Global Medical Equipment is one of the biggest "stock" brokers of used medical imaging equipment, with annual sales over $5 million. Now celebrating ten years in business, the company keeps more than 30 CTs in stock, plus 10 x-rays, along with PET scans and MRIs in its 6,000-square-foot warehouse north of Philadelphia. The company also buys and sells ultrasound, nuclear medicine technology, angio/cath lab equipment, and a huge parts inventory. They sell mostly as is and sometimes subcontract for service and installation.

"We mainly buy from Siemens and GE. Trade-ins are our main source," said President Peter Chen. "We also buy from other dealers but very few directly from hospitals."
Global Medical Equipment is one of only a handful of brokers authorized to buy from Siemens. "Siemens' US trading group only sells to about ten dealers in the world," Chen explained. "We are one of these and have been on the list for 10 years because we are honest and reliable. Sometimes we even take a loss to perform our contract."

Chen sells domestically and internationally, nearly everywhere in the world, mainly to dealers.

"DOTmed is a very good resource to us," he said. "We post equipment on DOTmed and then the potential buyer finds the equipment that they want and contact us. It's a good plan." The company also does periodic direct e-mail marketing to a client base of more than 200 dealers.

In terms of market trends, Chen observed, "People are trying to buy more newer technology from the used market. But the foreign buyer is low end so the big, more expensive equipment buyers [are] in the United States."

He bemoans the widespread dishonesty in the used medical equipment industry and recommends, "Always buy from familiar people. Do not buy from the street. If you buy from a stranger, spend the money and time to [do] an investigation and search a listing like DOTmed honest/dishonest forums. Do not send money first."

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