[Bluemoonjules]

Well it isn't a worldwide 'firesale' (whatever one of those is) - the US/Canadian market is surely all about the volume of sales....hence they can afford to take a hit to shift the numbers of units.

They may also, like Amazon with the Kindle Fire (selling at a loss and relying on e-book sales), be planning to make more money from apps??? Just a few thoughts from a newbie owner in the UK.

[buffandsweet33]

good for rim. everyone should have a playbook. then we can all video chat!

[cleacy]

I've been considering it this morning, and spoke with one of the Telus stores located at a major mall. They had one (now sold) Playbook in stock this morning, and haven't re-ordered since prior to Christmas.

It's inventory clearance. They want the shelfspace back.

[peter9477]

It's inventory clearance. They want the shelfspace back.

Yes, so they can restock with new packaging when 2.0 is out.

I thought they told us to expect all this months ago. Can't figure why there's all the speculation about the meaning of it...

[balding1]

If they drop the 64GB to $199, I'm going to get mighty cranky. $299 for the 64GB was the sweet spot for me.

My sweet spot was 399.lol but did get another this week at 299.
Least I'm not running around all day trying to get a price match and enjoying my day off.
Just got it delivered yesterday so got 14 days if they lower the price.

[robsteve]

I've been considering it this morning, and spoke with one of the Telus stores located at a major mall. They had one (now sold) Playbook in stock this morning, and haven't re-ordered since prior to Christmas.

It's inventory clearance. They want the shelfspace back.

You may have more luck with a store at a minor mall When the iPhone 4s came out I wanted to get my wife one and the phone stores at the major malls were not even answering their phones on release day. Called a Bell store in an out of favor mall and they answered the phone, said they had 4 and what colour did I want.

[gregorylkelly]

Personally I think RIM is smart to get their new OS into as many hands as possible. The PlayBook isn't and shouldn't be a financial success. They are working on a new OS that will determine if the company will continue to be successful or forced to sell. They are obviously confident in their OS to take a major loss at this point to get people familiar with it before they start releasing phones with the same OS.

To be honest, if they hadn't done the PB, I wouldn't have bought the first BB10 phone, but now that I know how amazing the QNX based OS is, I will certainly be getting the first BB10 phone. The PlayBook sucked me in and I'm sure it will have the same affect on many other people, especially after OS2.0 is released!

[kennyliu]

$149 is a sweet price. I may be getting another PB as a gift to a friend if the sale hits the States.

[swyost]

If 2.0 is really just around the corner, why is RIM still slashing prices?

$149 for a 32GB at Telus, that is starting to sound like the end.
Think HP had the same price when they pulled out of the tablet game?


Surely it would have been better to wait a couple weeks for 2.0 to hit,
and then sell at a higher price with the new demand ...

Telus is almost certainly subsidizing the price to move inventory. It just means they have more 32 GB than 16 GB or 64 GB. Taking it to mean anymore than that is reading more into it than is there. Even if they were dropping the Playbook, that hardly is the equivalent of HP dumping the TouchPad. HP was the manufacturer cancelling a product line, Telus is just a retailer.

[Doc Z]

lol and people were telling me I'd never see the Playbook at $149. Smart people wait

[swyost]

So many things they do with the Playbook just leave you shaking your head.

At the end of November,
the $199,$299, $399 pricing was a massive success.
They were selling out instantly everywhere, big big demand.

What does RIM do... end the sale.

In the weeks since they have had to reduce prices even more.

Now this strange timing, $149 for a 32GB tablet,
when $199 / 32 I'm sure once 2.0 hit would have sold them all out anyhow?

Could 3G/LTE version be released along side 2.0 be the reason?

I would love to know where the massive November success was located. At least in the Phoenix metro area, you couldn't give them away early in the holiday season. They were in stock everywhere until the huge price cuts around Christmas and through January. The inability to sell Playbooks is why RIM took the 400+ million dollar loss in December - to clear out inventory at a loss. The thing that may still kill future Playbooks is the fact that they cannot sell it for what it costs to make the product. That would require them to use Apple's and Amazon's sweatshops....

