Can I Sell Damaged Diabetic Test Strips and CGM Supplies? A Complete Guide

If you’ve found yourself Googling “can I sell damaged diabetic test strips” before packing up your box, you’re in exactly the right place. The answer is: it depends — and this guide will walk you through exactly what our inspection team looks for, how damage affects your payout, and what you can do right now to get the most cash for your unused diabetic supplies.

At Cash for Diabetics, we’ve inspected hundreds of thousands of shipments. We’ve seen it all — dented boxes, peeled labels, short expiration dates, opened containers. We built this guide because we’d rather you know our standards before you ship than be surprised after the fact.

Condition Requirements at a Glance

Here’s our complete payout table. Every item we receive is evaluated against these standards.

Condition	What It Means	Your Payout
✅ Perfect Condition	Sealed, undamaged, 10+ months to expiration, no government label	100% of listed price
⚠️ Minor Damage	Small dent or scuff on one side, quarter-sized or smaller, box still sealed	50% of listed price
⚠️ Label Removed	Customer attempted to remove a pharmacy or price label, causing surface damage	50% of listed price
⚠️ Short Expiration	Sealed and undamaged but expiring in 3–9 months from date we receive it	50% of listed price
❌ Cannot Accept	Opened, expired, Medicare/Medicaid label, or severely damaged on multiple sides	No payout

What Does “Perfect Condition” Mean for Diabetic Test Strips?

Perfect condition means your supplies are exactly as they would appear on a pharmacy shelf. Our inspectors are looking for four things:

• Factory sealed — the box must be completely closed and untampered
• No visible damage — no tears, dents, ink marks, stains, or surface damage beyond very light handling scuffs
• 10 or more months to expiration — check the date printed on the side panel of your box
• No orange Medicare or Medicaid label — supplies obtained through government programs cannot legally be resold

Boxes meeting all four criteria receive our full listed price, no deductions. This is the vast majority of what we receive.

The #1 Mistake That Costs Customers Money: Removing Labels

We need to be direct about this because it’s by far the most common — and most preventable — issue our inspection team encounters. Every week, we receive dozens of shipments from customers who removed pharmacy labels, price stickers, or store tags before mailing their supplies.

We completely understand the instinct. You want to send us a clean box, or you’re trying to protect your personal information. But here’s what actually happens when you remove a label:

• Pharmacy labels are applied with industrial adhesive that bonds to the box surface
• Peeling them off almost always tears the outer layer of the box or leaves adhesive residue
• Even careful, slow removal causes visible surface damage in the vast majority of cases
• That surface damage — even if it looks minor to you — triggers a 50% deduction under our inspection standards

What We Do Instead

Our inspection team uses a professional solution to remove labels cleanly without damaging the box surface. This is a standard part of our process for every single shipment we receive. You don’t need to do anything — and attempting to do it yourself almost always makes things worse.

As for your personal information: all labels containing your name, address, or prescription data are removed and shredded immediately upon receipt. Your information never travels with the product to its new buyer.

Can I Sell Diabetic Test Strips With Damage?

Yes — with one important condition: the box must still be sealed. We accept mildly damaged supplies at 50% of our listed price. Here’s exactly what qualifies:

Minor Physical Damage — 50% Payout

• A dent, scuff, tear, or ink mark located on only one side of the box
• The damage is roughly the size of a quarter or smaller
• The box is still completely sealed

If the damage is on multiple sides, larger than a quarter, or the box has been opened or crushed, we’re not able to make an offer. Someone with diabetes is counting on these supplies to be exactly what the label says.

What If My Test Strips Are Close to Expiring?

Expiration date is one of the most important factors in our inspection process. Here’s how it breaks down:

• 10 or more months to expiration → full payout
• 3 to 9 months to expiration → 50% of listed price
• Less than 3 months to expiration → we cannot make an offer

We need enough time to safely inspect, process, and place your supplies with a new buyer before the expiration date. Supplies with less than 90 days remaining don’t provide enough of a window to do that responsibly. Check the expiration date on your box before requesting a kit.

