In planning for 2025, we had two main areas we wanted to focus our energy on.
First, we wanted to think about how we could improve our testing methodology - how do we ensure we get the most accurate results from the most reputable labs for the most important products? What do people care about seeing on labs? What do they love, and what’s missing?
Second, we wanted to come up with a plan to keep afloat financially. How can we continue operating and serving the community without compromising on our values, while also making enough money to be cash-flow positive? How can you all help support us financially in ways other than simply donating (which, frankly, people don’t do)? Is it possible to monetize in a way that avoids a perverse incentive system and maintains public trust in our results?
Let’s look at what we came up with.
New Testing Methodology
First and foremost, we will continue testing the most relevant products in the space. There are major two improvements to the testing process that we are excited to share today.
Pseudo Testing
First, both Cora and Anresco are now able to test for pseudo, which has been a long-awaited capability. Starting this month, all lab results will show how much pseudo a product has.
We will also start factoring in the amount of pseudo a product has to their letter grade, as well as releasing grades for pseudo-only products (which we previously gave a letter grade of “n/a”). This is all in an effort to uphold honesty and transparency across products in the space.
Adulterant Testing
In addition, Cora (but not yet Anresco) is able to run a full adulterant panel to test for really dangerous chemicals such as fentanyl and amphetamines. We’ve received feedback that certain products are causing concerning side effects that suggest they might contain adulterants, and in those cases we have run this special test in additional to the usual potency and solvent panels.
This test is quite a bit more expensive than the standard panel, so we are only doing adulterant testing on the very popular brands and on some smaller brands that we have received specific feedback for. However, we hope to be more financially secure soon to the point that we can run adulterant testing on every product.
Affiliate Program
When we first came up with the vision for TestMyKratom last summer, we didn’t think too hard about how to monetize. We set aside some money for this project, and figured that when we ran out of money we would just shut things down. Hopefully, we thought, by the time we had to shut down, we would have already done our part in helping the space.
What we didn’t anticipate was the outpouring of support for our project from you all. As a result, we’ve tried very hard to stretch our budget as long as we could and brainstorm ways to stay afloat. We’ve decided that the best path forward for us is to establish an affiliate program, and we are excited today to announce our first affiliates.
What exactly is an affiliate, and how is it different than a sponsor?
Let’s start here, since this is a very important point to clarify.
In an affiliate program, we post links to buy products on our website, and when a user clicks through that link and makes a purchase, we get a small portion of that revenue. This is what we are doing.
A sponsor would mean that a brand is paying us to post and feature results on our website. Rather than pay commission on click-through sales, a sponsor would pay a set fee to have their brand or products featured. We will never do this.
Which products will we allow affiliate links for?
We thought long and hard about this, and decided the best path forward is to allow any product to have an affiliate link.
Here’s why: if we only allowed links for highly rated products, we would be creating an incentive structure where we could increase profit by releasing better ratings. And even though we are obviously not doctoring or withholding lab results, we do not want to create even a shadow of a doubt that we could be doing so.
In addition, our philosophy has always been that consumers should be free to consume whatever products they want. If someone looks at our website and wants to buy an “F” rated product, we say go for it. Our mission has never been to tell people what to buy; our goal has been simply to educate the public on exactly they are buying.
Why are we doing this?
We decided that this is the best path to surviving without compromising on our values and without taking any money directly from consumers. Over the past few months, we’ve been asked countless times how the public can help support us. Well, now you can help by buying the same products you would usually buy, but through our links. For some of our affiliates, we are even able to help you save money by working in a TMK discount.
Finally, we want to be crystal clear on one point: we will still be posting all lab results, good and bad, of products regardless of whether they are associated with us. We have made this abundantly clear to our affiliates, and we are also not interested in partnering with anyone who would expect us to give special treatment to them.
With that all in mind, here are our first affiliates!
Our Affiliates
7 oh heaven
From the beginning, Carlos has supported our mission enthusiastically and has even encouraged us to post negative results of his products in the name of market transparency. 7 oh heaven carries several products that have tested well consistently.
Affiliate link for 7 oh heaven.
7ohBlack
7ohBlack is another vendor that has been interested in supporting our mission early on. Their strips and powder both received A ratings, and they have a few other products currently undergoing testing.
Eluxir
Eluxir is a third party reseller rather than a vendor. Currently they are only carrying 7OHMZ but plan to expand to other products in the future. This is the only affiliate we work with currently that is giving a product discount as well.
Affiliate link for Eluxir. You also get 10% off ALL orders through this link.
7oh+
7oh+ is also a reseller rather than a vendor. They have a wide selection of products to choose from and are actively adding more. They also have some really unique features on their site, such as the ability to order products by the lowest price per tablet or per mg.
Thank you!
This was a very difficult decision that we made after months of agonizing over every detail, but we truly feel that this is the best path forward to continue delivering great results to you all.
Thank you for being a part of our journey, and if you have any feedback for us you can always send us an email. Cheers to 2025!