approximates when the material was produced.

What it tests

Freshness, and whether testing happens per batch rather than once.

A good answer

A specific date, recent relative to the product’s shelf life.

A poor answer

A distant date on a currently sold product, or an inability to say without checking with a supplier.

Three: which laboratory, and is it accredited

What it asks

The name of the laboratory and whether it holds accreditation to the testing standard.

What it tests

Whether the analysis was done by a competent body. Accreditation is verifiable independently.

A good answer

A named laboratory, with the accreditation stated on the certificate itself.

A poor answer

An unnamed laboratory, or a certificate with no accreditation reference anywhere on it.

Four: which panels does it cover

What it asks

Whether the certificate includes contaminant testing or only cannabinoid content.

What it tests

The completeness of the testing programme. Content alone is the commonest and least informative coverage.

A good answer

Cannabinoids, pesticides, heavy metals, microbiology, and residual solvents where a solvent was used.

A poor answer

Content only, with the contaminant panels described as unnecessary or as done separately without documentation.

Five: what is the total content per container

What it asks

Milligrams of the principal compound in the whole container, rather than a percentage.

What it tests

Whether the seller can express their own product in comparable terms, and whether the conversion factor was applied.

A good answer

A figure in milligrams, matching the certificate, calculated as the converted total rather than a sum of rows.

A poor answer

A percentage without a basis, a figure that does not match the certificate, or an inability to convert.

Six: what variety, and where was it grown

What it asks

The variety name, ideally the catalogue name, and the country of production.

What it tests

How close the seller is to their own supply chain. A specific answer indicates proximity to production.

A good answer

A catalogue variety name and a country, stated directly.

A poor answer

A commercial name only, or an inability to say. Not disqualifying and informative about the seller’s position in the chain.

Seven: how was it extracted or processed

What it asks

The route: mechanical separation, which solvent, and whether winterisation was involved.

What it tests

Whether the seller understands what they are selling, and it determines which panels are relevant.

A good answer

A specific route, with the solvent named where one was used, and honesty about a winterisation step.

A poor answer

Solvent-free with no further detail, particularly where a residual solvent panel is absent.

Eight: what is the returns position

What it asks

Whether the product can be returned, within what period, and under what conditions.

What it tests

Whether the seller knows the consumer law framework applying to distance sales, and how they handle disputes.

A good answer

A clear statement of the withdrawal period and any applicable exceptions for sealed goods.

A poor answer

No returns, stated flatly. Union consumer law is not optional and a blanket refusal indicates unfamiliarity with it.

What the eight cover between them

Documentation

Questions one to four. Whether the product has been measured, by whom, how recently, and how completely.

Comparability

Question five. Whether the figures can be used to compare against anything else.

Provenance

Questions six and seven. Where the material came from and what was done to it.

Recourse

Question eight. What happens if the product is not what was described.

Which are worth insisting on

Non-negotiable

The batch certificate with a matching code, and the contaminant panels. Without those two, nothing else matters.

Strongly preferred

The analysis date and the laboratory’s accreditation. Both are on a competent certificate anyway.

Useful

The variety, the origin and the processing route. A vague answer is informative rather than disqualifying.

Worth knowing

The returns position, which matters most on a first purchase from an unfamiliar seller.

How to send them

All at once

One message with the questions numbered. It is easier for the seller and it produces a comparable reply.

Politely and factually

They are ordinary commercial questions. A seller who reads them as hostile is telling you something.

Before ordering

The point is to decide. Asking afterwards is still useful and it has lost most of its value.

To more than one seller

The comparison between replies is more informative than any single reply. Two or three is enough.

Reading the reply

Speed

An operation with its documents in order answers within a day. One that must ask a supplier takes longer and says so.

Specificity

Numbers, names and dates rather than reassurance. The difference is immediately visible.

Willingness

Whether the questions were welcomed or resented. It is the clearest signal in the whole exercise.

Consistency

Whether the answers match what the product page says. A mismatch is worth raising.

What not to ask

Anything about effects

A compliant seller cannot answer, and one who does is operating outside the framework. Neither reply helps you.

For advice on your situation

That is a clinical question and a retailer is the wrong place for it.

For comparisons with medicines

Which no seller should draw, and the request puts them in a difficult position.

Why this matters

Because the eight questions are answerable and these are not. Asking the answerable ones is what makes the exercise work.

A message you can send as it stands

The structure

A short greeting, the batch or product you are considering, and the questions numbered. No preamble and no explanation of why you are asking.

Why numbering matters

Because it makes the reply comparable. A numbered set of questions tends to produce a numbered set of answers, and gaps become visible.

What to leave out

Any indication of what you want to hear, and anything about your reasons for buying. Both invite answers shaped for you rather than facts.

Length

Short. The questions carry the message and a long framing dilutes it.

What a good reply looks like in full

It arrives quickly

Within a working day, from someone who did not need to research their own product.

It is structured

Answering each question in order, with the certificate attached rather than described.

It contains numbers

A date, a figure in milligrams, a laboratory name, a variety. Facts rather than reassurance.

It admits gaps

Saying which things they do not know, particularly about provenance. That admission is a positive signal rather than a negative one.

What a poor reply looks like

It is enthusiastic

Answering questions you did not ask, about how good the product is, while leaving the documentation questions vague.

It redirects

Pointing at the website rather than answering, particularly where the website does not contain the answer.

