I'm wondering if anyone has purchased supplies on Ebay. I have never purchased any of our supplies there, but see that test strips and Omnipods are available at an incredible discount. As our insurance has changed, we now pay for almost 100% of our supplies out of pocket which adds up quickly.
If anyone has purchased on Ebay, I'd love to hear about their experience. If you have any other recommendations for online suppliers, I'd be forever grateful for the information.
I am an avid ebayer and I have rarely had a problem, paypal negates most of the risk as a buyer and your purchases are usually safe and refunded if problems occur.
Only issues I would foresee are things like expiry dates and delayed delivery, obviously ensure the seller has good feedback etc. Always worth sending sellers and email to gauge what sort of person they are.
One issue I did have buying medical stuff off eBay is that alot of the drug companies don't like their products being sold on eBay, or resold and auctions for strips and things like that can get removed and cancelled quite alot, which can be frustrating if you have paid for an item and then eBay decides to cancel the listing, you will get your money back it can just take a while.
My advice is find a seller you like the look of, send them an email and give it ago. As I said if you pay with Paypal you have nothing to really loose.
I've bought things on ebay quite a few times (test strips, meters, extra infusion sets, etc) and never have had an issue. Most of the time, the supplies are being sold by someone who has them and no longer needs them (for example, after a spouse or family member has passed away). Just make sure to check on the expiration date. With ebay and Paypal there are all sorts of guarantees and the one time I bought something and it never got shipped, I was refunded in full.
Ebay is certainly a "buyer beware" market. There are many people that have had success with Ebay. But you need to be careful and the best defense is to use a supplier who has an established track record. Even if you do, it is difficult to find good prices for "branded" strips. I've been fortunate to have good coverage, but if I were in your position, I would consider buying a meter and strips from Walmart. Their Relion brand meter is inexpensive, and a box of 100 strips is only $36. The additional savings on Ebay are likely to be modest (over Walmart) and you need to be careful about the cheaper deals coming from less reputable sellers. Consumer reports rated the Relion meters and strips highly and found them to be just as accurate as others.
You can buy Omnipods on Ebay?? I think that is illegal as they require a prescription. If I were buying anything that I needed to manage my diabetes, I'd make sure that it met certain criteria like unopened and preferably in it's original package, not expired, and ask for a return shipping label option.
I have never bought anything on Ebay but I have bought strips and needles on Amazon...They are at least 50% cheaper than if you were to buy them at a store. I did it for months when I didnt have insurance...
