eBay have just announced that offers on eBay Instant Sale for the old iPad are up almost 800% in the run up to the launch of the iPad 2. Since the launch of eBay Instant Sale there have been 38,000 quote to buy iPads, but 22,000 of those quotes have been made in the last week since the 2nd March.
The most common iPad traded through eBay Instant Sale since the 2nd March is the iPad Wi-Fi 16GB, so I decided to check out the prices for items selling on eBay compared to the prices offered by eBay Instant Sale.
An Apple iPad Wi-Fi 16GB auction which finished a few minutes ago on eBay.com fetched $355.00 plus $9.99 shipping, with 23 bids from a start price of $200.00.
The seller described the iPad as “Gently used, in great working condition, no scratches at all, had a hard case on the entire time I used it” and “Will come with all original cables and box“. I figured that that would equate to “EXCELLENT – Looks new like it just came out of the box” for a trade in on eBay Instant Sale who are willing to offer $304.00 to purchase the same product.
If however your iPad was in slightly worse condition described on eBay Instant Sale as “GOOD – Minor scratches without scuffs and/or dents” the price offered drops sharply to $258.00, which is a pretty good reason for looking after your expensive consumer electronic devices.
Sadly the eBay announcement doesn’t give any conversion data for eBay Instant Sale. Whilst the number of offers is impressive, it would be interesting to know how many sellers are actually taking up the offer and mailing their iPad’s in for the cash sums offered.
If you’re willing to take a lower price and just don’t have the time or inclination to sell on eBay then the cut price deal on eBay Instant Sale probably suits you. However all the time that you can make an additional $50, it’s probably worth the effort of selling your iPad on an eBay auction.
7 Responses
Interesting to see eBay starting to “do an Amazon” and compete with its own buyers and sellers.
Has the mantra of a neutral marketplace gone out of the window?
Are eBay selling their own inventory?
This would be BIG news if they were.