Selling Contour supplies: which line do you have?
The Contour family covers two separate strip systems that share a name, plus lancets and control solution. Sorting your boxes into the right line before you quote them is most of the work, and it is worth doing properly — the two strip lines are not interchangeable and are not worth the same.
Contour Next and original Contour
Look for the word Next on the box.
- Contour Next is the current line, used with the Contour Next One, Next EZ and Next meters. It ships in an unusual range of counts — 35, 50, 70 and 100 — and its boxes carry reference numbers in the 73 series, such as 7311 for the 50 count and 7312 for the 100 count.
- Original Contour is the older Bayer line, in 25, 50 and 100 counts, with reference numbers such as 7080G on the 50 count.
A Contour Next strip will not read in an original Contour meter, and the reverse is also true. If the printing on your box is worn, the reference number is the reliable tiebreaker.
Bayer or Ascensia on the box does not change the value
The Contour brand moved from Bayer to Ascensia, so you will find both names in circulation on otherwise identical stock. People regularly assume a Bayer-branded box is obsolete. It is not — what matters is the line, the count, the packaging channel and the date, not which corporate name is printed on it.
Counts nobody else uses
Contour Next is the reason to read the printed count carefully. The 35 and 70 counts are close to unique in this market. If you are looking at a box of strips with 35 or 70 on it, it is almost certainly Contour Next, and it needs to be quoted against its own listing rather than rounded to the nearest 50.
Retail, mail order and non-retail
Every Contour line splits into retail boxes, which came off a pharmacy shelf, and non-retail or mail order boxes, which came from a supplier or benefit manager and are usually plainer. We buy both. They are listed separately because they carry different value onward, so match the packaging style as well as the count.
Lancets and control solution
Two things in this family are not strips and get discarded far too often:
- Bayer Microlet lancets, which are bought with their own expiration requirement.
- Contour and Contour Next control solution — the small bottles used to check that a meter and a strip lot are reading correctly. Separate listings for the two lines, both bought.
Expiration windows
Remaining shelf life drives the value of every strip box, and it is the reason two identical-looking boxes can quote differently. We describe our requirements in months of remaining life rather than a fixed date, because the windows we buy in change from time to time as demand moves. The listings above are the live version — read the requirement on the listing that matches your box and compare it to the printed date.
Original Contour stock, being the older line, tends to have dates sitting closer in. Check those first.
Condition requirements
Boxes need to be factory sealed and unopened, with no writing on them, no torn patches where a pharmacy label was removed, no water staining and no crushed corners. An opened box cannot be resold and cannot be quoted even if the vials inside are sealed.
How selling works
Sort your boxes by line, match each to a listing above with its count and date, and send us photos. We confirm identification and dates before anything ships, and we cover shipping. Payment goes out within one business day of the shipment arriving and being checked, with Zelle usually landing within minutes. If anything in the box does not match the quote, we tell you what it was and why before finalising.
Why sell your Contour supplies to us
We have been buying diabetic supplies since 2012, across more than 150,000 transactions, and hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. We handle both Contour lines, including the odd counts and the legacy Bayer stock that some buyers will not take. Free shipping, a quote before you send anything, and a straight answer if something is not buyable right now.