Last week Apple (AAPL) CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs announced the new, sleeker, faster iPad 2 with back- and forward-facing cameras, etc. On Friday, iPad 2 hits store shelves at prices comparable to the first generation.
So what to do with the old version? The Apple Store is having a clearance sale for as little as $399.
But what about civilians? You know who you are. You have iPad 1.0, but you’ve just got to have the Second Coming. You can help defray the cost for a new iPad by selling your old one.
Nick Bilton in New York Times said first generation iPads became a hot item on shopping websites within hours of the announcement of iPad 2. He reported that the Instant Sale portion of eBay (EBAY) lists about 16,000 used iPads on sale, going for as little as $305 for a 16 gig model that originally sold for $500.
Kristina Kennedy, a spokesperson for used electronics dealer Gazelle.com, said her outfit bought more than 2,000 iPads from customers “within the few hours” of the iPad news. By Monday morning, the company had purchased or traded more than 7,000 first-generation iPads, Bilton said.
Sal Cangeloso at Geek.com said: “Other places to sell your used iPad include NextWorth ($255 for 16GB Wi-Fi with light wear), CashforiPads.com ($310 for the same), and BuyMyTronics ($257 for excellent condition).” Craigslist also is doing a brisk trade in used iPads.
Cangeloso noted that prices are likely to drop as more used iPads come on the market. “If iPads are being sold off by the thousands than we’ll probably see numbers drop. Gazelle was originally offering $375 for a used 16GB Wi-Fi model but dropped that to $300 because of Apple’s $100 discount on the original, and the volume of trade-ins.”
