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Loading...Not everyone expects mind boggling mental clarity and sizzling verbal fluidity to be easy right? That little white pill you swallow in the morning is usually only given to people with Narcolepsy and ADHD, under strict conditions by a qualified doctor.
Nonetheless, amidst the growing hype for nootropics and the mainstream sensationalism, following the 2011 Hollywood blockbusters movie “Limitless” – demand for “smart drugs” such as Modafinil has sky-rocketed.
Considering that 90% of Modafinil-use is actually off-label, it’s not surprising that an ever-growing community of young and ambitious “Cognitive Connoisseurs” have flocked to the internet to get their fix of affordable, generic Modafinil.
So how did Modafinil end up flooding college campuses around the world and in the pockets of some of the world’s top business executives and politicians? Well…we opened our doors in 2015, with a goal to make cognitive enhancement affordable and reliable but, most importantly – available to anyone (over the age of 18).
Serving the Modafinil community over the last 5 years has been a fascinating and truly rewarding experience. Tackling the treacherous landscape of internet e-commerce, while our online comrades suddenly shut down has been emotionally confusing, yet understandably rewarding.
With so many uplifting stories and positive messages received, our online resilience has paid not only dividends – but the respect of our clientele.
The Good
Obviously, successfully running any online business is good for your bank account, so long as you provide a quality service and put your customers first.
But what makes selling Modafinil so great?
The Customers
It’s you guys…
Sorry to brown nose – and, forgive me for saying this, but there’s a certain elitism to being a Modafinil consumer.
Call it a “chemical sense of entitlement” maybe – but the people who choose to delve into smart drugs, tend to be of a certain calibre, and we love it.
Although Modafinil is, for the most part now, pretty mainstream. Among users, there still lies a sense of professional infidelity – with undercurrents of Modafinil use being- taboo or even considered academic cheating.
Maybe only cool people hear about it? Maybe you have to be smart already to “discover” it?
Whatever the reason, Modafinil’s allure has seen us serve students at Harvard and Oxford, politicians at the White House and Downing Street, as well as CEOs of publicly traded companies – which makes the job all that more rewarding!
Where Are You?
Since our humble beginnings, we’ve had the privilege of having served many thousands of customers from all corners of the world. The market data on the “off-label” consumption of Modafinil is still a mystery.
However, we can offer you some small insight into the countries who order the most Modafinil:
The Moral Story
But it’s not just the community. Second comes an important moral story that’s kept us marching through tough times. There are two important moral stories here and we want to talk about both
The Case for Cognitive Enhancement
Simply put, we believe that rational drug design should not only be for the sick, but for the healthy too. What does that mean?
The funding for a new drug to be created is almost exclusively given for three main reasons:
- Treating Medical Conditions.
- Maximising Profits (make the cheapest drugs for the most popular diseases).
- New Drug Formulations (usually for profit when drug patents expire).
They do not make new drugs for healthy people.
The closest you’ll get to “bettering” yourself might be with vitamins and supplements, sold with sometimes questionable (unproven) claims.
But even in these cases, you’ll find that they’re usually to treat an existing problem or deficiency, rather than to improve a healthy individual. If you wish to clinically improve your working memory, increase your reaction time and boost motivation – there’s really nothing you can buy in stores.
In fact, if you now look at the bottom of (prescription only) UK registered pharmacies, selling Modafinil online, you’ll see [7]:
“Please do not use this drug as a nootropic. Modafinil is not to be sold in the UK under the term “nootropics”, only as a treatment for narcolepsy.”
On the very same website, they also make Modafinil sound pretty much like a Nootropic substance and even compare it to Caffeine!?
“Yes, Modafinil works. Modafinil works by encouraging wakefulness and boosting the concentrations in the brain. The way Modafinil works can be compared to the effects of caffeine in the body; however the drug can last much longer and work better in terms of enhancing a patient’s state of focus as well as concentration.”
It seems that UK pharmacies are playing a very delicate game when wording their Modafinil marketing info to “patients”:
“It is a narcolepsy medication that promotes wakefulness. While some people call them “smart drugs” or “nootropics”, we only say they are a narcolepsy medicine.”
Bringing Down the Costs
Despite the overwhelming use of Modafinil by healthy people, we must recognize those who are in vital need of this medication. Millions of people around the world are prescribed Modafinil and Armodafinil because it helps them live a normal life. Without Modafinil – they would be sick.
While many are able to get Modafinil as part of their health insurance, many are flat out refused with others being forced to pay higher monthly premiums. While those paying for the medication directly may simply not afford it. Due to most western countries only offering expensive domestic brands.
