What to Ask Before Selling Your Diabetic Supplies

What to ask before selling diabetic supplies comes down to four things: whether the quoted price is final, how and when you get paid, what drops the offer, and what happens if the buyer revises the number after receiving the box. Most sellers don't think to ask until something goes wrong. A good buyer answers all four before you make any decisions.

Will the price change after the buyer has your box

This is the one question that matters most. Some buyers quote a price off your photo, then revise it once they have the box in hand. They call it a re-grade: an in-person inspection that turns up condition issues the photo supposedly didn't show. By then your box is with them. You can ask for it back, but you'll usually pay return shipping yourself. Most people take the lower number and move on.

Ask directly: "Is the price you quote from my photo the price I get paid at pickup?" A clear yes is the answer you're looking for. A hedged answer (a reference to "in-person inspection," or no answer at all) is worth noting.

A lot of buyers advertise "top dollar" or "best prices in the country." The number on the website is rarely what you walk away with. The adjustment happens after receipt, once they have what they need. A real price is the number quoted off your photo, paid in cash that day. That's the only number worth evaluating.

The structural risk of re-grading is higher with mail-in than with local buyers. Once the box is in transit, your leverage is gone. With a local pickup, you see the cash before the box leaves your hand. The comparison of local pickup and mail-in covers that difference in more detail.

What to have ready before you reach out

Four things, all visible in a single photo: brand name, count, expiration date, box condition. You don't need to look up model numbers or dig out paperwork. A clear photo with the brand and expiration date in frame gives a buyer everything they need to quote you accurately.

If you have multiple boxes, a photo per brand works cleanest. Accepted brands include Dexcom G6, Dexcom G7, FreeStyle Libre 2, FreeStyle Libre 3, Omnipod 5, Omnipod Dash, FreeStyle Lite, Accu-Chek, OneTouch, Contour Next, and TRUE Metrix. For any brand not on that list, send a photo anyway. The answer comes back either way.

For gray-area boxes (close expiration date, a small dent, an unusual marking), include that in the photo and let the buyer work off what they see. Text a photo to (617) 702-2220 and a quote comes back within about 60 minutes during business hours.

How to read a price quote

Full price is for sealed, undamaged boxes at the full dating tier. For test strips, that's 9+ months from expiration. For CGM sensors, 7+ months. Below those tiers, prices drop. A good buyer tells you exactly how much before you agree to the pickup.

Current payouts for sealed, undamaged boxes at the full dating tier:

• Dexcom G6 (3-pack): up to $120
• Omnipod 5 (5-pack): up to $120
• Omnipod Dash pods (5-pack): up to $70
• Dexcom G7 15-day (single): up to $50
• Dexcom G7 (single): up to $35
• FreeStyle Libre 2 or 3 (single): up to $30
• FreeStyle Lite (100ct): up to $20
• Accu-Chek Guide (50ct): up to $7

Closer dating or minor box damage brings those numbers down. A buyer who won't commit to specific numbers for specific conditions before pickup isn't giving you a real quote. The full price guide lists current payouts per brand and tier.

One more thing to confirm before agreeing to a pickup: is the quote per box or for the lot? Per-box is cleaner. A lot quote can obscure how individual items are being valued.

When and how you get paid

Three questions worth asking on payment:

• When? For local pickup, the answer should be the same day, at the meetup. Cash in hand before the box leaves your hand.
• What form? Cash, Cash App, and Venmo are the options here. Your call on which.
• Is payment conditional on anything after receipt? Some buyers hold payment until their team processes the box. Payment can take up to 3 weeks to arrive, sometimes at a lower number than the original quote.

One customer came to us after a couple of years of selling through mail-in. He'd watched quoted prices get cut down line-by-line after the company had the boxes, then waited up to 3 weeks to get paid at the revised number. He switched to local pickup and comes back every few months now. The deductions and the wait are why he left mail-in. Cash at the exchange, same day, is why he stayed.

For more on how payment timing compares across buying options, the guide on payment timing goes into the specifics.

Questions a real buyer answers without hesitation

A buyer running a real operation has heard these questions every day. The answers should come back fast and specific.

• How long for a quote? About 60 minutes during business hours after you text a photo.
• What's your service area? Worcester County and 25 miles out, same-day in the core zone, within 24 hours for surrounding towns.
• What if my box has a small dent? Damage smaller than a quarter may be a deduction. Larger is a reject. Send a photo first.
• What brands do you accept? Dexcom, FreeStyle Libre, Omnipod, FreeStyle Lite, Accu-Chek, OneTouch, Contour Next, TRUE Metrix. Generic strips, Bayer, Precision Xtra, and Embrace are not accepted.
• What about expired boxes? Expired strips are a hard no. No exceptions.

Vague answers on any of these ("it depends," "we check at the time") are not the right response. A buyer who can't give you a clear rule on damaged boxes or expiration before the exchange can change those rules after. The guide on avoiding scams when selling test strips lists more warning signs.

One question to ask yourself first

Do you actually need these supplies? We get customers who need the cash and still have active supply needs. Cash now versus the strips you need in 30 days isn't a trade worth making. We only want what you genuinely don't need. If you're between brands, off a refill cycle, or sitting on insurance overstock you can't realistically use before expiration, that's the situation we're set up for. If there's real uncertainty about whether you'll need them, hold onto them.

For a full walkthrough of what to look for when evaluating a buyer, the guide on choosing a diabetic test strip buyer covers the vetting side in more depth.

The FDA's guidance on blood glucose monitoring devices explains why sealed, properly stored supplies retain their reliability based on expiration date, not purchase date. That's the foundation for how the secondary market works. The American Diabetes Association's guidance on blood glucose monitoring documents how prescription changes and device upgrades regularly leave patients with unused supplies. That's the inventory we're here for.