For those readers who have already converted to renewable energy or perhaps are too young to know the term “King Coal”, a canary in the coal mine is an allusion to caged canaries (birds) that miners would carry down into the mine tunnels with them. If dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide collected in the mine, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners, thus providing a warning to exit the tunnels immediately

In other words, “watch out, something is about to go terribly wrong”.

Now that I’ve got your attention, I’ll turn the tables on you and tell you that this is a positive story, not a negative one.

Over the past few years, based on requests from my customers, I have expanded what I broker to all forms of medical equipment.  I remain primarily focused on medical imaging equipment but now help clients find or sell all sorts of other items.

For example, last year one of my sellers told me that his real business was medical beds and asked that I devote a few eBlasts to helping him find new buyers.  I was straight up with him and told him I didn’t think my buyer base really dealt with those items but I’d try.  And I was right. 

Then Covid-19 hit and my first hint that my business would be quite different this year is when the same client called me in early January asking me now to find more hospital beds.  The conversation went something like this:

Me: What do you mean you want me to find more beds?  Last month you told me you had 1,500 in stock.

Him: Yep, but now I’m out and I need to find as many as I can.

Pre-Covid-19, some of this units sold for as little as $100. Even at that price he had had a good few weeks.  Knowing what beds were selling for by March…well I can understand why he was looking for more.

As the calendar moved from January to February and then February to March my business changed from selling anything x-ray without wheels to anything x-ray with wheels.  I also helped my clients with large amounts of general medical equipment find buyers for their preowned equipment that also related to Covid-19 needs.  It was a crazy time and boy did I learn about all sorts of new equipment.

For years I have tracked two very low cost accessories we sell.  They are my Canaries.  When they slow down I can almost count to the day that two months later my x-ray room sales will slow.  When they “reappear” I know my larger equipment sales will shortly pick up again. 

What are these two items?  Our lighted X-Ray In Use signs and body calipers.  Of course this makes sense.  You buy these items when products are being installed and you don’t need them when rooms are not being set up. 

As I look back on the first half of 2020, sales of these two products STOPPED in February.  It was not a slowdown; it was a full on halt.  All engines stopped.  A pull the emergency off switch. An “am I going to retire with 400 lighting fixtures in my warehouse” question.  The same was true with the body calipers.

Well, the good news in that about two weeks ago these items started selling again.  The rate of sale is about 50% of pre-Covid-19 days, but it is growing. 

The good news is that my Canaries seem to be alive and well.