Freight included
Shipping is built into the listed price. The seller crates and ships; you receive. Common on smaller items and on sellers who move a consistent product mix.
For buyers
Buy used, refurbished, and surplus medical equipment.
A marketplace of vetted American seller companies shipping worldwide, where every item shows its price. What comes to market, how to read a listing well, and what to confirm before you commit.
Quality used and refurbished medical equipment has always traded through channels that are hard to see into. Equipment surfaces when a practice consolidates, when a health system replaces a fleet, when a lease ends, or when a dealer takes a trade — and finding out what any of it costs usually means a phone call, a form, and a wait.
MedEquipExchange is built on the opposite arrangement. Vetted seller companies — real dealers, refurbishers, and surplus programs, approved individually — list equipment with the price attached. You can see what a powered surgical table or a cart-based ultrasound costs before you speak to anyone, compare units across sellers on the same screen, and buy at the number shown. The seller sets that number; it is what you pay.
This page covers what the exchange handles, how to evaluate what you're looking at, and what happens between purchase and delivery.
Categories
What each category typically brings to market.
Twelve families make up most of what moves. For each one, the things that vary most between two units that look identical in a photograph.
Surgical and operating room equipment
Powered and manual surgical tables, overhead and mobile surgical lighting, electrosurgical generators, insufflators, video towers for arthroscopy and laparoscopy, surgical microscopes, and equipment booms. Tables and lighting are the steadiest performers on the used market because their mechanics outlast several cycles of the electronics around them.
What varies most: accessory completeness. A surgical table without its hand control, foot pedal, or pad set is a meaningfully different purchase from one that has them, and replacement pads and controls are expensive enough to change the arithmetic. On video towers, confirm which camera and light source generation is actually in the stack rather than assuming from the tower model.
Diagnostic imaging and ultrasound
Cart-based and portable ultrasound, mobile C-arms, portable and fixed radiography, DR panels and retrofit kits, mammography, and cone beam systems. Larger modalities such as CT and MRI trade as well, though they carry de-installation, rigging, and site preparation that shape the whole transaction.
What varies most: on ultrasound, the transducers. Probes routinely cost more together than the system they plug into, so a listing's probe inventory — which probes, what condition, cable and lens integrity — matters more than the model year. On C-arms, whether the receptor is an image intensifier or a flat panel, and how many hours are on the tube. On any imaging system, whether the software options and licenses on the unit transfer with it.
Sterile processing
Tabletop and chamber steam sterilizers, washer-disinfectors, ultrasonic cleaners, drying cabinets, packaging equipment, and instrument sets. Sterile processing equipment is durable and heavily standardized, which makes it one of the more predictable categories to buy used.
What varies most: utilities. Chamber sterilizers and washer-disinfectors have specific requirements for electrical service, water quality and pressure, drainage, steam supply, and ventilation, and those requirements decide whether a unit can go where you want it. Confirm chamber dimensions against your trays, and confirm the door style — single, double, manual, powered — before anything ships.
Patient monitoring
Multiparameter and vital signs monitors, telemetry systems and central stations, defibrillators, ECG carts, pulse oximetry, and fetal monitoring. Monitoring turns over quickly in large facilities, which keeps a steady supply of capable units moving into practices that never needed the newest generation.
What varies most: parameters and accessories. Two monitors of the same model can carry different parameter modules and software options, and the cables, cuffs, and sensors are usually proprietary and priced accordingly. Batteries are a consumable with a real replacement cost — a monitor that will not hold a charge is a monitor that has to stay plugged in.
Anesthesia and respiratory
Anesthesia machines, ventilators, vaporizers, suction equipment, oxygen concentrators, and nebulizers. Anesthesia machines in particular have long service lives and an active used market across surgical, dental, and veterinary settings.
What varies most: configuration. Which vaporizers are mounted and for which agent, the mounting system they use, the absorber design, the gas configuration, the software generation, and whether hoses, circuits, and cylinder yokes come with the machine. A machine and its vaporizers are frequently listed separately, so read carefully which is which.
Examination and procedure furniture
Powered and manual examination tables, procedure and treatment chairs, stretchers, hospital beds, provider stools, casework, and equipment carts. The largest category by unit count and often the easiest place to save real money, because the mechanics are simple and long-lived.
What varies most: cosmetic condition and upholstery. Vinyl splits, foam compresses, and paint chips — none of which affect function, all of which affect how a room looks to a patient. Reupholstery is straightforward and inexpensive relative to a new table. On powered units, the thing to confirm is that the actuator runs the full range of travel smoothly under load, in both directions.
Aesthetic and laser platforms
Laser and light-based systems, radiofrequency and microneedling platforms, body contouring devices, and their handpieces. An active category, because practices change service mix often and platforms move between them.
