I think you guys are overestimating the street value of an iPod Touch.
Street value is for resale or for products routinely sold below MSRP. The value of a new product with full warranty is naturally some reasonable discount over in-store price. Since sales tax on an iPod touch is in the $20-30 neighborhood (on top of the $299), $240 is a considerably discounted price in comparison.
I just sold my 8GB 2nd generation on Craigslist for $180.
Which is actually a
better return than $240 for 16GB--you made about $15-20 more profit than this Craigslist seller is asking for.
I think it's overpriced for what you're getting.
How? It's $80-90 savings over buying in store, for a product with no prior owner and a full warranty through Apple.
I would recommend just purchasing it in a store, or haggling with the seller until you reach a more reasonable price point.
More reasonable? Price
point?
I don't understand. You're getting a brand new product at a price
substantially below retail, with a full and fair opportunity to determine the risk level before committing to the purchase. There's nothing particularly unreasonable about any of it. Both parties are benefiting from the deal. Because it's a student promotion, some of those students are undoubtedly trying to recoup some of their spending on the computer--it's not necessary to rake them further over the coals, when predatory lending and university cutbacks are already squeezing students. There's no harm in asking for a lower price to see what you can get, but to suggest it's an
unreasonable asking price is plainly dishonest.
You don't get something for nothing. The discounted price is because it's unneeded hardware and because you're assuming some degree of risk in any private party transaction. A discount that is too steep makes it less attractive for the seller to part with it, unless they're so desperate for cash that they'll take anything, in which case, that's predatory and opportunistic...not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that, so long as you recognize that basic fact.
And individual transactions don't have price points, they have prices.