[Tre Lawrence]

I would love to know where the massive November success was located. At least in the Phoenix metro area, you couldn't give them away early in the holiday season. They were in stock everywhere until the huge price cuts around Christmas and through January. The inability to sell Playbooks is why RIM took the 400+ million dollar loss in December - to clear out inventory at a loss. The thing that may still kill future Playbooks is the fact that they cannot sell it for what it costs to make the product. That would require them to use Apple's and Amazon's sweatshops....

Assuming that they are not already...

Mobile post via Tapatalk

[robsteve]

I The inability to sell Playbooks is why RIM took the 400+ million dollar loss in December - to clear out inventory at a loss. ..

To be clear that was a charge against inventory, not a loss until they actually don't sell that inventory. If they end up selling the inventory for more than the charge wrote it down to, they will have to reverse some of the charge.

In otherwords,if they don't put a bunch of Playbooks or parts into a dumpster, but end up selling them, they will have to partially reverse the charge to reflect the reality.

[dandbj13]

So what is the deal with PB inventory? Do they have large stockpiles, or are they sold out? Why is it that the only time we hear about PB sales is when there is a new fire sale? That indicates RIM and their retail partners are not able to sell the PB. However, seconds after the sale is announced, everyone, everywhere is out of stock, making it look like RIM has a hit on their hands.

After a while, we will hear about yet another fire sale. Rinse and repeat. Where are these PBs coming from that keep popping up on fire sales? Also, RIM seems to have enough PBs available for every Android developer. Will someone please explain this shell game?

[Gal.anonimus]

If 2.0 is really just around the corner, why is RIM still slashing prices?

$149 for a 32GB at Telus, that is starting to sound like the end.
Think HP had the same price when they pulled out of the tablet game?


Surely it would have been better to wait a couple weeks for 2.0 to hit,
and then sell at a higher price with the new demand ...

As if we all knew what TELUS is? Thank you.

[BrizzadMan]

It's really quite simple... they're pricing to move the units.

Holiday sale in Nov/Dec really helped push the 16/32GB units due to their price point @ $199/250.

Post-Holiday sale in January which bewildered many for all units 16/32/64 @ $299 each, of course helped push 64GB units. Around my city, they were tough to come across at all big box shops. Calling around dozens of stores eventually turned one up for me. So now they have sols 64GB units that sat on shelves during the Holidays, which were too rich for people @ $399 or the original $699

Another push now to clear units (& I agree with other sentiments that this is TELUS only, not RIM inspired @ $149), for $199, $250, & $299 will help to sell as many units as possible before some quarterly results, potentially reclaiming that $400m Dec loss that was reported.

It is in their best interest, if only to break out even or take a slight loss to get the product out, continue development, and have things as polished as possible for BB10. A lot of the research & dev put into the PlayBook will translate directly to refinements BB10.

Probably not the best approach, but it is a strategy that might keep them in the game since they have catch up to do (we are all using, in essence, a beta device/OS right now, IMO).

[cleacy]

So what is the deal with PB inventory? Do they have large stockpiles, or are they sold out? Why is it that the only time we hear about PB sales is when there is a new fire sale? That indicates RIM and their retail partners are not able to sell the PB. However, seconds after the sale is announced, everyone, everywhere is out of stock, making it look like RIM has a hit on their hands.

After a while, we will hear about yet another fire sale. Rinse and repeat. Where are these PBs coming from that keep popping up on fire sales? Also, RIM seems to have enough PBs available for every Android developer. Will someone please explain this shell game?

There's a difference between RIM's inventory and an individual retailers inventory.

From another comment, Telus had 400 Playbooks across Canada. I did speak with an outlet this morning, who had indicated that they had a stock of one unit (sold on open) and hadn't restocked since prior to Xmas.

Retailers aren't restocking, so sure, every pricedrop that brings out new buyers clears out what they have quickly.

RIM on the other hand might still be sitting on an excessive amount of them that they can't sell (even to other retailers) which is where their continual price drops are coming from. It's just a question as to where they end.

[ridemaster]

sonic77 --- i think your prob right with the 3g/lte being released sooner than in just a few months.

So many things they do with the Playbook just leave you shaking your head.

At the end of November,
the $199,$299, $399 pricing was a massive success.
They were selling out instantly everywhere, big big demand.

