Lab Equipment: Pros & Cons of New vs. Used

Scientist using lab equipment (1)

When it comes to stocking your lab with laboratory equipment, it’s important to understand your options. There are many lab supplies that can get the job done, but how do you determine whether to purchase new or used lab equipment? Let’s break down the pros and cons of new and used laboratory equipment.

New Lab Equipment

Pros

  • Trusted Sellers: New lab equipment is typically sold from trustworthy lab equipment distributors. These sellers tend to have a clean reputation for selling quality top-of-the-line products.  
  • Warranty: New equipment often comes with warranties in order to protect the buyer from malfunctioning equipment. These warranties usually cover the product for up to 2-5 years. 
  • New Technology: Purchasing new equipment means that you have the ability to harness the newest technology. This can help make processes more efficient and help produce more accurate reporting. 

Cons

  • High Prices: It’s no surprise that new equipment will cost more money. Lab equipment is not cheap by any means and purchasing new equipment can majorly set back any lab budget
  • “New” Does Not Mean “Best”: That piece of new equipment you’re considering might not be the model preferred by the scientific community. Have you ever gotten a software update on your phone that you felt was worse than the old version? The same thing can happen with hardware. 
  • Potentially Produces More e-Waste: By investing and encouraging new equipment sales, there is a potential that these items or the items they are replacing will not be disposed of properly or added into the circular economic cycle. 

Used Lab Equipment

Pros

  • Discounted Prices: Used science lab equipment can be acquired at a much lower price than new equipment. This allows labs to maximize their budgets and spend their money where it will make an impact.   
  • Products Can Be in Great Condition: “Used” does not always mean that the item is in bad condition. You can find a ton of barely used, well-cared-for lab equipment for sale. Additionally, REUZEit often sells surplus lab equipment which has a discounted price tag and has not been used at all.
  • Support the Circular Economy: This is one of our favorite reasons to purchase used lab equipment. Supporting a larger circular economy gives us the power to reduce landfill and e-waste through the practice of reusing capital lab equipment.

Cons

  • Questionable Sellers: Purchasing from private sellers can be risky. To avoid scams and purchasing broken lab equipment or having to invest in laboratory equipment maintenance, make sure to read our Tips for Buying Used Lab Equipment. 
  • Questionable Condition: When buying used lab equipment there is always a risk that the product will not be in good condition. It’s important to buy from trusted sellers that check their equipment before listing them on their website.  
  • Might Not Have a Warranty: Though most used equipment does not come with warranties, REUZEit does offer warranties on select items that have also been rigorously inspected to guarantee superb performance. 

How REUZEit Can Help

Investing in laboratory equipment for your scientific facility is a necessary cost, but it doesn’t have to be an expensive one. Money saved on one product can be used to finance another resource that is just as important to your progress. Are you ready to browse surplus lab equipment for sale and save? Check out our USA-based store or our European Store to shop discount laboratory equipment.