Here’s a real-world comment we received, which highlight the situation [4]:
“I have been using modafinil since 2006 primarily for shift work and secondarily as a nootropic. Over the course of those years, I have been rejected by insurance, belittled by my Dr., and paid upwards of $500 for a month’s supply. (I pay 100% until I reach my three thousand deductible). Today my Dr. cut my dose in half because he says that is what is “normal” for shift-workers. I am done with the insurance/doctor route… But if you would be so kind as to include me for a free sample… If the product works well for me – you will have a long-term customer.”
Finally
If governments and military have powerful drugs like Modafinil at their disposal, for healthy people then why can’t everyone?
After all, 20 years of peer reviewed studies have concluded that Modafinil is “the world’s first safe smart drug” with a “low liability to abuse”. Paramedics are even using the stuff [8].
Yet, regulations and laws prevent the common healthy civilian from freely consuming Modafinil, while any child can walk into Starbucks and buy as much Caffeine as they wish.
The Bad
It may seem simple enough.
A Google search brings you to a website where you buy Modafinil and – although it comes from abroad – will turn up at your door a few days later. However, behind the scenes is a complex process, thwart with red tape and regulations.
Meaning – the benefits of selling modafinil only just outweigh the risks. Maybe this is why so many Modafinil vendors have shut down (more on this later). So, what makes it so tough?
Customs & Packaging
Apart from the DDoS attacks, negative SEO and aggressive online marketing tactics (more on this later) – we really only care about your experience in our store and the product reaching you in a discreet and timely manner.
Even if this means us spending extra time and money. This means that we need to be experts at packing up your pills and knowing exactly how to ship them to your country. Luckily, we are!
Not only do we know the success rates to each country, but we’re also privy to exactly how many pills are allowed through customs in each package.
This means that we may ship your product via Switzerland if you live in Europe. Or we may split your order of 600 tablets into two separate shipments.
However, it’s not all plain sailing from here.
No matter how well you package your goods or the fastest shipping routes – sometimes customs will randomly check packages, and this can lead to delays. In rare circumstances and depending on your country, customs may seize your package and destroy it.
So, what happens then? Our SureDelivery guarantee means that we’ll always swallow the loss.
It’s a tough business to be in when you’re dealing with customs officials from all around the world and a medicine they often don’t understand! In reality for us, this means that we’ll either refund your money or offer a re-ship completely free of charge.
And although we don’t mind – in many cases, the customer’s original order is released from customs after the re-ship arrives. So, you get double!
Safe Domain Haven
Another pitfall to the online modafinil business comes in the form of the FDA and if you register your domain name with US company, they can make life difficult.
Sometimes, they like to send scary letters to your domain registrar, essentially telling the registrar to take the website down. Having your domain suspended is a very real danger for vendors.
“On the 24th of April 2019, the Afinil Express domain was suspended by their registrar. It took a little over 24 hours for Afinil Express to resurrect from the dead. Everything is running well today and you can order Modafinil there without issue. It is unclear why they were suspended [1].”
Think of it like Starbucks registering their company in Amsterdam. They can still sell coffee in London, but they’re registered abroad to avoid the rules in the UK and save money [12].
Fortunately for you, and very simply put; Modafinil has no borders. Domains have no borders. The FDA’s jurisdiction is in the USA only. So, we moved “off-shore” to a kind of “Tax Haven” for websites.
So…
- You’ve managed the logistical and financial nightmare of tackling international customs.
- You’ve conquered the red tape involved in owning the website.
- You’ve finally found a quality manufacturer of affordable generic Modafinil.
- You’re fending off DDoS attacks, negative SEO, and aggressive marketing tactics used by competitors.
Surely, now you’re ready to go into business, right? …not quite.
Duds
How do you know your products are legitimate?
After all, we’re constantly hearing in the media about “illicit manufacturers” and “counterfeit medications” sometimes containing “rat poison” from “clandestine labs” and pharmacies in India and China. Truth is, these scare tactics used by the media are there to protect the interests of big pharma profits, as cheap generic medications threaten their revenues.
In reality, emerging countries with cheaper costs are able to make the same medications at a fraction of the cost to westerners.
Countries like India are paving the way for less stringent, high quality drug approval systems, allowing for a vastly superior competitors market. Meaning that, unlike in many western countries, there is no monopoly on certain products and thus, the prices are low.
This is not to say that there may be some nefarious actors in the industry, offering fake pills or even just “duds”. However, these are usually isolated incidents and for the most part extremely rare. Either way, we decided to take no chances, so we had our Modafinil independently verified by a third-party company in the USA.
