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Domain Due Diligence

Report for Dermstore.com

Report Date
October 7, 2025
Recommendation
Caution
Overall Summary
Suspicious
  Why we think so? 

Dermstore.com is a long‑standing U.S.-facing online retailer (domain registered 1999) that sells dermatologist-recommended skincare and beauty brands. Traffic and technology signals look like a legitimate e-commerce site: ~2.1–3.2M monthly visits, mainstream payment processors (PayPal, Stripe, Adyen, AfterPay), and a professional marketing/analytics stack. However, multiple consumer complaint sources and a low Google Places rating point to recurring customer-service, refund, and fulfillment problems. Overall: an established business with real infrastructure, but notable reputation and service red flags — treat purchases cautiously and verify product authorization for expensive or medical-grade items. 🛡️

Confidence Score
83%

Risk Insights

🛒

Established retailer, shaky customer experience

  • Domain from 1999, large traffic and major payment vendors — real e-commerce setup.
  • Consistent complaints about refunds and fulfillment reduce trust for large purchases.
  • Consider small test orders and strong payment protections.
✅

No technical threats found

  • No Google Safe Browsing or crypto-blacklist hits.
  • Valid SSL and standard DNS/MX/TXT records present.

Contradictory Signals

Signals indicate a real business that nonetheless has recurring operational or customer-service problems; the technical integrity doesn't eliminate reputational risk.

Signal A: High traffic, reputable payment providers and industry news (supports legitimacy)

Signal B: Large volume of consumer complaints and a very low local rating (1.1/5) (undermines trust)

Category Scores

Red Flags & Warnings

  • Multiple consumer complaint collections and review sites report repeated refund, delivery, and customer-service failures.
  • Very low Google Places rating (1.1/5) for the corporate listing, which suggests recent local dissatisfaction or targeted negative reviews.
  • Past Proposition 65 settlement (2020) over chemical exposure linked to some product kits, a legal compliance concern.

🔎 Detailed Checks & Analysis

Domain age & WHOIS

Score: 90/100
Passed

"Registrant details are privacy-redacted (common), but DNS, MX, and TXT records look consistent with an established retailer (mail via Mimecast, SPF records, site verifications)."

Reason: Domain registered in 1999 with normal registrar records and standard nameservers; long history supports legitimacy.

Traffic & engagement (SimilarWeb / Alexa)

Score: 88/100
Passed

"Traffic is heavily US-weighted (~90%); direct and search traffic dominate, which is normal for a brand/retailer."

Reason: High monthly visits (~2.1–3.2M) and typical e-commerce engagement metrics (pages per visit ~3, time on site ~100s).

Technology & payment infrastructure

Score: 94/100
Passed

"Presence of multiple reputable payment processors and fraud-prevention/email providers reduces risk of simple scam storefront behavior."

Reason: Uses mainstream CDN, security and payment vendors (Cloudflare/Fastly, Adyen, Stripe, PayPal), indicating professional operations.

Customer reviews & complaint volume

Score: 35/100
Failed

"SiteJabber/BBB-style complaints (summarized via search data) show many unresolved issues and low ratings; this is the primary reputational concern."

Reason: Significant negative reviews reported on aggregated consumer platforms describing refunds, delivery problems, and alleged deceptive practices.

Legal / regulatory flags

Score: 60/100
Failed

"Settlement occurred with a supplier/party connected to Dermstore product kits; while settled, it is a material notice for product-safety buyers."

Reason: A 2020 Proposition 65 settlement related to DEHP exposure in some kits indicates a previous compliance issue.

Phishing / malware / blacklist checks

Score: 95/100
Passed

"Absence of active malware or phishing flags reduces immediate technical risk for site visitors."

Reason: No Google Safe Browsing matches or crypto-scam blacklist hits were found in this scan.

Brand / trademark conflicts

Score: 78/100
Passed

"This was a narrow search; absence of a match is not a full clearance for all possible trademark issues."

Reason: USPTO quick query returned no direct trademark conflicts for the exact query string searched.

Contact & location transparency

Score: 80/100
Passed

"Presence of press email, phone, and social profiles supports traceability, but local reviews are poor which lowers trust."

Reason: Site lists corporate address and phone; Google Places shows a physical office listing.

Business signals (news, acquisitions)

Score: 86/100
Passed

"Multiple news sources and PR items document corporate activity and partnerships."

Reason: Press and industry coverage— including THG acquisition reporting—support that Dermstore is a real retail business with industry presence.

Your Next Steps

  • 1

    Before purchasing, verify expensive or medical-grade brands directly with the brand (e.g., ask the brand if Dermstore is an authorized seller).

  • 2

    Prefer payment methods with buyer protection (credit card or PayPal) and keep receipts/screenshots; consider opening a dispute if a refund is denied.

  • 3

    Check multiple review sources (BBB, SiteJabber, Trustpilot) for recent trends on refunds and fulfillment for the specific product you want.

  • 4

    For high-value orders, test with a small purchase first to confirm fulfillment and authenticity.

  • 5

    If you encounter fraud (charged but no delivery, unauthorized charges), report to your card issuer, the platform where you found the listing, and to the FTC/consumer protection agency.

Evidence & Citations

🕵🏻 Keep investigating

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