How to buy and sell using Surplusmed

Below you will find the answers to the questions we are asked the most often.  If you can’t find the answer you require within the FAQs then please visit the ‘Support’ page here

Here are the FAQs

You do not have to pay a subscription to be a member of SurplusMed.  There is also no cost for listing items for sale on SurplusMed and you can list as many items are you wish.

No, you can list as many items as you wish for sale.  Items are automatically removed from sale when they have passed their expiry date or you can remove them manually for example where you have used the item and no longer need to sell it.

Yes, when you are purchasing the item you are invited to enter the amount you would like to offer the seller.  If you offer lower than the seller’s minimum offer then you cannot proceed with the sale and will need to revise your offer.  Even if you enter a value above the seller’s minimum the seller can still reject your offer.

To list an item for sale you need the following 6 pieces of information:

  • The details of the product (this is selected from the latest dm+d catalogue).
  • The manufacturer (or brand name) of your product.
  • The batch number of the product.
  • The quantity of packs you have available for sale.
  • The expiry date of the packs you are selling.
  • The asking price that you require (including VAT).

You can also upload an optional picture of the item you are selling.  This will appear when buyers are viewing the items that are for sale.

From your selling page you can easily remove an item from sale by either deleting it (if no previous sales of the item have taken place) or by reducing the quantity available for sale to zero.  If someone has tried to purchase the item you are selling then you will need to reject the purchase request before you can remove the item from sale.

Once the seller has approved your purchase they will receive instructions from Surplusmed to package up the item ready for shipping.  Once the seller tells the Surplusmed app that they are ready to proceed a courier will automatically be booked.  Depending on the time of day the courier will arrive the same or next day to collect the package and it will be delivered to the buying hospital.  Surplusmed are using the NHS trusted courier TNT for all of the deliveries.

Yes, a guide will be made available to users who are successfully registered on the application.

Yes, Surplusmed is a web application and will therefore run on any tablet with a web browser.  It is also possible to run Surplusmed on a smartphone but you may need to scroll some of the screens to view all of the information.

You can change your mind at any point up to when the seller accepts your offer.

Simply access the order details from the ‘Buying’ tab and click the ‘Retract Offer’ button.  This button will not be visible if your offer has been accepted by the seller as it is likely that your goods are already in transit.

Surplusmed was created by pharmacists and technicians who have worked in the NHS for a combined total of more than 40 years.  They identified that a large number and value of medicines were being needlessly discarded by NHS hospitals because they had passed their expiry date and therefore could not be used.  An analysis of the medicines being discarded made it obvious that these medicines could have been used at other hospitals if other hospitals had been aware of their availability.

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The simple way to buy and sell surplus medication