Used Lab Equipment: The Life Blood of Small Labs

The used lab equipment market has grown by leaps and bounds in its short existence. Back in the early 2000s, there was no real used equipment market, said in a Newsweek article published earlier this year. “Labs didn’t close up and have big sales the way they do now. Dumpster diving was literally how the industry started. Today, the same company that got its start digging through Pfizer’s garbage has shipped lab equipment to more than 40 countries and invested over $1 million in biotech incubators, according the Newsweek. And they’re not the only game in town.

Firms such as The Lab World Group and more are stepping in to fill a void in the lab equipment industry. Used lab equipment and used lab instruments allow smaller start-up labs to outfit their labs with the equipment they need on a budget. “‘For a young academic is makes sense,'” an anonymous source told Chemistry World, “you can get instrumentation for perhaps a twentieth of what it would cost new.” And as the biotech industry expands (Newsweek noted the US Department of Commerce reports this industry grew almost 7% in the first decade of this century), the lab equipment market (as well as the used lab equipment market) will only continue to grow as well. BCC Research, through its report General Laboratory Equipment: Global Markets, stated the global market for general labware had already reached $3.9 billion in 2012 and they project it will reach $6.7 billion by 2017. 

While some institutions and organizations may be weary about buying used lab equipment the pros certainly seem to outweigh the cons. Many institutions now, in addition to purchasing their equipment at auctions from labs shuttering their doors, are hiring technical staff to rehab their equipment, and offering warranties to show the confidence they have in their product. 

Check out some of the current listings The Lab World Group currently has for various types of used lab equipment and used lab instruments.