Are Diabetic Test Strips Worth Money? Here's What to Expect
Are diabetic test strips worth money? For most sealed, major-brand boxes, yes. A 100-count box of Accu-Chek Aviva Plus can fetch up to $40 here in Salt Lake City. FreeStyle Lite runs up to $25 a box, and even lower-paying brands bring in a few dollars each. Whether your boxes are worth anything comes down to three things: brand, the factory seal, and the expiration date.
Most major-brand test strips have real resale value
Here is what the numbers actually look like. Sealed 100-count boxes of Accu-Chek Aviva Plus are worth up to $40 each. FreeStyle Lite tops out at $25 a box. Contour Next up to $20, OneTouch Verio up to $10, and Accu-Chek Guide up to $7. Those are the top payouts for boxes in perfect condition with at least 12 months left on the expiration date. See our full price guide for CGM sensors, insulin pumps, and everything else we buy.
Sealed, non-expired, retail-packaged strips from name-brand manufacturers are what the secondary market wants. The boxes need to show the brand name on the outside, the factory seal needs to be intact, and the expiration needs to be comfortably in the future. If all three of those are true, you have something worth a text.
The factory seal matters more than anything else
Before brand or expiration date, check the seal. If the factory seal is broken, the box is worth $0 to us and to any reputable buyer. This is not a policy we invented. Downstream buyers won't touch opened boxes because the strips inside can't be verified, so neither can we. The same rule applies to any buyer worth dealing with.
There is a related issue with pharmacy-labeled boxes. If a pharmacy put their own sticker over the original brand name, the box looks like it came from a specific patient's prescription rather than from original retail stock. That makes the box unsellable in the secondary market, even if the strips inside are fine and the seal is unbroken.
How expiration date changes what your strips are worth
Twelve months out or more gets you the top payout. In the six-to-twelve-month window, most brands still get a solid offer, though the number steps down. Inside six months, the offer drops noticeably. Under three months, we often pass entirely.
Why does it matter that much? Because whoever buys from us needs time to find an end buyer who can actually use the strips before they expire. The FDA requires manufacturers to test and certify test strip accuracy through the date on the label. After that date, nobody in the chain can vouch for accuracy. The market prices that in.
Expired strips have no resale value. None. That is the one hard line in this business. Everything else (a minor scuff on the box, a missing outer sleeve) we can work around. Expiration cannot be worked around. If your strips expired recently, the kindest thing we can do is point you toward a local donation program where they might still be useful. Our post on donating diabetic test strips has a few places in the Salt Lake area that accept them. The American Diabetes Association also maintains a national list of patient assistance and supply programs.
What each brand actually fetches
Real numbers matter here, so here they are. All of these are top payouts for 100-count boxes, sealed, with 12-plus months to expiration:
- Accu-Chek Aviva Plus — up to $40 per box
- FreeStyle Lite — up to $25 per box
- Contour Next — up to $20 per box
- OneTouch Verio — up to $10 per box
- Accu-Chek Guide — up to $7 per box
CGM sensors pull even higher numbers. A Dexcom G6 sensor 3-pack is worth up to $150. Dexcom G7 sensors (15-day) run up to $60 each, G7 (10-day) up to $40 each, and FreeStyle Libre 3 sensors up to $30 each. Omnipod 5 pods go up to $150 per pod, and Medtronic pumps up to $500. The test strip prices by brand page breaks down the full list, and our guide to what test strips are worth the most covers the high-end supplies in more detail.
Even small stockpiles are worth the text
People sometimes hesitate because they only have one or two boxes. That is fine. One sealed box of Accu-Chek Aviva Plus is still up to $40 in your pocket this week. Two boxes of FreeStyle Lite is $50. The math is the math.
We have more than a dozen regular clients right now who sell two or three times a month. This is not a one-time clear-out for them. The strips pile up because insurance ships more than most people use, and instead of letting extras expire in a drawer, they text us. The cash goes to groceries, phone bills, gas. It's monthly income for a real number of households. Our repeat rate sits at around 95%, meaning almost everyone who sells once comes back at least one more time within the year. That would not happen if the money were not worth it.
