There are some big issues that I need to expose so anyone buying a used hyperbaric treatment oxygen chamber on the internet or from a friend or a friend of a friend, craigslist, Ebay, or wherever. Once you know what to look out for, you shouldn't get screwed over like people are calling me about.
So I’m feeling that there is a real need to make this page for:
Anyone who has just now learned and is considering the alternative in purchasing a used hyperbaric chamber versus a new one.
Anyone who has previous experience purchasing one and needs help either selling it or getting it certified and tested so they can sell it for what it is really worth.
Anyone who is actively looking to buy a used hyperbaric oxygen chamber and needs to know only the most vital information to avoid flaws.
If you have spoken to many of the sales reps for different hyperbaric oxygen chamber companies then you know how they will try to sell you on throwing a huge pile of cash at a NEW hyperbaric chamber not a USED hyperbaric chamber. These well trained salespeople are not out to rip you off..at least most of the time they are just doing their jobs and the companies have big inventory of new hyperbaric chambers.
They love to act like used hyperbaric oxygen chambers don’t exist and if they did exist they would somehow not do the job like a brand new shiny one would. The raw truth about used hyperbaric chambers is that as long as they are certified by the manufacturer they should provide the same health benefits as a new one…and will not hurt your wallet.
I get asked pretty often over the phone “How come there are so many used hyperbaric chambers on the market?”. Easy answer, customers buy them because they or a loved one has a serious health condition and after the condition improves and heals the original need for the hyperbaric oxygen chamber no longer is there. So basically people are buying chambers to fix a problem, they almost never buy it for preventative health reasons.
So who buys a new hyperbaric oxygen chamber, successfully heals their health condition then keeps the chamber afterwards? The same people who understand that a hyperbaric chamber is one of the best preventative health protocols. From my research and experience in the industry I’d say that probably 40% of the people who buy a new hyperbaric chamber actually keep it and do not sell it.
Sadly one of the main reasons people sell their chamber is because they want to try to recoup the huge amount of money they invested in getting a new chamber.
The other main reason for selling a chamber is because some part on it had a critical failure and needs repair or diagnosis as to what the problem is exactly. I hear all the crazy stories from customers who call me complaining about how they thought they could trust so and so when they bought the used hyperbaric chamber, only to find problems with it later on that were caused intentionally by the previous owner. I bet you’re wondering how someone could tell if a defective chamber was tampered with? Unless the problem is blatantly obvious to anyone, usually when a used hyperbaric oxygen chamber is sent back to the manufacturer for certification or refurbishment, they know the tell tale signs of a hyperbaric chamber that has been tampered with.
They run all these crazy tests over there revealing things like glues or nail polish being layered into certain areas, tissue paper being stuffed into the release valves to get the psi on the chamber higher than it was designed for..the list goes on. The latter tactic is spread by misinformed individuals on the internet who tell chamber owners that they can turn their regular chamber into a super expensive chamber that can create more than five times the pounds per square inch of oxygen pressure (hard shell chambers) by blocking the release valves to artificially build more psi inside the hyperbaric chamber.
So many customers buy used hyperbaric chambers that are NOT certified through the manufacturer because the chambers seem absolutely fine when they use it and get in it. Just because a chamber looks and works fine doesn’t mean is wasn’t tampered with! Over pressurizing a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for example is something that only the manufacturer can detect with certain tests. You could buy a hyperbaric therapy chamber that was weakened or compromised this way and NEVER know it until it’s too late a few weeks or months down the road. What’s worse is when you send in your used hyperbaric chamber to the manufacturer because it’s supposed to still be under warranty from the previous owner and they tell you it’s been tampered with they accuse you of tampering with it!! And that voids your warranty. Hopefully the manufacturer won’t hold onto your chamber because it is a hazard unless you get it refurbished and certified which will cost you more money just to get it back in your hands again.
Many people who buy their chambers often put them in their basements where there is space for it and it stays down there for a long time. As we all know lots of times there is mold down there. Mold that can find it’s way easily into a chamber because when it is used and the person is exhaling moisture from the lungs in it that moisture clings to the walls of the hyperbaric oxygen chamber and after the chamber deflates the moisture remains trapped between the material and can breed nasty bacteria, fungi, etc. When someone gets a used chamber from someone there is lot of bacteria or mold that cannot just be seen by the naked eye so if you get in that chamber how do you know you’re not getting into something toxic?
Also, many people who use hyperbaric chambers are very sick and sometimes what they are infected with could be contagious..like MRSA for example. How do you know if MRSA is not present in the used chamber you just bought? This is why testing is so important!! Reminds me of the huge statistic of people that go into hospitals for treatment and end up catching MRSA or some other superbug infection while they are there that ends up being worse than the condition they went in for help with.
Don’t be a sucker for these seemingly trustworthy people out there who sell used but not certified hyperbaric chambers. You can easily just call us and we can hook you up with a couple certified used hyperbaric chamber resellers. Yes they exist! What’s sad is that most manufacturers don’t want you to know that there are dealers/resellers that only deal with used hyperbaric chambers. Manufacturers make it seem like they are scarce.
Also, they are in business to sell new hyperbaric chambers! How many new ones do you think they would be able to sell if they answered your call and said would you like chamber A, it’s brand new and X amount of dollars, or you can get the same hyperbaric oxygen chamber used and certified and under warranty for 75% less. Most of my customers go with the second option because they already are sick of paying all their health bills and already have either plenty of debt or have shelled out enough cash just to get better.
Imagine you walked by a store that sold lawnmowers and outside in the parking lot there were 50 used lawnmowers just strewn everywhere for sale. When you went inside the store there were brand new ones. Wouldn’t you wonder why there were so many returns or used laying around? It doesn’t look good for business does it?..especially if your business is to sell new lawnmowers. People naturally think hmm is something wrong with their lawnmowers?
Hyperbaric companies are not so much worried you’ll think oh there must be something wrong with their chambers cause most of these companies have been around a long time, they are more concerned with you thinking about WHY there are used chambers on the market, because if you do some digging around you’ll find out that most people buy them and get better then sell them once they are healed. Once you learn this, you’ll think the same way and if you are only going to use it for 6 months or 2 years max like most people, then what is the point of getting a new chamber when a used one would probably last just fine for that long…especially if you get a certified used hyperbaric chamber.
Some of the people I know and trust in the industry actually recommend most customers start experiencing hyperbaric therapy by purchasing a used chamber and if it works really well for them after a few months and they are confident that they want to do this therapy for the rest of their lives or even just for 5-10 years then buying a new one with a longer life expectancy might make sense. I found out that there are a lot of people wanting used chambers because they are so much cheaper. So even if you buy a used hyperbaric chamber you can still recoup a good chunk of your investment by selling it again a few months later!! This makes your whole course of treatment really affordable.
If you are one of those candidates that are recommended hyperbaric treatment for X amount of sessions for treating your health condition, then depending on what that number of treatment sessions is, we can help you decide if renting a chamber makes sense or buying a used hyperbaric chamber and selling it when you are done. So many times I hear about customers that only needed a certain lower number of treatments and were sold a brand new chamber. This makes no sense!
A lot of people are talked into buying treatment sessions at a local clinic; this can be both costly and take a lot of your time going back and forth to the clinic. Most people need enough sessions to get better that it’s way cheaper to buy a used hyperbaric chamber and selling it when done versus paying per treatment session at a clinic. I have done the analysis on how many treatment sessions a person may need and what is the best option for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, be it through a clinic or buying used, rental, or new.
Time to wake up and smell the oxygen people! Consider a used hyperbaric chamber before buying new!