Using a technique called HPLC, the pills were tested for purity and the results published online.
Payment
So, if you can handle the competitors, google, customs, the authorities and you know your pills are real, you’ve only got one problem left: taking your customers’ money.
It’s important to understand that traditional payment methods you’ll see online like, PayPal, Stripe and Skrill etc – DO NOT accept the sale of medications. In fact – many other industries are deemed too “high risk” for most payment processors. Gambling, pornography, file sharing and even health supplements are all banned by most common payment providers.
The fact is, if you sell Modafinil online and you want to take card payments, you risk getting slapped with a very large fine – meaning your payment provider will no longer be able to work with VISA or MasterCard [1].
“Afinil Express started out really great and still are but recently they had been having payment issues and there was a brief issue with credit card fraud. Selling Modafinil online is a bit of a grey area and because of that vendors really struggle to find credit card processors to look after their payments. It looks like this forced Afinil Express to look for offshore options and for a while it looks like they ended up using a scam rogue processor who was stealing card details from Afinil Express customers.”
**Fines are given out to the merchant only and not the customer.
This leaves modafinil vendors with very few options, since taking card payments would involve working with some very dubious illegal Chinese payment processors. The likes of which often sell customer details, charge hidden “cross border fees” and generally don’t look after your data [2].
“This is no longer an issue but it has resulted in further troubles with customers trying to make payments with Visa and other cards being declined. There is however a silver lining and Afinil Express now offer big discounts for customers willing to pay with Bitcoin or MasterCard online and the fraud is no longer an issue going into 2019.”
That’s not to say that some vendors haven’t figured out a way of processing your card offline and charging you for “something else” – but these systems never last and open you up to fraud [1].
So other than the more archaic payment methods you CAN use like Western Union, Moneygram and bank Transfer – we’ve opted for the instant and ever reliable: Bitcoin payments.
This means that you can still checkout and pay using your card. However, instead of paying for our products directly, you’ll be purchasing Bitcoin, which will be sent to us automatically.
We provide you with an invoice at checkout; containing two pieces of information:
- Unique Bitcoin address.
- The order amount in Bitcoins.
It looks something like this:
Then you simply visit one of many Bitcoin exchanges and paste these two pieces of information over, voila – the rest is a card payment.
It looks something like this:
Not to worry, we’ve simplified everything with step by step guides: modapharma.org/payment.
The Ugly
Modafinil: an Emerging Market
In 1998 Modafinil was Marketing under the brand name Provigil.
In 2007, Cephalon started marketing the R-enantiomer of Modafinil known as Armodafinil.
Cheap generic Modafinil and Armodafinil began to flood the market in 2012, due (in part) to protracted patent litigation [7].
Meaning that manufactures like Sun Pharma and HAB Pharmaceuticals, in countries like India and Singapore, began offering drop-shippers the opportunity to ship globally. This proliferation of online Modafinil commerce, exasperated by the high cost of medication in the USA, and the rising popularity of ADHD prescriptions – caused a steady stream of online sources to sell the drug cheaply.
“Sorry, We’re Closing Down”
However, since the golden days, very few vendors have remained. In fact, in just 4 short years, we’ve seen the likes of ModafinilCat.com, ModUp.net, DuckDose.com, AfinilExpress.com, and ModafinilStar.com all “voluntarily” close their doors.
| Defunct Vendors | Date Registered | Date Closed | Reason | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modafinilcat.com | 2014-06-26 | 2016-09 | “Leave on our own terms and our brand will forever retain the good name that we’ve given it.” | AfinilExpress.com
Duckdose.com |
| Modup.net | 2012-10-15 | 2018-01 | “We are powering down Modup.net, as it is no longer needed, Modafinil can now be purchased directly from India for $0.11 per pill, it would be unethical for us to continue.” | none |
| Duckdose.com | 2016-02-10 | 2018-04 | “On our own terms…other commitments to pursue.” | none |
| Afinilexpress.com | 2016-06-20 | 2019-06 | “This has been a difficult personal decision, but me and the team have other paths that we’d like to tread.” | Mod.af |
| Modafinilstar.com | 2016-01-14 | 2019-07 | “We have decided to shut down on our own terms.” | none |
With most “closures”, an accompanying email was blasted to all subscribers. Interestingly, what (also) came was a shameless plug to alternative (often relatively new) Modafinil vendors. Claiming the push to these new vendors was simply in “good will”.
However, with modafinilcat.com; leaked internal emails to their affiliates reveal a very different story [1].
