Selling your old hearing aids on Craigslist

Hearing Aids
#1

On Craigslist I have sold my used bicycle, weight-lifting bench and weights, car, etc.
How does the group feel about selling one’s old HAs?

#2

Should anyone be interested, there are indeed some for sale on the Washington, D.C. Craigslist:
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=hearing+aids&sort=rel

If you don’t sell them is there some way to donate them, like there is with old glasses, to an outfit who will provide them to those who need them but cannot afford them?

#3

CL is not a good market for selling hearing aids. You will encounter the chat factor that may come along with a potential buyer. Better to use EBay and avoid any intense communication.

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#4

Thanks for that tip. Will do so.

Meantime, just out of curiosity, how intense do communications get on Craiglist? I ask because when I sold my 15 year-old BMW 525i about 12 years ago, I had the usual back and forth with interested buyers, wanting to be sure about one thing or another before they made the trip to view the vehicle.

Have some of the communications in which you have been invloved while trying to sell something on Craigslist been, for lack of a better work, troublesome?

Thanks PVC!

#5

Not troublesome, more like needing to provide the buyer with never ending details about hearing aids in general, and your specific model, and how to program them, and about acoustics (domes and molds) and even how to find their lost socks :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

#6

OY! What a PITA that must have been!

#7

Just checked out eBay for my old HAs. Audeo S Smart.

Prices are all over the map. Some offer programming, some don’t, etc.

Never sold anything on eBay before so, if I decide to do so, it’s going to be a steep learning curve

The nice thing, for me, about Craigslist is that I can meet the buyer in a neutral location (I did this when I sold my old iMac and again when I sold two old iPhones) let them see the product, etc., and walk away cash in hand.

All sales final, etc.

#8

Exactly. As is. What is. Take it or leave it. No after sale support. I’m not sure why that needs to be complicated.

#9

Yep, steep learning curve for EBay. If you think that you can sell hearing aids as take it or leave it, just gimmea the cash and goodbye, then you obviously have not sold hearings aids on CL before. The price would be so low as to being similar to giving them away.

#10

Our local police department encourages transactions to take place in the PD lobby or parking lot. I’ve sold numerous items that way; buyers seem to appreciate the added security aspects as well.

Good luck!

#11

Smart idea. I did my exchanges in large, crowded parking lots where most miscreants would think twice about any funny business.

#12

Miscreants wouldn’t bother with used HAs anyway :wink:

You can get a better reading of the used EBay market by checking the [ ] Sold box in the left pane.
For example; Starkey Ignite hearing aids | eBay

#13

I bought my first pair of Oticons from Craigs list. I had come here and read about different models. I found the Genie fitting software online. Bought the cables and HiPro interface from ebay, because there was no other source.

I purchased a total of 3 pairs of HAs from Craigslist. After I had the programmer, I would only purchase after I connected and verified the aids were programmable.

Most recently I purchased one pair of Oticon OPN 3s from a local HA center. I was not impressed with the testing.The equipment that was used had an irritating buzz that was present the entire test. In spite of the crappy testing the audiogram was similar to my previous tests.

Since then, I was not able to find any OPN 1s on CL. I purchased 2 pairs of OPN 1s from ebay. i have sold old aids on ebay. The commissions are significant. I do not think any of the sellers I met from CL suffered from a face to face sale and certainly avoided paying any seller’s fees. That is in addition to the commission from

Craigslist works and is far cheaper as a selling platform. I try to make sure buyers understand that the sale “as is.” If there are defects, I disclose them to potential buyers. It is easier to reveal all and not have to look over my shoulder wondering if someone feels slighted.

I sell lots of stuff on CL. I usually meet in public places like fast food places with closed circuit security cameras. I only meet inside. I also allow people to come to my house if they want. I have security cameras and we complete the deal on the front porch. If you fear your buyers, maybe your sales tactics are suspect.

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#14

Thanks, Martin, that was very informative.

I knew selling my old HAs was going to be complicated, however I did it.

It it’s not too much trouble, could you provide a few details about the programmer to which you refer in your post.

Thanks very much.

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#15

A question for the group.

If my pair of Audeo HAs is five years old, how long can I. honestly tell a potential buyer they should continue to function?

I am clueless on this one

Thanks.

#16

We donated mine to Lions Club and they give them to needy people.
That’s the way to go

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#17

Started buying used aids 10 years ago. The outrageous hearing aid prices at the AUD drove me to learn how to program. Craigslist, eBay and Facebook Marketplace are all good places to look/sell. This forum is a good place to look for aids.
Good luck,
Rick

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#18

Clearly there are advantages and disadvantages to CL and to eBay. As a SAVVY HA buyer, I looked at both.

But …

  1. I knew what I was looking for.

  2. I had very specific questions relevant to a smooth sale (not general education questions about HAs).

  3. Try to lay out all of the info you can in the listing, then any questions will come from folks who didn’t read the posting completely, don’t know much about HAs, or have very specific questions because they DO know what about HAs.

  4. As implied by others, it might be a good idea to sell something trivial on eBay just to get your feet wet. Also, if you’re not comfortable selling on eBay and you live in a large metropolitan area, you might find a good sized market on CL.

My current pair of HAs were purchased on eBay. I would have had the same questions of the seller had they been on CL.

On a side note, my current HAs were sold on eBay by someone selling off an estate. Finding the make and model from someone who didn’t know their value was a freakishly fortunate accident and I jumped on the sale as soon as I saw it. Saved > 90% vs. bundled retail pricing, new. The only bits of information I needed confirmed from the seller were the HAs providence and serial numbers (to confirm they were still under warranty).

I would have felt just as comfortable buying over CL except I have a lousy poker face so the seller would have probably figured out their true value before selling.

Separate question: What charities help with redirecting donated used hearing aids?

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#19

I originally purchased a HiPro. I managed to find a guy on ebay that was selling a full set of programming boots and cables for Oticon for about $100. I bought the set since my primary interest was Oticon. I have recently had problems with cables making good physical contact with the aids. I have been wearing the OPNs for about a year. The newer models now support wireless programming so I bought a NoahLink Wireless programmer for $240 off of ebay. It works well for my application. Good luck on your adventure. If Imcan help with any other questions, feel free to ask.

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#20

Thanks so very much for all that good info on selling HAs. The new pair is so expensive I really would like to sell these to offset that price and think I will start on CL because it’s just easier. If that fails utterly, then on to eBay.

What a wonderful resource this list is.

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