We are spending a year in Europe starting this summer. We are taking Contour Next and Freedom Lite BG meters.
Does anyone have reliable and economical ways to purchase strips for these meters in Europe online? I found out that purchasing them locally is quite expensive in most places.
maybe @jroth or @pancreaswanted have some information?
What do consider expensive? What would you like to pay for them? I’ve asked my Daughter (lives in Germany). She may have some recommendations.
Good questions. It depends on the country as well. In Germany strips seem to be cheaper than in my country.
Can you buy these online?
One popular Shop:
https://www.diaexpert.de
There are a lot of online pharmacy that sells this too.
@jroth, do these sites ship across Europe, or only in one country? I tried to check this one out, but I would need to register before it can let me ask for shipping.
@ClaudnDaye, here I can get the Countour Next strips for $22 per 100 online (it’s quite a bit more expensive in Canada). When I called my European friends friends to check the price at the local pharmacy, it was closer to $1 per strip. The Freedom freestyle Lite strips are much more expensive, I can only find them for $60 per hundred right now
Thank you very much, Harold.
@Boerenkool, can you buy test strips online in one European country if you are in another? For instance, can you order test strips from Germany and have them ship to the Netherlands?
Thanks very much, @jroth. Would you say these are good prices for strips:
50 strips → 26€ → $32?
Regularly they don’t ship international.
If they do it, there are 30 EUR for shipment.
https://www.diaexpert.de/versand
It’s a good address to get the equipment when you are in Germany.
Maybe by some more research will bring a better result. I don’t know the price in other EU Countries.
These are normal prices. Sometimes you will find a special offer with discount.
Currently I only find shops in Germany with delivery only in Germany. 
It depends of the shop.
Thank you, @jroth. When we lived in Europe last time, prices were often a touch lower in Germany also (the UK could be an exception). So this gives me a good idea of test strips in Europe right now.
@jroth Do you think this is a trustworthy shop? They sell 50 Contour Next strips for €19,79 and no shipping costs on orders of > €40.
That seems to be a reasonable price in Europe.
It’s not easy to find prices in the Netherlands. Some shops require you to log in before they show prices. I think these are the cheapest Contour Next and Freestyle strips:
They charge shipping costs of €5,85 for orders below €100 excluding VAT (BTW in Dutch). They do ship to Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg, but shipping costs are higher for orders below €100. Above €100 they ship for free.
@jroth is right, it depends where you buy them.
On ebay prices are much lower. Some sellers ship to Europe for free (e.g. this one). Has any of you ever bought strips on ebay? Would you recommend it?
I never bought test strips by ebay because I get this by a doctor’s prescription payed from the health insurance.
It’s like all ebay transactions. Have a look to the seller only use PayPal!
@Boerenkool, @jroth, thanks so much for the help!
I have, in the US. I picked a trustworthy seller with very good feedback, and got excellent strips with a recent date. Some postings mention the obsolescence date for the strips, or the fact that they are recent.
I have never have them shipped abroad. But I think this is a truly great idea, @Boerenkool, thanks so much!
(edit) The ebay prices that ship abroad look amazingly cheaper than the online prices in Europe.
in spain its just at the pharmacies and quite expensive. i buy a whole bunch of walmart strips to suppliement my socialized med prescription.