Lower cost AirSense units Legitimate?

[superboiler]

Hi
I was looking at the lower cost AirSense 10 units (example Medguru and others that used to sell on Amazon) as I need a new unit and I have to pay for it myself. These are a few $100 less than what the mainstream online places charge. Are these legitimate units or do they some unknown defect?  Counterfeit? Warranty covered by ResMed?

[PaulaO2]

Mainstream (like those in our Supplier's List) charge more because they can. Lower priced units on other non-DME websites are cheaper by default (most of the time). Before buying online like that, confirm their return policy, that the items are what they say they are (new means still in unopened box), and all that.

Also check out Supplier #2.

[Stom]

Hi
I was looking at the lower cost AirSense 10 units (example Medguru and others that used to sell on Amazon) as I need a new unit and I have to pay for it myself. These are a few $100 less than what the mainstream online places charge. Are these legitimate units or do they some unknown defect?  Counterfeit? Warranty covered by ResMed?

Well, there are two separate issues. One is ResMed makes lower cost, lower feature units in the AirSense 10 line. Those all seem pretty widely condemned here for their lack of versatility.

The other issue is whether buying a discount, top of the line AirSense 10 Autoset has any disadvantages, and there are.

• All ResMed warranty repairs have to go through the DME. If you buy through a person or dealer who is not an official DME and ResMed dealer, you may not be able to use your warranty.
• Grey Market. You want a USA model if you want the cellular modem to work in the US to transmit data to AirView. Sometimes cheap electronics are not official imports. Not sure if this happens with ResMed units or not.
• Used being sold as new. You need to check the machine hours in the clinical settings menu to make sure a new unit is actually new. But stories on the board show that even real DMEs sometimes sell used APAPs as new.


All official ResMed dealers have a contract with ResMed that requires them to sell at the ResMed minimum advertised price or above, which is why the prices are all the same. It is a (currently) legal form of price fixing.

I bought my unit from an on-line store at a discount. It was fast service, a new unit and a USA model. They say they will honor the warranty in place of ResMed (if they are still in business, of course). But only time will tell if this was a good buy on my part or if I should have paid extra to get the ResMed backed warranty.

[Sleeprider]

Many of the sellers of new machines advertised on Craigslist and some other sites are authorized resellers and can service a warranty. It's best to ask. Many of these are distributors that do not provide end-patient services, but they will honor warranties and manage returns if needed.

[silentsnore]

From what I gather, many DME's have "unofficial" online stores, where they sell the same products at discount.

Most of them will honor warranty claims the same way as if you were to buy from their brick&mortar store.

[Mosquitobait]

FWIW, Supplier #28 can do warranty repair for Resmed. They are an authorized Resmed service center.