Purchase Checklist
How to Evaluate an Aesthetic Device Purchase: A 12-Point Checklist
A six-figure device purchase deserves the same diligence as hiring a physician. Here are the 12 questions to answer before you sign, in the order to ask them.
Most aesthetic device purchases move faster than they should, because the sales process is built for speed and the buyer rarely has a repeatable checklist to slow it down. This is that checklist — twelve concrete questions, grouped into the four stages of a real evaluation: market fit, unit economics, contract terms, and negotiation.
Stage 1: Market fit — before you take a meeting
- 01Is there verified demand for this treatment in your specific metro, not just national category growth? Search interest and existing provider count in your city are a better signal than any national trend deck.
- 02How many competing practices in your metro already offer this treatment or device, and at what price point? A device is a much stronger buy in an underserved market than a saturated one, regardless of category popularity.
- 03Does this device fill a real gap in your current menu, or does it compete with a service you already offer for the same patient and the same appointment slot?
1 in 3
Roughly a third of device purchase regret cases Ask Paige has reviewed traced back to a market-fit problem that was knowable before the purchase — not a defect in the device itself, but a device bought into an already-saturated local market.
Source: Ask Paige purchase-evaluation review, cross-referenced against Fathom's collection engine market data · As of July 2026
Stage 2: Unit economics — build your own model, don't use the rep's
- 01What is the true per-treatment consumables cost at your actual expected order volume, not the rep's bulk-pricing tier you haven't earned yet?
- 02What is the realistic monthly break-even patient count, built with a 60–90 day utilization ramp instead of the day-one full-utilization assumption in the pitch deck? See our device rep ROI guide for the full breakdown of where vendor break-even numbers go wrong.
- 03Which specific provider will run this device, and do they have genuinely available booked hours, or will this device compete with their existing full schedule?
- 04What is the total cost of ownership over the full lease or loan term, including maintenance contracts, software fees, and consumables — not just the device sticker price?
Stage 3: Contract terms — read before you sign, not after
- 01What is the effective annual rate on the financing, calculated independently from the monthly payment the rep quoted?
- 02Is any exclusivity claim written into the contract with a specific radius, duration, and remedy — or is it a verbal promise with no enforceability?
- 03What are the early termination and buyout terms if the device underperforms your model in the first 12 months?
Stage 4: Negotiation — the levers most owners never use
- 01Have you asked for the purchase price, not just the lease payment? Reps are typically trained to lead with monthly financing because it's the harder number to negotiate down in your head — ask for the cash price and negotiate from there, even if you plan to finance.
- 02Have you gotten a second quote from a competing device in the same category, purely as a negotiating anchor, even if you've already decided which device you prefer clinically?
| Negotiation lever | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Ask for cash price before financing terms | Resets the anchor away from the monthly payment framing designed to feel small |
| Get a second quote from a competing device | Creates real price competition even for a device you have already clinically preferred |
| Push consumables pricing to your actual order volume | Bulk-tier consumables pricing quoted in the pitch often assumes volume you haven't earned yet |
| Request the exclusivity clause in writing before signing | Converts a sales promise into an enforceable term, or reveals it was never real |
None of these twelve questions require distrust of the person across the table. They require treating a six-figure decision with the same diligence you'd expect from anyone advising you on one.
Ask Paige, on why this checklist matters
Before your next meeting
- →Print or save this checklist and bring it into the room — a rep who bristles at written questions is telling you something.
- →Check your market's saturation and demand data at Ask Paige Markets before the meeting, not after.
- →Read the device-specific benchmarks in our device ROI guide for the category you're considering.
- →Have Paige verify the FDA clearance and ROI math live during the meeting with Meeting Mode, instead of trying to remember all twelve questions under pressure.