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eBay prices are VERY low and still dropping

RetiredInFl

RetiredInFl

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jul 7, 2008
2,457
250
FORMERLY NJ now FL
Been following eBay prices and some are so low that the sellers aren't even making $40 on them. Prices are dropping faster then the stock market in 2009. One guy is selling a 16GB AT&T LTE version for $809 with free shipping. Using this chart he's making $40: http://www.rolbe.com/ebay.htm (make sure you select the proper category on the left side to get the correct pricing).

Sure seems like the (US) reseller market is going to be quite low and Apple may be getting a lot of factory sealed returns within 2 weeks unless the supply totally dries up over the weekend.
 
The resale market will be strong. They people selling now don't even know what they are doing. Most don't even know what an eBay fee is...lol
 
TB07-NJ said:
Been following eBay prices and some are so low that the sellers aren't even making $40 on them. Prices are dropping faster then the stock market in 2009. One guy is selling a 16GB AT&T LTE version for $809 with free shipping. Using this chart he's making $40: http://www.rolbe.com/ebay.htm (make sure you select the proper category on the left side to get the correct pricing).

Sure seems like the (US) reseller market is going to be quite low and Apple may be getting a lot of factory sealed returns within 2 weeks unless the supply totally dries up over the weekend.
Click to expand...

I bet when the photos are of actual iPads and not stock photos the prices will go up. People are getting more weary about buying preorders. The supply will definitely dry up this weekend, if not by tomorrow night.
 
It took quite a while for the Apple Store to sell out of initial stock and not only are Apple Stores getting iPads, but other retailers as well.

In short: Apple made a ton of them, so they aren't as scarce.

My 02.
 
I think what we have here is such a difference in product quality with the retina display...Don't get me wrong, the iPad 2 is still a great product, but from what's being said by those in the know, we are about to be blown away. This is bound to have an adverse effect on secondhand prices... Put a 2 next to the 3 and suddenly the guy who wanted your 2 won't anymore, or at least won't pay the price you wanted.

As far as the 1 goes, well...I guess although it's still a working tablet, it's probably worth holding on to for possible collectable purposes...The three (If all is to be believed) will just be so far ahead.
 
I think we will have to see how the eBay market for iPads really stands after tomorrow. It will be dependent on how many people are able to actually get it tomorrow morning and if there is a shortage with retailers then the prices will skyrocket on eBay.

Personally, I think the preorder sales on eBay are low because a lot of people are banking on being able to pick one up tomorrow so there is little reason to order it on eBay right now.
 
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I'm unsure what we'll see, but I wouldn't draw any conclusions from current ebay auctions. What sane person would spend a large amount over list when they have no idea if they will or won't be able to walk into a store on Tuesday and buy one?

Yes there's an anticipated shortage, but no actual shortage in place. Simply because they've not been on sale for 24 hours in retail.

The telling factors will be first how quickly shops stock out, how soon they restock (and stockout again), and whether online order times shorten or lengthen.

Once we see this info it'll be more apparent.
 
The resale market doesn't start to show its potential until next week, when the morning news anchors start shouting about how RIDICULOUSLY SOLD OUT (!!!!) the iPad is. Then, as people get more frustrated at repeated failed attempts to find one in stores, the market eventually spikes (3-4wks after launch) and holds steady for another few weeks until supply starts to recover a bit at retail.

Time will tell...
 
I pre-ordered on the 7th. I had plans to keep it, but now I think I will sell it. I definitely don't have a need for one, but I would like to have something portable. If the market is flooded with these and there is only $40 profit to be had, then I will just keep it. If third party stores sell out, and Apple's shipment estimates continue to be pushed out, then there will be a demand for these. I would only sell my 32gb 4G if I was getting north of $1000.
 
Ccrunch10 said:
I think we will have to see how the eBay market for iPads really stands after tomorrow. It will be dependent on how many people are able to actually get it tomorrow morning and if there is a shortage with retailers then the prices will skyrocket on eBay.

Personally, I think the preorders are low because a lot of people are banking on being able to pick one up tomorrow so there is little reason to order it on eBay right now.
Click to expand...