What varies most: handpieces and counts. A platform is only as useful as the handpieces that come with it, and many handpieces carry consumable pulse or tip counts that determine what the system can still do before a refill or replacement is needed. Ask what remains. Ask also whether the manufacturer will re-register the system to a new owner, since some platforms require it before they can be serviced or supported under a new name.
Dental operatory equipment
Operatory chairs, delivery units, operatory lighting, compressors and vacuum pumps, intraoral sensors, panoramic and cone beam imaging, sterilizers, and cabinetry. Practice transitions release complete operatories at once, which is often the most economical way to equip a room.
What varies most: on imaging sensors, the size, the cable condition — the most common failure point by a wide margin — and whether the sensor's software will work with the practice management system you already run. On compressors and vacuum, the hours and the capacity relative to how many chairs you intend to run.
Ophthalmic lane equipment
Phoropters, slit lamps, examination chairs and instrument stands, autorefractors, tonometers, lensmeters, fundus cameras, optical coherence tomography, visual field analyzers, and phacoemulsification systems. Complete lanes come to market when a practice consolidates locations.
What varies most: on diagnostic imaging instruments, the software generation, whether the workstation is included, and whether the existing patient database can be migrated or must be left behind. On mechanical instruments, optical condition and smooth movement matter more than age.
Laboratory equipment
Centrifuges, microscopes, incubators, analyzers, biological safety cabinets, laboratory refrigeration and freezers, and water purification systems. Laboratory equipment is built to run continuously for years, and much of it reaches the used market long before it reaches the end of its useful life.
What varies most: on centrifuges, which rotors are included, since rotors are model-specific and often cost a large fraction of the machine. On analyzers, reagent availability and whether the platform is still supported. Biological safety cabinets need recertification once they are relocated, which is a normal part of the cost of moving one and should be budgeted from the start.
Rehabilitation and mobility
Therapy and treatment tables, traction units, therapeutic modalities, parallel bars, exercise and conditioning equipment, patient lifts, wheelchairs, and mobility aids. Clinic build-outs and gym refreshes release this category in usable groups rather than one piece at a time.
What varies most: wear from continuous use. Upholstery, cable and pulley condition, and hydraulic or electric lift function are where the age shows. Weight capacity ratings and footprint dimensions are worth confirming against your space before purchase rather than after delivery.
Veterinary practice equipment
Veterinary surgery tables, anesthesia machines, dental units, radiography and ultrasound, monitoring, kennels and cages, grooming and treatment equipment. A great deal of equipment from human practice settings crosses into veterinary use without modification, which widens what is worth considering.
What varies most: whether an item is purpose-built for veterinary use or adapted from a human-market platform, since that determines scale, positioning, table surfaces, and which accessories will fit. Both are legitimate purchases — the listing should say which it is.
Evaluating
How to read a listing.
Every listing on the exchange carries the same eight elements, so units can be compared against each other rather than against a paragraph of marketing.
- Price
- The number the seller has set. It is shown on the listing and it is what a buyer pays. No inquiry is needed to find out what an item costs.
- Identification
- Manufacturer, model, and configuration, with enough specificity to tell two similar units apart. Where a model has meaningful variants, the listing names the variant.
- Condition
- The seller's description against a common standard, covering functional state and cosmetic state separately — a unit can be mechanically sound and visibly worn, and you should be able to tell which.
- What's included
- Accessories, cables, probes, handpieces, rotors, pads, controls, trays, and consumables that ship with the item. This is the single most common source of surprise on used equipment, so it is stated explicitly rather than implied.
- Photographs
- Images of the actual unit — not catalog images of the model — including any damage the condition description mentions.
- Documentation
- Whether manuals, service records, or accessory documentation come with the item. Listings state what exists rather than characterizing what it means.
- Freight terms
- How the item ships and who arranges it: freight included, freight quoted at purchase, or buyer-arranged collection. Stated per item, because sellers and equipment differ.
- Location
- Where the equipment physically sits, which determines transit time and freight cost, and matters if you intend to collect it yourself.
Confidence
Buying from a vetted company you haven't met.
Buying capital equipment from a company on the other side of the country is a real act of trust, and it deserves a real answer rather than a badge. Here is what actually stands behind a purchase on the exchange.
Sellers are vetted, not self-enrolled
Companies do not create an account and start listing. Each one applies, is vetted individually, and is accepted into the network before a single item goes live. The initial group is deliberately small — a network of companies whose descriptions can be relied on is worth more to a buyer than a large directory of unknowns.
Equipment is sold as described
The commitment sellers make is accuracy: the condition description, the photographs, and the included-accessories list must match the item that arrives. That standard is what approval is granted against, and failing it is what removes a company from the network. Where a specific listing provides an inspection arrangement, the listing says so and states its terms — it is a per-item arrangement rather than a blanket policy.
