Community answer
Where Can I Sell Used Medical Equipment? (Every Real Option, Compared)
Quick answer: You have five real options: sell to a direct buyer/dealer (fastest, they handle logistics), list on a medical marketplace, consign to an auction house, sell it yourself on eBay, or scrap it. For most facilities, a direct buyer wins on speed and effort; auctions can win on price for rare, high-demand items — if you can wait and do the work.
This is one of the most asked questions in biomed and practice-manager communities: the equipment is sitting there, it has value, and every option looks like work. Here's the honest comparison from the buying side of the market.
Option 1: Sell to a direct buyer / dealer
Best for: speed, zero effort, whole departments, and non-working equipment. A direct buyer quotes from your photos, arranges de-installation and freight, and pays on collection. You trade a little top-end price for certainty and zero labor. That's our model: we quote within hours, pick up within 48 hours, and pay the same day — including untested and non-working units.
Option 2: Medical marketplaces (DOTmed, Bimedis and similar)
Best for: sellers with time who want market exposure. Listings reach thousands of buyers, but you handle inquiries, negotiation, packing and freight — and listings can sit for months. Fees and logistics eat into the headline price.
Option 3: Auction houses
Best for: rare, high-demand items and full-facility liquidations on a deadline. Competitive bidding can surprise you on hot items — and disappoint badly on ordinary ones. Commissions commonly run 10–25%, and "as-is, where-is" terms push risk (and often removal costs) onto you or the buyer.
Option 4: eBay yourself
Best for: small, shippable items you can photograph and pack. A monitor or handpiece, fine. A 400-lb sterilizer with freight, insurance, and return risk from an unhappy buyer — usually not worth the fees and headaches for a facility.
Option 5: Scrap / recycle
Last resort. Even dead equipment usually carries parts value — see what to do with broken equipment before you call the scrapper. And any device that stored patient data needs HIPAA-safe data destruction first, regardless of where it goes.
How to decide in 30 seconds
- Need it gone this month, minimum effort? Direct buyer.
- Rare item, no deadline, happy to manage the process? Marketplace or auction.
- Small and shippable? eBay is viable.
- Dead or untested? Direct buyers who buy for parts (we do) beat scrap value nearly every time.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Where can I sell used medical equipment?
Five real options: a direct buyer/dealer (fastest, they handle everything), medical marketplaces like DOTmed, auction houses, eBay for small shippable items, or scrap as a last resort. Direct buyers win on speed and effort; auctions can win on price for rare items if you can wait.
How fast can I get paid for used medical equipment?
With a direct buyer, days. We quote from photos within hours, arrange pickup within 48 hours, and pay the same day the equipment is collected — by wire or check.
Who buys broken or non-working medical equipment?
Direct buyers who serve the parts market — including us. Dead monitors, pumps and scopes still carry component value that usually beats scrap price. Don't scrap before getting a quote.
Do I have to arrange shipping when I sell my equipment?
Not with a direct buyer — we arrange and pay for de-installation, packing and freight. Marketplaces and eBay leave logistics to you; auctions vary by terms.