Used medical equipment in BC: your questions answered

Yes, when the equipment has been checked by someone who knows what fails on it. Hospital beds, wheelchairs, lift chairs and patient lifts are built for years of institutional use and are routinely refurbished and reused by hospitals and care homes. What makes a used item unsafe is a worn part nobody found: a bed motor that strains under load, a wheelchair frame cracked at a weld, a lift battery that quits mid-transfer. Every item we sell goes through a function check under load, a frame and hardware inspection, professional cleaning and any needed servicing before it is listed, and the listing describes the condition plainly.

Three things. Inspected: every function is run under load and the frame, hardware, castors, brakes and electrics are checked, with the result recorded on the listing. Professionally cleaned: the item is stripped and cleaned and disinfected, including the parts you cannot see, following the maker's guidance for the materials. Serviced: worn or failed parts — tyres, batteries, handsets, gas struts, cables — are replaced or repaired before sale. What it does not mean is "like new": these are used items, and any cosmetic wear is described on the listing.

It varies by item, but our prices are typically a fraction of the price of the same equipment new. A used full-electric hospital bed from us is generally $900 to $2,000; a used tilt-in-space wheelchair $1,500 to $2,500; a lightweight manual wheelchair around $1,000 to $1,500; a lift chair $500 to $1,200. Every listing shows its price, and there is nothing to add except delivery.

We do not offer our own warranty, and all sales are final. What we do is inspect and service every item so that it works when it arrives, describe its condition honestly, and if something arrives defective or damaged, work through it with you if you tell us within 48 hours of delivery. Some items may still be covered by a manufacturer's warranty; where that applies, the claim goes to the manufacturer. Our full Return & Refund Policy is short and worth reading before you buy.

No. Because this is home medical equipment, everything is sold as is, where is, with no returns or exchanges, for hygiene and safety reasons as much as anything. That is exactly why we answer every question before you buy, list every specification we can, and offer a one-hour fitting on wheelchairs so the decision is made with the real chair in front of you. If an item arrives damaged or defective, contact us within 48 hours of delivery.

Used. It comes mostly from care homes, clinics and families on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland whose need has ended. We say so plainly because the value is in the inspection and service, not in pretending. If you specifically want new, we can often source it through our distribution network — ask.

No. Anyone can buy from us. That said, for anything that involves positioning, pressure relief, transfers or fall risk — tilt chairs, patient lifts, bed rails, pressure-relief mattresses — an occupational or physical therapist's assessment is genuinely worth having, and we are happy to work from their notes or with them present at a fitting.

Across Vancouver Island from Victoria to Campbell River — Greater Victoria and the Saanich Peninsula, Mill Bay, Duncan and the Cowichan Valley, Ladysmith and Chemainus, Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum, Courtenay and Comox, and Campbell River — and across the Lower Mainland: Vancouver, Burnaby and the North Shore, Richmond, Delta, Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Mission, Maple Ridge, Port Coquitlam, Chilliwack and Hope. Somewhere else? Ask and we will quote it.

It depends on where you are and what the item is, because a lift chair is a two-person carry and a commode is not. In Greater Victoria delivery and setup is $100 for bath safety, mattresses and patient lifts, $150 for beds and wheelchairs, and $250 for lift chairs. Nanaimo is $200 for a bed; Vancouver is $350. The full table covers every area and equipment type. GST is charged on the delivery fee only.

No. It is one trip, so you pay the delivery rate of the dearest item once. A bed and a mattress to Victoria is $150, not $250.

Bringing the item into the room it will be used in, assembling it, plugging it in, running it through its functions with you, and taking the packaging away. A bed is left made up and working at the right height; a lift chair is placed with clearance to recline; a wheelchair is adjusted to the person. We do not leave equipment in boxes.

We confirm a delivery time when we confirm the order, and we group deliveries by area, so the wait depends on where you are and what is already going that way. If it is urgent — a discharge date, say — tell us and we will do what we can.

Our checkout charges GST on the delivery fee only; no tax is added to the equipment price shown. Prices are in Canadian dollars.

Five things: patient lifts (floor and ceiling), lift chairs, full-electric hospital and adjustable beds, tilt-in-space wheelchairs, and manual wheelchairs. Nothing else. Send photos, the make and model, age and condition through the sell page.

No, under no circumstances. Power wheelchairs, mobility scooters and power-assist add-ons have batteries, controllers and drive electronics that need specialist testing we are not set up to do, and battery condition cannot be judged from a photo. Walkers, commodes, mattresses and cushions are also not things we buy. Our not-accepted page suggests what else you can do with them.

Fill in the form with up to five photos including the label or serial plate. We are a one-person operation and cannot reply to every submission: if we are interested we will be in touch; if you do not hear from us, we are not, and there is no need to resend or call. If we buy it, we collect it.

If it is full-electric and in working order, offer it to us through the sell page. If we do not take it, local equipment loan programs and charities on the Island sometimes accept working beds, a therapist or hospital discharge planner usually knows the local route, and beds also sell privately. Manual-crank beds have little resale value and usually go to scrap metal.

Sometimes, and it depends on the program, the person's eligibility and the equipment. Programs that fund equipment generally require an assessment by an authorised therapist and may prefer a registered vendor; some will fund used equipment, some only new. If you have coverage or think you might, ask the program or your therapist before you buy, and ask us — we can provide a proper invoice and any details a funder needs.

For a short period, often yes. The Canadian Red Cross Health Equipment Loan Program lends basic mobility and bath-safety equipment short-term in BC, and some communities run local loan cupboards. For long-term needs, or for equipment those programs do not carry — full-electric beds, tilt chairs, patient lifts — buying used is usually the practical answer. A therapist or hospital discharge planner will know what is available locally.

Yes. Every order comes with an itemised receipt showing the equipment, delivery and tax separately. If a funder or insurer needs something specific on it, tell us when you order.