It is slow and thin

Several days, then a short message addressing two of the eight. It generally means someone had to ask a supplier and did not get much back.

It is defensive

Reading ordinary commercial questions as an accusation. This is uncommon and it is decisive when it happens.

Adapting the eight to other formats

For flower

Add a question about the harvest date and the drying method. Both matter more here than in any other format.

For extracts and oils

Add the carrier oil, which is the majority of the bottle and belongs on the ingredient list anyway.

For isolates

Add the production route, since a purified compound gives no indication of whether it came from a plant or a synthesis.

For cosmetics

The framework differs, and the relevant questions concern the product information file and the responsible person rather than a food certificate.

Why sellers should welcome this

It rewards the ones doing the work

An operation testing every batch and keeping its documents in order can demonstrate that in one reply. Nothing else on a product page lets them.

It costs them little

The answers already exist. Assembling them is minutes for anyone who has the documents.

It filters usefully

A buyer asking these questions is one who will read the certificate rather than complain about ordinary batch variation.

What that means

A seller who resents the questions is generally one who cannot answer them. That correlation is strong.

What to do with the replies

Put them side by side

Two or three replies to the same eight questions, in a document. The differences are immediately obvious in a way they are not when read one at a time.

Score the documentation questions first

Questions one to four are pass or fail. A seller without a batch-matched certificate and contaminant panels is out regardless of how well they answered the rest.

Then apply the arithmetic

Question five gives you the milligram figure. Divide the delivered price by it for each survivor and rank them.

Then read the rest

Provenance and processing narrow the remaining choice, and by that point you are choosing between options that all passed the checks that matter.

Keeping the replies

Why they are worth filing

Because a seller’s answer today is a record you can compare against their answer in six months. Supply chains change and the second answer is informative.

What to file

The reply itself, the certificate attached to it, and the date. It costs a folder.

What it becomes

A record of who answers well and who does not, built from your own correspondence rather than from anyone’s reviews.

Why that beats published comparisons

Because it is about the sellers you actually buy from, on the questions you actually care about, and nobody was paid to produce it.

A short glossary

Batch certificate

The laboratory report for the specific production run being sold, identified by a code matching the packaging.

Accreditation

Formal recognition that a laboratory is competent for the methods within its scope, verifiable independently.

Panel coverage

Which analyses a certificate includes. Cannabinoid content alone is common and least informative.

Converted total

The neutral form plus the acid form multiplied by its conversion factor, which is the figure that supports a comparison.

Withdrawal period

The period during which a distance purchase may be returned under Union consumer law, subject to exceptions.

The five checks that apply to any product

The batch certificate

Request it with the number printed on the packaging. A general document for the product line does not cover this batch, and those differences are exactly what it should record.

Total THC

Delta-9-THC plus THCA multiplied by 0.877, because THCA becomes THC under heat and the limit applies to the sum, not to either value alone.

Price per milligram

A division, not an opinion. The only figure that makes two products comparable, whatever the format, process and pack size.

The claims

Without an authorisation number in the EU Register these are assertions, not data — and for cannabidiol that register contains no authorised entry to this day.

The seller’s details

Company name, address and contact. Without them there is also no counterparty to turn to if something turns out to be wrong.

How this connects to the rest

With price per milligram

Question five supplies the number the arithmetic needs.

With the certificate

Questions one to four are all about it, and it is the document the whole exercise turns on.

With expensive not meaning good

The answers are what distinguish a justified premium from a positioning one.

With returns

Question eight is covered in full on its own page, including the exceptions.

What this is for in practice

Before a first purchase

Send all eight, to two or three sellers. The comparison is the point.

On a repeat purchase

Questions one and two suffice. Batch and date cover most of what changes.

When an answer is vague

Note which one. Vagueness on provenance is common; vagueness on documentation is not.

When questions are unwelcome

That is the answer. Ordinary commercial questions should not be a problem.

Frequently asked questions

Are eight questions too many? They fit in one message and a competent seller answers them in one reply. It takes them minutes.

Which two matter most? The batch certificate with a matching code, and the contaminant panels. Without those, nothing else counts.

What if they only have a generic certificate? Then the document does not describe what you would receive. It is the commonest gap and it is substantive.

Why ask the analysis date? It approximates when the material was made, and it reveals whether testing happens per batch or once.

What if they cannot name the variety? Common, and it tells you they are a step removed from production. Not disqualifying by itself.

Why ask about extraction? Because it determines which panels are relevant, particularly whether a residual solvent panel should be present.

What about returns? Union consumer law gives a withdrawal period on distance purchases, with exceptions. A flat refusal indicates unfamiliarity with it.

Should I ask what it does? No. A compliant seller cannot answer, and an answer indicates an operation outside the framework.

How quickly should they reply? Within a day if their documents are in order. Longer if they must consult a supplier, which they should say.

What is the single most informative thing? Whether the questions were welcomed. That answer arrives before any of the others.

What we check and what we do not

We check what can be checked from documents: official registers, declared contents, certificates of analysis, arithmetic. We test no products, rank nothing, and assert no effects.

The value of this exercise is not really in the eight answers. It is in what sending them reveals: an operation that has its documents organised replies quickly with numbers, and one that does not replies slowly with adjectives.

That distinction is available before you spend anything, it costs one message, and it is the closest thing to a quality assessment a buyer can make in advance. Everything else on this site is about reading documents; this page is about finding out whether the documents exist.