What Diabetic Supplies Can You NOT Accept?

For safety and legal reasons, there are certain items we cannot buy under any circumstances:

• Opened boxes — we cannot verify contents or ensure they haven’t been tampered with
• Expired supplies — any supplies already past their expiration date
• Supplies expiring in less than 3 months
• Medicare or Medicaid supplies — identified by an orange label; reselling these is a federal violation
• Severely damaged boxes — crushed, water damaged, or damaged on multiple sides
• Prescription-only supplies — if your product requires a prescription, it cannot be resold

How to Get the Maximum Payout: Packing Tips From Our Inspection Team

• Leave all labels in place — pharmacy stickers, price tags, everything. Our team handles removal professionally
• Wrap your boxes in tissue paper or bubble wrap inside the kit to prevent shifting during transit
• Photograph your supplies before sealing the box — this protects you in the rare event of transit damage
• Ship promptly after receiving your kit — expiration dates continue to count down
• For Dexcom supplies: let us know in advance, as they may not fit in our standard kit
• Check expiration dates before you pack — if you’re close to the 10-month threshold, ship as soon as possible

Why Do These Standards Exist?

We know condition deductions can feel frustrating, especially if you weren’t expecting them. But our standards exist for one reason: the people receiving these supplies depend on them to manage their diabetes every day.

When someone with diabetes orders test strips through our sister site Save on Strips, they’re counting on those strips to give accurate readings. An opened box, a compromised seal, or supplies past their expiration date could put someone’s health at risk. That’s not a tradeoff we’re willing to make.

We’ve been in this business long enough to see competitors come and go — often ones who cut corners on quality to offer higher payouts upfront. We’ve made a different choice: to pay fairly, inspect carefully, and be transparent about exactly what we accept. That’s how we’ve kept our promise to both sides of this transaction for over a decade.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the questions our team hears most often. If yours isn’t answered here, contact us at contact@cashfordiabetics.com before you ship.

Can I sell diabetic test strips if the box is dented?

Yes, in most cases. We accept mildly dented boxes at 50% of our listed price, as long as the dent is on one side of the box, is roughly quarter-sized or smaller, and the box is still sealed. If the box is dented on multiple sides or appears crushed, we cannot make an offer.

What happens if I accidentally removed a label before shipping?

If label removal caused surface damage to the box — tearing, adhesive residue, or peeling — the item will be assessed as mildly damaged and receive 50% of the listed price. This is our most common reason for payout adjustments. We strongly recommend leaving all labels in place and letting our team remove them professionally.

Can I sell diabetic supplies if they expire in 6 months?

Yes. Supplies expiring in 3–9 months receive 50% of our listed price. Supplies with 10 or more months until expiration receive the full listed price. Supplies with less than 3 months until expiration cannot be accepted.

What if my test strips are open but the individual foil packets are sealed?

We cannot accept opened boxes, even if the individual strips appear intact. Our inspection standards require factory-sealed packaging to ensure the safety and integrity of the supplies for the end recipient.

Do you accept supplies with pharmacy or prescription labels on them?

Yes — and we actually require you to leave them on. Our team removes pharmacy and prescription labels professionally using a solution that doesn’t damage the box. Attempting to remove labels yourself almost always causes surface damage that results in a payout deduction.

How do I know if my supplies came from Medicare or Medicaid?

Medicare and Medicaid supplies are identified by an orange label on the box. If your supplies have an orange label, they cannot be resold and we cannot make an offer. Reselling government-program supplies is a federal violation regardless of condition.

What happens to supplies you can’t purchase?

Supplies that do not meet our criteria are not returned and cannot be purchased. We strongly recommend using our Instant Buy-Back tool to verify your items before shipping to avoid sending supplies that won’t qualify.

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