This. If B&M stores sell out tomorrow and over the weekend, all the demand will flow to ebay next week.
 
Right, don't count on the auction prices now. Even at 800+ now, it's still a lot. For the buyers, not the sellers. If you were to skip eBay altogether and get prices like that on Craigslist, you'll be doing well.

We'll see how the next few days are.
 
RocksterX said:
It took quite a while for the Apple Store to sell out of initial stock and not only are Apple Stores getting iPads, but other retailers as well.

In short: Apple made a ton of them, so they aren't as scarce.

My 02.
Click to expand...

You think iPads were scarce because Apple couldn't make enough to keep up with demand?

You're cute.
 
Ive watched the secondary market for tons of product launches and when it looks like this the night before, it does NOT bode well for the scalpers. Unless we get into a long-term shortage pattern like with the Wii, which isn't likely, the scalpers are going to take a bath on this one. Either way, this is certainly not their best-case-scenario. If the delivery estimates on apple.com had moved past 2-3 weeks, it would be different. The people who sold their preorders a few days ago are the ones who made out the best, and their buyers can still possibly pull the plug on them.

Apple did a fantastic job here meeting demand.
 
scriptlol said:
Ive watched the secondary market for tons of product launches and when it looks like this the night before, it does NOT bode well for the scalpers. Unless we get into a long-term shortage pattern like with the Wii, which isn't likely, the scalpers are going to take a bath on this one. Either way, this is certainly not their best-case-scenario. If the delivery estimates on apple.com had moved past 2-3 weeks, it would be different. The people who sold their preorders a few days ago are the ones who made out the best, and their buyers can still possibly pull the plug on them.

Apple did a fantastic job here meeting demand.
Click to expand...

Very informative.
 
TB07-NJ said:
You really don't know that YET. By Monday we should know for sure.
Click to expand...

Yeah, we can't be sure, but like I said, we DO all know that 2-3 weeks is not the furthest out ship time that Apple has ever quoted on their website. I think its safe to assume, being the night before launch, that they have plenty to go around.
 
scriptlol said:
Ive watched the secondary market for tons of product launches and when it looks like this the night before, it does NOT bode well for the scalpers. Unless we get into a long-term shortage pattern like with the Wii, which isn't likely, the scalpers are going to take a bath on this one. Either way, this is certainly not their best-case-scenario. If the delivery estimates on apple.com had moved past 2-3 weeks, it would be different. The people who sold their preorders a few days ago are the ones who made out the best, and their buyers can still possibly pull the plug on them.

Apple did a fantastic job here meeting demand.
Click to expand...


How will they "take a bath"? Worst case scenario, they can return it for what they paid for it. Their only loss would be time. :confused:
 
I tend to agree that, if you are looking to flip your iPads, that the "trend is not your friend" here, particularly in the last 18 hours or so. The trend is definitely down on eBay, which you can view as a kind of a "futures market," so to speak, although not a very efficient one. That's a theoretical predictor that there will be, overall, enough inventory in reasonable period of time.

On the other hand, I agree prices will likely pop up a bit for the more popular models if the stores dont have enough units to go around. The only thing I can see changing the direction is if we get up tomorrow morning or Saturday and Apple has adjusted the shipping times to 4-6 weeks and there's lots of threads on "who has inventory?" That may then start to look like the iPad 2 rollout a bit. We will certainly know a lot more in 24-48 hours. Timing is everything this time IMO.
 
Scott-n-Houston said:
How will they "take a bath"? Worst case scenario, they can return it for what they paid for it. Their only loss would be time. :confused:
Click to expand...

Call it whatever you want, I really don't care. If you go into a business venture expecting to turn a profit, pay people to wait in line for you, pay to use other peoples addresses as shipping points, and spend all your time organizing it only to possibly break even, its a FAILED business venture. I am talking about the professionals who have dozens of these listed on ebay, not mom and pop who may have ordered an extra on preorder day just in case the market exploded. You act like the time loss is trivial, it absolutely isn't.
 
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