What to confirm in writing before you buy
- That every accessory you are counting on is included, named individually
- Any consumable counts, remaining capacity, or licensed options that affect what the equipment can do
- Electrical, plumbing, and space requirements against the room the item is going into
- Whether the manufacturer will support or re-register the equipment under a new owner, where that applies
- The freight arrangement, including delivery access, and who is responsible at each stage
Ask before purchase, not after delivery. A good seller answers plainly and a listing worth buying survives the questions.
Logistics
Freight and delivery.
Every listing states its own arrangement. Medical equipment ranges from a stool to a system that needs a crew and a permit, so a single shipping policy would be dishonest for most of it.
Freight quoted at purchase
The item price is set and shipping is quoted to your delivery address, since freight on large equipment depends heavily on distance and access. The quote comes before you commit to it.
Buyer-arranged collection
The equipment is sold where it sits and you book the carrier or collect it. Usual for heavy installations and for buyers who already have freight arrangements they prefer.
What decides the cost
Freight on medical equipment is priced on dimensions, weight, and access far more than distance. A crated exam table and a crated sterilizer of similar weight can differ substantially in cost because of how they palletize. Delivery access is the other half: a receiving dock is straightforward, a ground-level door with a liftgate costs more, and an inside delivery up a floor is a separate service that has to be arranged in advance, not settled with a driver who has already arrived.
Larger installed systems add de-installation and rigging at the origin and site preparation at the destination. Those are specialist trades with their own timelines, and they belong in the plan and the budget from the beginning.
Buyers
Who buys used and refurbished equipment.
Ambulatory surgery centers equipping additional rooms. Physician practices opening, relocating, or adding a service line. Dental practices building operatories or buying into an existing one. Imaging centers adding capacity without adding a capital lease. Urgent care and occupational health locations fitting out quickly. Veterinary hospitals across small animal, equine, and mixed practice. Aesthetic and dermatology practices changing service mix. Physical therapy and rehabilitation clinics. Community health centers and nonprofit clinics working to a fixed budget. Universities, nursing programs, and simulation labs, where equipment that is a generation behind teaches exactly as well. Medical missions and international resellers. Equipment dealers restocking their own inventory.
The common thread is not size or budget. It is that the equipment needed does not have to be new to do the job — and that knowing the price up front makes the decision a straightforward one.
Guidance
Buying used and refurbished equipment well.
Applies whether you buy through this exchange or anywhere else. These are the things that turn a good purchase into a bad one.
Accessories decide the real cost
The base unit is rarely where the money hides. Ultrasound probes, laser handpieces, centrifuge rotors, monitor cables and sensors, surgical table pads and controls, sterilizer trays — these are model-specific, frequently proprietary, and can add a large fraction of the purchase price if they turn out to be missing. Read the included list as the most important line in the listing and price the gaps before you buy, not after.
Consumables and compatibility outlast the purchase
Equipment that needs consumables is a commitment to a supply chain. Confirm that the consumables are still manufactured, still reasonably priced, and still available to a buyer in your setting. The same goes for software: confirm a system will connect to what you already run, and that any option or license you are relying on stays with the equipment when it changes hands.
Power, plumbing, and space are decided before delivery
Voltage, phase, amperage, dedicated circuits, water quality and pressure, drainage, ventilation, floor loading, and clear dimensions through every doorway between the truck and the room. Measure the path, not just the destination. Electrical work and plumbing are ordinary costs of the purchase, and they are far cheaper to arrange before a crate arrives than after it is sitting in a corridor.
Documentation is worth asking for
Operator manuals, service manuals, accessory documentation, and any records that came with the equipment. A listing states what exists. What that documentation means for your setting is a judgment for you and whoever maintains your equipment to make — but it is much easier to make with the paperwork in hand than without it.
Budget past the purchase price
Freight and delivery access. Any missing accessories. Electrical or plumbing work. Installation, and de-installation at the origin for larger systems. Recertification where a category requires it. Consumables to get started. A used purchase that beats a new one by a wide margin on the item alone can end up much narrower once all of it is counted — which is fine, as long as it was counted.
Move at the pace the equipment moves
Each unit on the exchange is a single specific item, and when it sells it is gone. That is not a reason to rush a decision. It is a reason to do the confirming early — measurements taken, accessories checked, freight understood — so that when the right item appears you are deciding rather than starting.
Where things stand
Tell us what you're sourcing.
Listings open when the exchange goes live — but the approved seller network is being assembled now and already covers a wide range of equipment. Tell us what you need, and where in the world it is going, and we will go and look for it.
Send a sourcing request
Category, model, condition, budget, timeframe and destination country. A person reads every one and replies within one business day.
The full mechanics, start to finish.
How a purchase moves from listing to delivery, how pricing works, how condition is described, and the questions buyers ask most often.