The email states that the entire modafinilcat.com affiliate database would be transferred to afinilexpress.com.
The main “new vendor” they simply recommended!
“They mentioned that their database of affiliates would be transferred to Afinil Express, they were now their number 1 recommendation and so they then redirected their website traffic to them. There was no real reason stated for them shutting down other than the owner saying he wanted to move on to other things. There were rumors maybe that they ran into legal troubles but what was most likely is that Afinil Express were passed the torch through either a sale or as a gift to a friend although both things were denied during research for this afinil express review.”
It’s not too far to assume they handed over the customer database too, as part of a possible “sale” of the business.
This would explain the meteoric rise in google rankings, seen by AfinilExpress.com just weeks after ModafinilCat’s closure.
“The AfinilExpress domain was registered in June 2016 but their website launched towards the end of September 2016. Mysteriously without warning on September 28th 2016 ModafinilCat sent out an email to their affiliates and customers stating that they were shutting down.”
Essentially, from a Google perspective, AfinilExpress pretty much replaced ModafinilCat for top spot, and this usually only happens when a business sells its link network and marketing secrets too.
Whatever happened, the sheer speed and willingness of profitable Modafinil vendors to “shut their doors” – is strange. While most people will likely believe the friendly story they spun to their customers about “moving on”, the unusual nature of these closures implies there’s more to it.
Quit While the Going’s Good
Although it may be true that they’d simply had enough, that story doesn’t wash with us for one simple reason: many customers take advantage of the discounts offered for paying with Bitcoin.
This means that for a site like ModafinilCat, with many hundreds of avid, monthly, repeat customers – paying in Bitcoin and making you rich, why on earth would you just turn it off?
This opinion seems to be shared by others [9].
Editors Opinion
Personally, it seems that the closure was (in some way) – financially incentivised, with an important twist. Why not just sell the whole website name and everything? Why make it “appear” like the site and brand is no more?
It could be that publicly “closing down” is a clever marketing stunt for VISA’s eyes only.
Important note: once a VISA or MasterCard rep stumbles on a Modafinil vendor’s website, they place an order, figure out who processed the payment, then, KABOOM!
You get slapped with a big fat 25 thousand dollar fine. Scary right!
Problem is, once VISA hit you once, they won’t stop sniffing around to make sure you’re not still at it. So, if a website is “hot”, it’s never going to process card payments again without multiple fines.
Maybe ModafinilCat (and others) never actually “moved on”, maybe they simply closed their (tainted) doors and carried on with their other site: AfinilExpress.com.
Safe in the knowledge that once ModafinilCat disappeared from Google, AfinilExpress would take its place, and that’s what happened.
The Rumours
With such behemoths like ModafinilCat and AfinilExpress, closing their doors – online theories began to crop up everywhere. Without going into details supporting these theories, which have surfaced online, they’re listed below:
Sold to another vendor:
- Sold the website, database and marketing assets.
- Sold just the database and marketing assets.
Shut down & referred other vendors in good will:
- Pressure from authorities directly (found the owner).
- Pressure from authorities indirectly (pressure on domain registrar).
- Fear of authorities.
- Extenuating life events.
- Bored/move on.
- Made so much money on Bitcoin orders that went up in value, became too rich in 2017 to bother with the risk [9].
Tactical closure, NOT SOLD & referred to their own “Sister sites”:
- Received too many fines to main website, so “pretends” to close and directs traffic to new un-fined website.
- Pressure from authorities to close.
Whatever happened, it was certainly a little strange and definitely not something seen among other online businesses.
Lucky for Us
On the plus side, we see a huge traffic boost and a surge in new customers, every time another modafinil vendor does a runner.
A very recent review posted about us [14]. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had our fair share of trouble. In August 2019, we were forced to switch from modapharma.com to modapharma.org for SEO purposes – and this was not easy.
…but guess what, we’re not going anywhere.
Our online presence and resilience speaks louder than words, and we’re extremely proud to be the longest standing Modafinil vendor online [13].
Our Journey So Far
In light of some of the more unsavoury topics covered above, and in the context of being the oldest shop on the block, I would like to talk a little about our journey so far.
2014
In 2014, after some experience selling Nootropics and memory supplements online, a bunch of like-minded individuals began researching the industry, the clientele and the logistics of making it work.
2015
October 2015 – after visiting manufacturers in Singapore and India, we picked two of the most reputable and reliable – checked their products and signed them up.
With our website ready soon after, we did a small “soft launch” – to ensure everything ran smoothly. Then in December 2015, we went live [3].