What does RIM do... end the sale.

In the weeks since they have had to reduce prices even more.

Now this strange timing, $149 for a 32GB tablet,
when $199 / 32 I'm sure once 2.0 hit would have sold them all out anyhow?

Could 3G/LTE version be released along side 2.0 be the reason?

[drummer_god]

much like every first gen xbox sold at a loss to microsoft, it gave them MARKET PENETRATION. the strategy proved very effective and xbox360 is now the leader in the current gen consoles ( not that i use one ).

selling the playbook at a loss gets the playbook into the hands of people who never would have purchased a blackberry product. the hope being, that word of mouth and loyalty will result in higher sales of playbook 2.0 and BB10 products.

[Superfly_FR]

I remember the cost of build of a 16Gb PB is (was, at launch) around US$ 205, roughly this makes a new customer acquisition cost around US$ 10. Ask any worldwide brand ... it's certainly not that expensive ... at all.
No margin ? Well ... I'm sure financial guys could be creative, the right way, for once.

[fredrismos]

I believe the price slash has nothing to do with RIM.

Let's look at this way:

These stores have stock of PB's running the previous OS versions and want to push them out before OS 2.0 is launched.

There has been a lot of anticipation with OS 2.0 and after the launch,people will want to buy PlayBook pre-installed with OS 2.0 and not one with the previous OS for them to update.

It is just mere marketing strategy for these stores as people prefer pre-installed software to installing it themselves since not everyone out there is technology savvy.

The launch is near and I am sure RIM has given them a date to sell off current stock so they can re-stock and then launch.

Proud Blackberry Fan

[drummer_god]

much like every first gen xbox sold at a loss to microsoft, it gave them MARKET PENETRATION. the strategy proved very effective and xbox360 is now the leader in the current gen consoles ( not that i use one ).

selling the playbook at a loss gets the playbook into the hands of people who never would have purchased a blackberry product. the hope being, that word of mouth and loyalty will result in higher sales of playbook 2.0 and BB10 products.

I remember the cost of build of a 16Gb PB is (was, at launch) around US$ 205, roughly this makes a new customer acquisition cost around US$ 10. Ask any worldwide brand ... it's certainly not that expensive ... at all.
No margin ? Well ... I'm sure financial guys could be creative, the right way, for once.

they probably make that $10 back with app sales, new customer loyalty and word of mouth. in canada, i think everyone has, or knows someone who has a playbook now. and those people show it off and share their positive experience.

current owners will likely be repeat customers, buying more blackberry products, while turning friends onto blackberry products.

not bad for $10 loss/ playbook sold. consider it like buying advertising.

[Blacklac]

These sales are just a way for RIM to get the new platform into people's hands. Building a new ecosystem. I think it's a good move, as the Playbook/OS really speaks for itself. I have yet to come across a person who wasn't impressed with my Playbook and a few were even "not RIM fans".

[DSee]

I'm really jealous... I want a 3rd PB.

Come on US retailers, do the same thing...

[rjedge54]

If 2.0 is really just around the corner, why is RIM still slashing prices?

$149 for a 32GB at Telus, that is starting to sound like the end.
Think HP had the same price when they pulled out of the tablet game?


Surely it would have been better to wait a couple weeks for 2.0 to hit,
and then sell at a higher price with the new demand ...

There's actually some very good and simple reasons for this.


First off as many others have stated, this is a Telus sale and has nothing to do with RIM. Telus is a Telco and not a technology retailer per se. Wifi models bring very little if any ongoing revenue but they still have the cost of provide some ongoing support. Also being a wireless carrier they are likely privy to information that non carriers and retailers don't have about the 3g/4g/LTE model coming out. This is because they would need to be approached and even have early access to these devices to test them on their networks. Their networks would need to be ready for them long before they are available to the general public. They would require some advance notice to set up and price data plans along with way for customers to get set up once purchased. Timed with RIM having publicly announced that they will have a more concerted effort in working with carriers and the whole BB line of products this also makes perfect sense.


The wireless version brings ongoing revenue for them whereas the wifi version doesn't so having a clearance sale of the wifi makes perfect sense. Black is just involved as one of their retail outlets to help clear out remaining wifi inventory.