GLP Weight Loss Buyers Guide: The Hidden Costs, Delays, and Fine Print You Deserve to Know
Ray Schwartz
August 19, 2025
If you've been shopping for medical weight loss online, you've seen the same promises:
"As low as…" prices. Fast approvals. Easy results.
Scratch the surface and the story changes.
Pricing shifts. Shipments crawl. Dose costs creep. And just when you need help, support fades. This isn't bad luck.
It's the model most programs run on.
Use this guide to see what's really going on—and how to choose better.
1. The Pharmacy Problem
Your results live or die by the pharmacy—and most patients never hear its name.
Some clinics chase the cheapest 503A compounding option. Quality and cold-chain can slip. That's how warm packages, melted ice packs, and weeks of delay happen. Others keep sourcing in the shadows, so you can't verify testing, origin, or replacement policies.
What to demand: a named U.S.-owned 503A pharmacy, clear batch testing, and ensure that the pharmacy is LegitScript certified. (The badge will be in the footer of the website).
2. The Price That Isn't the Price
Here's the trick: the homepage number is only real if you jump through hoops.
- You're asked to prepay 6–12 months.
- A setup/onboarding fee appears at checkout.
- A membership sits on a separate invoice.
- Month one looks cheap; month two jumps.
What looked "affordable" becomes expensive fast.
What to demand: your all-in total at month three in writing—medication, program, everything. If they won't give you that number, they've told you everything you need to know.
3. The Dosage Trick
GLP-1 therapy titrates up. Your dose rises as your body adapts.
With many programs, your price rises too—via dose tiers, "maintenance" pricing, or forcing extra vials to hit your prescribed mg. By the time you reach a therapeutic dose, your bill no longer resembles the ad that got you in.
What to demand: a single price for any dose (0.25 mg → 2.4 mg and equivalents), in writing. If the answer is "it depends," expect to pay more.
4. The Waiting Game
Approvals are instant. Shipping isn't.
Plenty of clinics quote 5–10 business days. Add backlogs and weekends and you're staring at 8–12 days without a pen. Insurance-first pathways add prior-auth limbo. In weight loss, momentum matters—delays kill momentum.
What to demand: the average time from sign-up to doorstep (not just "approval"). Ask how they prevent refill gaps and what happens if a shipment is delayed.
5. The Membership Wall
Two models dominate:
- Medication + medical oversight (no paywall).
- Lifestyle program (coaching, content, labs—membership fee).
Neither is wrong. What's wrong is paying for the one you don't want. If all you need is medication with clinical oversight, a monthly platform fee is wasted money. If you want full coaching, make sure that fee buys real service: dietitians, labs, frequent touchpoints, measurable outcomes.
What to demand: a clear list of what the membership buys—and your total monthly with and without it.
6. The Disappearing Act
You're approved in minutes. Your card is charged. Then—silence.
Tickets sit in a portal. Refills idle behind a pharmacy queue. Dose changes wait on signatures you can't see.
What to demand: who answers after checkout (titles, not slogans), how fast (in hours), and the escalation path (names, not "the team"). If they can't show this, assume you'll be managing the process yourself.
We Fixed Every Problem. And Then Some.
We studied the complaints, tracked the delays, and audited the math. Then we built a program that eliminates the traps.
Support that doesn't vanish.
AI concierge + real care coordinators, nurses, and doctors who own the issue until it's solved.
Pharmacies you can trust.
U.S.-owned 503A only. Every batch third-party tested. Weekly internal QA. Warm pack? We replace it and investigate.
Transparent pricing.
The price you see is the price you pay. No "as low as" tricks. No month-two jump.
Flat pricing at every dose.
From your first micro-dose to the highest allowed, your monthly never changes. No tiers. No extra vials.
72-hour delivery.
Get clinically cleared and place your order Mon–Thu; your meds can arrive in as little as 72 hours.
No membership wall.
Your care team is included. Extras—when offered—are optional, never required.
Why Our Price Wins (and Stays Won)
Most clinics make you do spreadsheet acrobatics to learn what you'll pay at month three. We did something unfashionable: we published the number and kept it flat.
- Lowest, most transparent pricing on the market.
- No second invoice.
- No dosage upcharge.
- No teaser month.
If another program looks cheaper, check the three places prices hide: (1) prepay requirements, (2) membership fees, (3) dose tiers. Then compare again.
| Monthly Avg. Sema Cost* | Monthly Avg. Tirz Cost** | Membership Monthly Fees | Dosage Upcharge | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $105 | $194 | NO | NO |
 | $299 | Name Brand Drugs Only | $145 | Yes |
 | $297 | Oral Only | No | No |
 | $276 | No Access | No | No |
 | $299 | $399 | NO | NO |
 | $299 | $399 | $74.99 | YES |
 | $219* | No Access | No | No |
 | $299 | No Access | No | No |
 | $199 | $449 | No | Yes |
You Have Two Choices
You can dig through every program, every fee, every hidden cost…or let us save you the time. We've already done the research, and the spreadsheet is there if you want to see the proof.
Ray is the founder of NewSelf