Lost Business : Why did RIM end the sale before Christmas?

Why did RIM end the $199, $299, $399 sale in Canada before Christmas?

For the 1st time they were selling extremely well
and RIM had real momentum with the Playbook, it seemed.

Even if they put the 16GB price up to $229-$239 after the last sale,
it would have continued to sell well to Christmas buyers.

Playbook's were in the mind of shoppers, they wanted them.

Now I go to Staples and all Playbook and accessories displays are gone.

Boxing sales are coming but will bring in less revenue
with the 32GB sold at a lower price
and the Christmas demand gone, where higher prices could have been set.

Is RIM trying to maximize revenue from the Playbook and just doing a bad job
or what else would make sense of these decisions?

They were taking a loss with each sale, so although they were gaining market-share, I'm sure the shareholders were not happy about the low ticket price.

They're still $200 off, so it's still a good buy.

Yeah lot of retailers still selling them for the sale prices you mentioned

The sales are back up, in store and online at Staples, Office Depot, Radio Shack, Sprint (32 GB @ $299), Cincinnati Bell (for you Buckeye folks), and Best Buy....sooooooooo, I would say the sale is back on. ;)

P.S. I just checked the above stores for availability before I posted this, so get crackin' if you want the very best tablet pc at a great price.

alnamvet68, it's good for you folks down there, but the OP is in Canada. The same sales aren't back up here (yet).

In Canada they were on sale for almost two weeks. They sold out quick, but some of the retailers managed to get more. To answer you question, they were probably not on sale right up until Christmas because the supply was not there and took a while to replenish. It looks like they are going back on sale for Boxing Day.

The Boxing Day sales may be another reason they are not on sale this week at the $199 price. If they were still on sale, there would probably be sold out with no time to restock the inventory for the Boxing Day sales.

For the Americans here, Boxing Day is a Holiday in Canada and probably other Commonwealth countries. It is usually the first work day after Christmas and the retailers have sales similar to your Black Friday sales.

Originally Posted by peter9477

alnamvet68, it's good for you folks down there, but the OP is in Canada. The same sales aren't back up here (yet).

Yes, I see he included that fact with his edit....well, again, the sales are on here in the US, and why not in Canada, I have no idea.

Isn't this the case with most sales. They come and go. RIM/retailers have had the PlayBook on sale a few times this year. I'm sure there will be another for you.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Staples in Canada are offering a $200 gift card with each PB:

The Source has it again at $199 for boxing day (Canada)

Originally Posted by robsteve

In Canada they were on sale for almost two weeks. They sold out quick, but some of the retailers managed to get more. To answer you question, they were probably not on sale right up until Christmas because the supply was not there and took a while to replenish. It looks like they are going back on sale for Boxing Day.

The Boxing Day sales may be another reason they are not on sale this week at the $199 price. If they were still on sale, there would probably be sold out with no time to restock the inventory for the Boxing Day sales.

For the Americans here, Boxing Day is a Holiday in Canada and probably other Commonwealth countries. It is usually the first work day after Christmas and the retailers have sales similar to your Black Friday sales.

Thanks for clearing that up. I thought it was a day everyone fought each other. Just kidding. Actually I did not know what it was.

If you bought yours recently most of these stores will honour a recent receipt and price adjust you to teh boxing week sale price. I've already been promised this by the manager where I got mine last week. It was already on sale for $200 off, but he's giving me the extra $100