Insulin Pump on Trade Me
A reader sent me an email today mentioning that there was an insulin pump for sale on TradeMe, so I went along to check it out. I came across this listing (image posted above). It got me thinking…. would I think about buying it?
Being lucky as I was to be granted a free loan pump from WDHB, I didn’t have to weigh this sort of option up in the end. However, if I’d not been so lucky I would have been almost certainly back to multiple daily injections by now (which I totally recognise work for many of you out there, just not as well as pumping does for me personally). I was looking into all sorts of alternatives to going back to MDI, and the thought of finding out if there was a second-hand market for insulin pumps did occur to me.
Points/questions this discovery has raised for me:
1. Clearly, insulin pump therapy is not for everyone. We know this to be true, but the above is another case in point. You’d be at your most motivated to make it work after you’d shelled out $8,000 for the item, but if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work (whether it be a lifestyle incompatibility or whatever).
2. You have to be incredibly careful if you’re considering something like this, and do your due diligence. $2, 000 for an insulin pump is a great deal cheaper than buying that particular one brand new (this is in theory because that particular brand is actually no longer being made). However you need to take into account things like:
- How will I get the training? Often the training from the company who sold it to you is covered in the cost of the pump. If you’ve bought a second hand one you might miss out.
- Is it in/out of warranty? (the one above was purchased in 2005, meaning it was out of warranty last year)
- What sort of condition is it in?
- Can you still buy the consumables for it?
- Is it still being made and sold?
- If I got it for x amount of dollars, how long would I be satisfied for it to work for? (I did a similar weigh-up when I bought a second hand Mac laptop for $400 a couple of years ago)
- Am I taking any health risks by doing this?
What do you lot think? Would you consider buying a second hand pump?
Posted in Community, Insulin Pumps
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Sarah wrote
Given the crazy things that my warranted, serviced pump did, I would be hesitant to buy second hand, but maybe the warranty/service is transferable? It strikes me that the $8000 is not for the actual piece of plastic and electronics (maybe worth a few hundy) but for the research, development and support that comes with it. Second-hand computers are different, they’re not pumping drugs into you! Or maybe they are, I swear my brain hasn’t been the same since I joined facebook…
Saffy wrote
For 2k and no warranty I’d be uncomfortable – even though it seems very cheap – mainly because it’s keeping ME going and isn’t a cheap and cheerful laptop or iphone or whatever.
If it had a warranty still and I could send it into the distributor for a good service, then yeah – I’d definitely consider it. I say that though having used pumps for 5+ years and feeling confident that I could ‘wing it’. Maybe not an option for newbies?
Gail wrote
After using pumps for 8 years, I would be very hesitant about buying a pre-loved (?) one for the exact same reasons that you listed, Nic.
Why would you buy an item for $2000 when you can get a new pump (Hi Justin) for just under $4000 that comes with the education and support provided by a great company. No…I don’t use this particular pump but hope to when my 2nd one eventually dies.
Ruthie wrote
I would buy it if I wasn’t already on one. But I’ve used second hand pumps throughout my pregnancy and those pumps were very very close to their end of life, so I know the ins/outs of it all. For me, there would be no hesitation.
Ruthie wrote
PS Sorry I should have said that I do recommend only someone who has used a pump before to buy it.
Renata Porter wrote
I agree, it would probably be ok for the experienced pumper.