I was watching Nick Trigili being interviewed on synthol and he was saying how amazing it is how many UGL's are out there and what (to use a phrase you just used) a crap shoot it is. The sources I have now all have proven to me via muscle growth and mood elevation (as I'm on TRT because of years of cruising and blasting) but after 13 years of black market AAS buying, I've had my share of under dosed over priced, poor chemistry (6% BA or something absurd due to unexplainable extreme PIP) yada, yada, yada....
I have one source that I've had for 10 years but the other guys worth a shit either go bunk or get popped by LE.
No insurance makes the dependence on underground labs par for my course. I just either bulk order when a good UGL enters my life or when I find a dependable raw supplier I'll just make 100 mls at a time. But 100mls really doesn't last too long because I have a habit of blasting a few times a year. Anyway, we do the best we can right?

BTW, PM'd you.
Well I'll tell you what, Nick is not lying.. it comes down to a crap shoot anymore, and for people that are loyal to their suppliers, that's great, for both sides, but even that supplier is at the mercy of someone.
As you already know, so many unpredictabilities. How many times have we seen a grade A source out of nowhere produce a bad batch of test E, and if you pay attention you'll notice several other sources follow suit. From there it's pretty easy to figure out or speculate, the connections or even the possibility of using the same outsource.
When those new sources go to market, and they are on fire, there's that small window of opportunity to grab some potent products. 🤣 Because we've seen history repeat itself.
Each and every single source has their moments, like you said from comfortable product, and even unbearable product.
But what separates them, is accountability, owning it. There's quite a few solids out there that still operate within that honor code.
But back to Nick, man he's right though because in South America, there is a shit ton, and including Europe, and that's not including all of the sources by invite only.
It's no different than a restaurant, it can be your go-to place that you brag about, and then one day there's a hairball in your sandwich. You got yourself a good formula there if you squeeze your own juice. Lots of guys use this route, some going on 15 years, and they only get their exotics when needed. But in my opinion, some of the exotics are just overhyped. Basic Staples win each time. 👍👍👍