“Craigslist” is an online listing platform which makes it really easy to find buy both new, and used home medical equipment in your area, and further afield.
You do not have to become a member of anything. You will simply search the Craigslist listings of item being sold.
Buying used medical equipment near me on Craigslist
The simplest way to do a search for home medical equipment for sale on Craigslist, is to start by entering “craigslist + your local city, or county”.
For my example below, I have typed in “craigslist san diego ca”.
You can see that in the image below.
In your browser search results, you will get a Craigslist result like the image below, but with the location you entered.
As you are trying to make the search as local as possible, in the top left-hand corner of the page, you will have a drop-down menu from which you can narrow it down to a part of your city.
In the image below you can see where it says San Diego, and I have clicked on it to open the drop-down menu – you also have the option of a map, but I just use the options they give.
I chose “city of san diego” from the drop-down menu, as you can see below.
You can also see that there is another field which says “for sale” and another which says “all”.
Don’t adjust those.
At present, the listings on the page are from all categories of items for sale – that’s why you see the field with “all” in it. The “all” is a setting to show all categories.
There is no category for home exercise equipment, and I have never used a category to search.
I just enter the name of the type of medical equipment I am looking for, into the “search for sale” field, which you can see below.
The page will load with all the listings for bedside commodes.
There will be the items for sale in the area that you have selected – I have indicated those with the number 1 in the image below, and items for sale in surrounding areas, marked below with the number 2.
Remember of course that this is not just used items, and you will have to sift through to separate them out.
Once you have found an item which you wish to take a closer look at, as I have below, you just click on the thumbnail.
You just click on the reply tab – indicated by the arrow
This will either give you one or two more links to click on –
- an email contact
- an email contact and a phone contact
Now, you can contact the seller using one of these.
Finding garage/yard sales with used medical equipment near me, on Craigslist
Craigslist also has a Garage Sale category of listing, you can use can to find local garage/yard sales.
You do a search in your local area just in the first example, with the addition of “garage sales”.
I looked in Ithaca, NY, this time for the garage sales, so I searched for “craigslist + Ithaca + ny + garage sales” and I got the search results below.
People typically post quite a number of photos of what they are selling at these garage/yard sales, and you can browse the photos to see the equipment you need before you take the time to go there.
The time and location of the garage/yard sales is listed alongside the photos on the listing page for the sale – you can see that below.
Yard Sale Treasure Map
Yard Sale Treasure Map is a cell phone app which puts all the Craigslist garage sales on a map, making it easier to go around all those sales in your area on the day.
There is both a free version and a paid version of the app.
Be careful when buying items on online platforms
Take care who you give your personal information out to on any online platform.
Don’t give out your home address to sellers who you don’t know, or when you collect the equipment that you are buying, as you have no idea who the people really are.
It is best to arrange to meet the seller with a friend.
With regard to the quality of the equipment that you buy on online listings, whether it is Craigslist, Facebook or Nextdoor.com, you have no guarantees that the equipment is safe to use, when you buy from private individuals.
These online platforms will not accept any liability if you have an accident with an item you bought on their platform, and state as much on their sites.
You are entering into arrangements without any guarantees, and if something does happen, you don’t have any recourse, and you will be accepting the equipment “as is”.
If you want refurbished equipment which has been professionally checked, fixed if needed, and sanitized, you should use a licensed refurbishing center.
Where else can I buy used medical equipment online near me ?
You can also find free used medical equipment locally online on –
- eBay.com
- Usedhme.com
- Facebook.com
- Nextdoor.com
Where can I find used medical equipment online near me for free ?
You can also find free used medical equipment locally online on –
- Facebook groups and Marketplace
- Freecycle.org
- Usedhme.com
- Nextdoor.com
I have written quick illustrated guides on how to get free used medical equipment on each of the above websites/online listings –
“How to get free medical equipment near me on Facebook ? A Quick Illustrated Guide”
“How to get free medical equipment near me on Freecycle.org ? A Quick Illustrated Guide”
“How to get free medical equipment near me on UsedHME.com ? A Quick Illustrated Guide”
“How to get free medical equipment near me on Nextdoor.com ? A Quick Illustrated Guide”
I’m Gareth, the author and owner of Looking After Mom and Dad.com
I have been a caregiver for over 10 yrs and share all my tips here.
