JessicaH_TX said:

Resolution therefore closed the doors unevenly, and the asymmetry follows from the bulks lists.

I read this differently from JessicaH_TX, on substance rather than tone. A research-chemical supplier selling lyophilised powder labelled research use only is not compounding and is not claiming to. It is a different legal universe with no pharmacy oversight, no patient relationship and no content guarantee, and conflating the two in these threads helps nobody.

CryptoCarl said:

My pharmacy stopped supplying with three weeks notice and a letter that explained nothing, so I went and read the statute.

Vendor communication red flags for compounded supply:

• Won't provide COA before purchase — walk away
• Claims "100% pure" without analytical data — unrealistic
• No physical address or phone number — accountability matters
• Pushes you to buy more than you need — pressure tactics
• Won't answer questions about their compounding process — transparency is key
• Payment only via crypto or wire transfer — legitimate pharmacies accept cards

A legitimate compounding pharmacy operates like a healthcare business, not a gray market dealer.

TirzTom said:

A research-chemical supplier selling lyophilised powder labelled research use only is not compounding and is not claiming to.

Adding the part of the answer the thread has not reached. The trade-off is reversibility against privacy and there is no option that gives you both. Card payments are reversible and disclose the most; crypto discloses least and is irreversible, which is precisely why pressure toward it is a warning sign when it comes from a seller rather than a buyer. Escrow only means anything where the escrow agent is independent of both parties, which is rarely the case in practice.

A narrower follow-up, since the general answer is now clear:

Why a shortage listing created a legal pathway at all, since a shortage is a supply fact rather than a permission?

OP back with an update, since a thread like this is useless without one.

The bulks-list asymmetry was the piece I had missed entirely. It explains why one of my two pharmacies is still arguing it can supply and the other simply stopped.