“It seems like they are targeting community members and patients that have lower incomes and possibly in the need for cash.” Test strips needed for diabetic patients can be expensive, especially if you're underinsured or uninsured and forced to pay out of pocket. A box of 100 strips could cost between $50 and $100.

While re-selling unused diabetic test strips is completely legal, the practice has raised concerns from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which said using pre-owned test strips “may potentially cause infection or lead to inaccurate test results, which can cause serious harm, including death.” Dr.

Since test strips can be expensive, her best guess is that there might be a test-strip market consisting of diabetics who can't afford to see a doctor and don't have medical insurance to cover the cost of strips. As a result, she says, they might be looking for a way to buy strips cheaply.

How Expensive Are Diabetes Test Strips? A diabetes test strip can easily cost more than $2 a strip, something that large companies say is due to the amount of research they have to do for enhancing their product.