What we won't buy, and why we tell you upfront
Being straight about this saves everyone time. Four things are a hard no:
- Expired strips — no exceptions, regardless of how recently they expired
- Boxes with a broken seal — once opened, there's no secondary market for them
- Pharmacy-relabeled boxes — the sticker over the brand makes them unsellable downstream
- Generic store-brand strips like ReliOn or Walmart Equate — almost no downstream buyers want them and the offer would not be worth your drive
Generic strips are worth a separate note. The meters that go with them are cheap enough that end buyers prefer buying new gear over used strips. So even if your ReliOn or Walmart Equate boxes are sealed and in-date, the offer is usually too low to be worth a meetup. If you're not sure what brand you have, a photo to us costs nothing and takes about 30 seconds.
How to find out what yours are worth today
Text us a couple photos of the boxes: front label, expiration date, and the lot number if you can see it. During business hours (Monday through Saturday, 10am to 7pm MT), we send a real number back within 30 minutes. Not "we'll let you know after we look them over in person." An actual offer before you go anywhere.
Every buyback website claims they pay highest in Utah. What actually matters is whether the price quoted in the text matches the cash in your hand at the meetup. With a local transaction, the inspection happens right in front of you before any money moves. Our on-site deduction rate is rare. The number in the text is almost always the number in your hand five minutes later. That's the part that makes or breaks the deal, and it's the easiest part to verify when you're standing there.
Most meetups on the Wasatch Front take about five minutes. We meet at a Starbucks, a Smith's parking lot, wherever is easy for you. No shipping, no waiting, no runaround. If you've got boxes in your cabinet that you've been meaning to deal with, this is the straightforward way to do it.
Frequently asked questions
Are unopened diabetic test strips worth anything?
Yes. Sealed, non-expired test strips from major brands have real resale value. Accu-Chek Aviva Plus 100-count boxes are worth up to $40 each. FreeStyle Lite up to $25. Even lower-tier brands bring in a few dollars per box. The two things that make strips worthless are a broken seal and an expired date.
How much can you sell diabetic test strips for?
The range for standard test strips is $7 to $40 per 100-count box, with Accu-Chek Aviva Plus at the top end. CGM sensors go higher: a Dexcom G6 3-pack can fetch up to $150. The exact number depends on brand, expiration date, and condition. Text photos to a local buyer to get a real number rather than estimating.
What makes test strips more valuable?
Three things push the offer up: a name-brand product (Accu-Chek, FreeStyle, or Dexcom over store brands), plenty of time on the expiration date (12-plus months gets top dollar), and an intact factory seal. Box condition helps too, but those first two factors matter most.
Do expired test strips have any value?
No. Expired test strips have zero resale value to any reputable buyer. The FDA requires strip accuracy only through the date on the label, so nobody downstream can sell or use them with confidence after that. If your strips expired recently, a local donation organization may still accept them for redistribution, but they cannot be sold.
Is it worth selling just one or two boxes of test strips?
Yes. One sealed box of Accu-Chek Aviva Plus is worth up to $40. Two boxes of FreeStyle Lite is $50. Sending a text with a couple photos takes about 30 seconds. If the offer works, the meetup itself takes about five minutes. For most people the math makes sense even for a single box.
Which diabetic test strip brands are worth the most?
Accu-Chek Aviva Plus pays the most for standard test strips at up to $40 per 100-count box. FreeStyle Lite and Contour Next also pay well. For CGM supplies, Dexcom G6 sensor 3-packs are worth up to $150 and Omnipod 5 pods up to $150 each. Generic or store-brand strips (ReliOn, Walmart Equate) are generally not worth the trip.
How do I find out what my specific test strips are worth?
Text photos of your boxes to a local buyer. Include the front label and expiration date. A reputable buyer will send back a real number within 30 minutes during business hours, no trip required first. The offer you get by text should match what gets paid in cash at the meetup — that consistency is the check that separates trustworthy buyers from ones to avoid.
Can you sell test strips that came through insurance?
Strips that came through private insurance or that you bought out of pocket can typically be sold if they're sealed, non-expired, and without a pharmacy label over the brand. Strips covered by Medicare or Medicaid are a different situation and are better donated than sold. Our post on <a href="/blog/can-i-sell-free-test-strips/">selling free test strips</a> covers this in more detail.