Where to purchase equipment?

[Rural]

Greetings,

Hopefully this type of question is legal in this forum. My apologies if not.

I am an American living overseas and need to purchase a new machine (my first). I have a prescription but am looking to purchase a machine from the US and have it shipped as US prices are much better than what I can purchase locally where I am at.

I am not using insurance and cost is fortunately not an issue for me. This said, I'm still looking for the best deal on new equipment. Using search engines, there are a multitude of CPAP-type supply houses that seem to offer similar prices, but then there are the occasional seller offering what is listed as the same equipment new for approximately 70%. I'm not in a position to seek warranty service if needed therefor after-purchase service is a non-issue.

Is there a gray market for CPAP equipment? Anything to watch out for?

Thanks in advance.

[Julie]

Hi - Yes it's 'legal', and lots of people are in your position. There is a major manufacturer (Resmed) who has excellent equipment, but they won't sell offshore, though if you find a machine through e.g. Craig's list or somewhere similar (tho' not eBay) you won't have a problem. eBay and other online companies won't sell any machine without a prescription - but at least you have that .

This forum is sponsored by Cpap.com who have probably the best choice and lowest prices on new machines (I'm just a customer) but as owners are very hands off about us, we talk about other dealers and any equipment with no trouble. I think you'll get lots of suggestions re machines (and the best probably is the Resmed S9 Autoset 560, though Respironics PR S1 auto is also very popular and aren't restricted on where they can be sold). I think my machine's pretty terrific also (see below my note). I'd be very careful about using e.g. Craig's list because you can't know for sure what you might get, and chasing trouble from overseas is a PITA, but you could look into 'Secondwind.com" as they sell used machines (and likely won't have problems with ResMed dealers).

Was all that what you want to know - I keep wondering if I missed the point of your questions for some reason. ?

[JDS74]

I've purchased from CPAP.com (my current machine)
And also from The CPAP People and from Direct Home Medical.
All of these have been Respironics machines.

Check to be sure that they will ship overseas.
It is my understanding that ResMed dealers will not.

[The Latinist]

I think you're going to have a hard time finding a US-based dealer who will ship a ResMed or Philips Respironics machine internationally. Indeed, the manufacturers specifically prohibit international shipments and dealers could lose their ability to sell those companies' products if they do so. Our host, for instance, will not ship equipment from either manufacturer outside the U.S (see https://www.cpap.com/cpap-faq/International.html). I am not sure if the will ship DeVilbiss machines.

[Pugsy]

Cpap.com is also now unfortunately not allowed to ship Respironics products outside the US. So Respironics and ResMed products from cpap.com aren't an option when needing to be shipped outside the US. That restriction comes from ResMed and Respironics.
There are some ways around it though. Ship to one of those addresses that will in turn ship to you or ship to someone you know in the US and they ship to you.

You might check secondwindcpap.com. They do ship ResMed and Respironics products internationally and they don't have the same restrictions as cpap.com. They have some gently used low hour machines and also some "new open box" zero hour machines.

[Rural]

Thank you for all the responses and suggestions.

Indeed I do have a U.S. address and a mail/parcel forwarding service such that the initial purchase may be sent to a U.S. address.

Thanks again!

[rebe]

I suggest that you try secondwindcpap[DOT]com for a review of what is available.
It is difficult to recommend a particular machine without knowing more about your problem.
But at least you can check out dozens of product - new and little used.
Good luck to you!

[Julie]

I would be careful about even using a mail service for Resmed stuff as pkgs are usually marked 'medical device' to save you duty, etc., and pkgs may be x-rayed... and I don't know if ResMed has been able to influence the mail service re their new products going out of the US. All very annoying! I'm in Canada and can buy ResMed, but only at an inflated price from local dealers who get stuff from Resmed... but I can't buy it myself otherwise (except 2nd hand, etc.).

[The Latinist]

Indeed I do have a U.S. address and a mail/parcel forwarding service such that the initial purchase may be sent to a U.S. address.

If that's the case, then it should be easy to get order from pretty much any online retailer.

[chunkyfrog]

I wonder if restriction to overseas shipment might be lifted if you could have it shipped to the American embassy.
They are supposedly there to help US citizens abroad.

[sleepinglass]

My thoughts based on past experience of where to buy:

If you are able to buy direct from Cpap.com using your US address, that is your best bet.
You know that you will be getting a new machine, exactly as described on their website.
Their website is beautifully informative helpful and crystal clear. Nothing is left to chance or the imagination.
Many years ago I bought a machine from Cpap.com and they made it so easy!

As a result I became a huge fan of Cpap.com. They are fast, reliable, honest and up front.
If you have a question they answer promptly,courteously and comprehensively by voice and or email.
Nothing is ever too much trouble!
They will not let you down, so it may be worth considering spending a little extra to get the excellent service that they have to offer.
It is really unfortunate that they are no longer able to ship the two main manufacturers abroad, so now many people will loose out, as a result of this restriction!
So make the most of it while you have the US address and do give serious thought to CPAP.com.

I have tried unsuccessfully buying from Second Wind, several times.
They can take a very long time responding to emails, days often turning into weeks and responses are brief, cryptic and unclear!
It seems to be normal procedure for questions sent via email to SW, to go ignored or unanswered.

On the plus side they do promise to keep the particular machine that you wish to purchase, aside, no problem.
However by the time the lengthy admin side of things has been sorted, they apologize and proceed to inform you that the particular machine that they had set aside for you, 'has now been sold'!
My experience with SW was disappointing, lengthy and very very painful, with no machine at the end of it. This has now happened on two occasions!

[Rural]

I will start another thread with follow-up questions but I would offer the following thoughts regarding shipping outside the US:

1) I've shipped many thousands of dollars worth of medical equipment to myself outside the U.S. and have never had anything held up on the U.S. export side. I've never shipped anything directly from a medical supply house. Maybe I've been lucky.

2) I worked in a few American embassies 20 years ago and I remain plugged into my local American Consulate. American embassies/consulates will not accept/process mail items except for extremely unusual circumstances which practically speaking does not apply to personal issues such as this. Besides, Fedex/DHL ships essentially everywhere.

3) Items brought into any country are subject to an import duty/tax or similar. Where I happen to live this is not an issue.

4) Items brought into any country may be subject to approval for import. Again where I live, this isn't an issue.