5 Reasons Retailers Don't Show Test Strip Expiration Dates
by Team Xeteor
Do you ever buy milk without checking the expiration date? Probably not. Most of us look at a few cartons to ensure the milk is not going to expire by the time we get it home.
As sellers of diabetic test strips, we often marvel expiration dates are not displayed when buying test strips online. For an item so costly, it seems like a critical piece of information when making a buying decision.
Here are 5 reasons why expiration dates are often missing when buying test strips online:
1. Test strips are just another item
Many sellers sell millions of items. Test strips are just another "SKU" (Stock Keeping Unit) for them. They snap a generic picture, fill in their required fields of information and post the product. A few examples:
Walmart - We find exhaustive descriptions, comparison charts, specs, Q&A's. What's missing? Expiration dates.
Amazon - Even with next day shipping, these test strips are nearly expired. The product description says, " ***BRAND NEW***FAST SAME OR NEXT DAY SHIPPING*** EXP 12/2017"
Perhaps pharmacies do it better:
Walgreens & CVS - A lot like Walmart, including no expiration dates.
It's fine to purchase from retail superstores or pharmacies if you plan to pick up the item in the store, but for many, this defeats the entire purpose of convenient home delivery.
2. It's a lot of work
Keeping track of expiration dates is complicated for sellers. Many suppliers will send a box of test strips with multiple dates. It's a lot of work to separate boxes and pick the appropriate box when test strips are ordered. To make it easy, most sellers lump them together and randomly pick one from the shelf.
3. It makes the shopping experience more complicated
For the few sellers that display expiration dates, it makes their pages difficult to navigate, often requiring the consumer to do complex math formulas to understand the price. As difficult as this looks on a desktop computer, try it on a phone.
4. Laziness
Let's face it, looking through boxes of test strip expiration dates is not high on anyone's list of favorite chores. It's right up there with cleaning the toilet and throwing out the trash.
5. It brings you back into the store
Most retailers (Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, etc.) with an online presence, really don't want you to shop online. They look at it as a necessary evil due to competition from online retailers like Amazon. While not intentional, if you have a problem with the test strips you order online, you will most likely drive down to their nearest physical store to return or exchange it. This means you might also pick a Twix or a Vitamin Water at marked up prices which benefits brick-and-mortar retailers.
Bottom line is if an online retailer is not showing expiration dates, they are not serious about selling diabetic supplies. They are simply making you do the work.
Have an experience with expiration dates? We'd love to hear about it.
- Team Xeteor