Can I sell my Inogen Concentrator?
Often you CAN sell your Inogen concentrator – here are a couple of guidelines:
- First, you need to be sure that you actually OWN your Inogen Concentrator. In many situations, patients are provided Inogen oxygen concentrators via Medicare through a local DME (durable medical equipment provider). Any units provided via Medicare are not owned by the patient but instead “owned” by the DME. If you are not sure, check to see if there is a label on the unit and call that number. Obviously, if you have the receipt of purchase or know the unit was purchased, you don’t need to worry about this step.
- Second, the law requires that the sale of a portable oxygen concentrator requires a prescription. The FDA considers portable oxygen concentrators (or POCs) similar to a drug. To be effective, Oxygen Concentrators require proper maintenance and testing and, as such, should never be sold on market sites like Craigslist or eBay. You could be held responsible for selling a defective medical device without a prescription.
- POCs can be sold (without worry) to either DMEs or other distributors of oxygen concentrators. These businesses are equipped to test, refurbish and clean a unit, ensure its efficacy and then resell it WITH a prescription.
- Units typically come with a three-year manufacturer’s warranty, but unfortunately, most manufacturers only honor the warranty for the original purchaser. The traditional "lifespan" of a unit is approximately 2-3 years, so values tend to depreciate quickly.