Looking like this:
2016
January 2016 – to gain some reputation and in an effort to understand the clientele, we launched a free sample contest on a popular brain-health site.
By offering free samples of Modafinil in exchange for telling us why/how they would use it. We managed to not only instil trust in our products and company, but also to understand the minds of our buyers [3].
Some of the more interesting submissions included:
- If Modafinil helps with motivation, working memory and increases enjoyment of tasks as stated it will be of great benefit to me.
- I am studying to finish my degree and training for a new job. I need all the help I can get, how can I get a free sample?
- Because I’m ADHD-PI and very often methylphenidate sucks.
- I want to try adding modafinil to my nootropic combo.
- The company I work for is in a state of complete chaos right now. I often get called in on my day off, usually with less than an hour’s notice, and am invariably told that I will be pulling a 12-hour shift. Having a few modafinil tablets would really come in handy on days like those. Pretty please with sugar on top, may I have one of your sample packs?
- Well, I have to commend you on your promptness. Filled out the account information and sent you a PM at about the same time last night, and already have a tracking number. I assume that we can expect the same speed of service on future orders?
- I’m located in the Netherlands and I need modafinil to reinforce some dykes.
- I’m game for a sample. I’m often expected to function on little to no sleep for my job. Per SNP data, I’m a fast caffeine metabolizer so while it helps initially the effects are very short-lived. Also, my warrior vs worrier SNP rs4680 data suggests (at least in one study linked below) that I may respond well to modafinil.
- I believe this would help recover from my shift work and aid with chronic fatigue issues.
- I have been using modafinil since 2006 primarily for shift work and secondarily as a nootropic. Over the course of those years, I have been rejected by insurance, belittled by my Dr., and paid upwards of $500 for a months supply. (I pay 100% until I reach my three thousand deductible). Today my Dr. cut my dose in half because he says that is what is “normal” for shift-workers. I am done with the insurance/doctor route. I know I do not meet the exact criteria – but if you would be so kind as to include me for a free sample.
February 2016 – we added HPLC purity analysis on our product range:
This effort was picked up in some vendor review [10][11]:
“ModaPharma is the only store I’ve come across that promotes their lab analyses. They spent money to make sure the armodafinil and modafinil pills contain exactly what is on the label. Why do they accept this cost? Because ModaPharma cares about you.”
“Based on our research, we discovered that it’s an independent laboratory that specializes in food and dietary supplement testing, and they also have the necessary equipment to test out pharmaceuticals. As for the certificates posted on the official ModaPharma website, they are authentic, and have been signed by the president of the company. This isn’t something you often see with other pharmacies online.”
July 2016 we updated our website design to a more modern look.
2017
March 2017 – we asked customers for “unboxing videos” in exchange for discounts. This gave new customers the opportunity to get a real feel for what to expect [5].
2018
November 18 – included many more products in response to numerous requests by customers.
2019
September 19 – modapharma.com officially moved to modapharma.org.
In , after reaching out to Modafinil.org, we agreed to open the doors on the Modafinil industry with this post. Attempting to offer important insight from a vendors perspective, while also trying to answer some of the industry’s historical questions.
Final Thoughts
Although it may seem like a difficult ride, we think that vendors like us serve an important moral role in today’s society. Buying Modafinil may not be as easy as buying Coffee – but we should all have the option to try it – affordably and safely.
So what does the future hold for healthy cognitive enhancement?
With two new (freshly approved), “Modafinil Successors” ready to hit the shelves in , maybe we’ll be offering you generic SUNOSI (solriamfetol) and Xyrem (sodium oxybate) in the not-too-distant future…
Watch this space. One thing’s for sure. We will continue to serve the Modafinil community for many years to come.
References
- https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Afinil-Express-shut-down/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/afinil/comments/5gu69g/afinil_express_stole_my_credit_card_information/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20150607232949/http://www.modapharma.com/
- https://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/84560-modapharma/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b7aJAo6I28/
- https://modapharma.org/analysis/
- https://www.ukmeds.co.uk/modafinil/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924977X15002497/
- https://www.sick-review.com/afinil-express-review/
- https://modafiniladvisor.com/modapharma-review/
- https://thenootropicsreview.net/modapharma-review/
- https://nltimes.nl/2019/09/24/dutch-tax-deal-starbucks-legit-state-aid-european-court/
- https://modafinilinfo.com/modapharma-review/
- https://afinilexpress.org/modapharma-review/
Author Details
MBBS, MD - Psychiatry, Consultant Psychiatrist
MBBS, Doctor Of Medicine MD
Head Modafinil Researcher
