1. dagerlach's Avatar
    I was looking at used Playbooks on Craigslist in DC and was surprised to see what little residual value my $500 Playbook has just a year later as compared to other less capable tablets. For less than $100 I can find a 16 or 32gb Playbook washington, DC all for sale / wanted classifieds "Playbook" - craigslist. Yet when I searched for iPad on Craigslist, they are selling at three times the price of a Playbook.

    I realize this is nothing new for those of us that frequent Crackberry.

    What is interesting is that a Blackberry Bold 9900 still sells for $300-400 on Craigslist. Wouldn't you expect the Playbook to have more residual value than a little cell phone? Is demand higher for a cell phone than a tablet? If the Playbook had come with a broadband transceiver would things have been much different today? Is the quick loss of value in the Playbook consumer sentiment toward the QNX operating system which is being used for the Blackberry 10 handset due out next year?

    I have to wonder where RIM would be now if they had kept their focus on improving their phones and didn't follow Apple into the tablet market. Would RIM have a competitive phone right now. Would the stock still be worth holding onto?
    07-01-12 07:42 AM
  2. ajst222's Avatar
    The reason the resale value went down so much is because BlackBerry lowered the retail prices of the PlayBooks themselves...hence lower resale values. In this case, it has nothing to do with the supply or demand
    amazinglygraceless likes this.
    07-01-12 07:57 AM
  3. njblackberry's Avatar
    Actually it has all to do with supply and demand. There was a huge supply of unsold Playbooks, so RIM dropped the price in order to increase demand.

    Those of us who bought early a full price got a haircut if we decided to resell.

    It is ALL about supply (too many unsold) and demand (no one wanted to buy it at the original prices).

    And that was RIM's greatest distraction. Trying to compete with the iPad at the wrong price.
    notfanboy, brucep1, mud314 and 2 others like this.
    07-01-12 08:09 AM
  4. mcg3745's Avatar
    You hit the nail on the head about the mass quantity of unsold PB's driving the price down. They are a great deal at current prices. Notsamuch at release prices.
    07-01-12 08:14 AM
  5. amazinglygraceless's Avatar
    The pricing structure and subsequent drop in that price makes sense but one factor not to be
    overlooked is that even after that price cut sales of the Playbook were only marginally better.

    As to why BlackBerry phones generally sell for more than the Playbook I think the obvious
    answer is that BlackBerry phones are more complete and therefore more useful devices to
    the buying public.
    oldtimeBBaddict likes this.
    07-01-12 08:58 AM
  6. kbz1960's Avatar
    The pricing structure and subsequent drop in that price makes sense but one factor not to be
    overlooked is that even after that price cut sales of the Playbook were only marginally better.

    As to why BlackBerry phones generally sell for more than the Playbook I think the obvious
    answer is that BlackBerry phones are more complete and therefore more useful devices to
    the buying public.
    Plus they make calls and can text.
    07-01-12 09:12 AM
  7. amazinglygraceless's Avatar
    Plus they make calls and can text.
    Exactly
    07-01-12 09:17 AM
  8. berklon's Avatar
    The hardware is nice, but in it's current state software-wise - the demand is very low.

    If someone were to do a proper port of Android or even Windows 8 on it, then the after-market price of these would climb.
    07-01-12 09:33 AM
  9. pkcable's Avatar
    For the record, an iphone 4S sell for more than an wifi only ipad 16 also
    app_Developer likes this.
    07-01-12 11:31 AM
  10. califlefty's Avatar
    Why is my Palm pilot worthless?
    snarlybear likes this.
    07-01-12 11:43 AM
  11. pacoman03's Avatar
    Basically, everybody here is wrong, so don't despair. The reason you see some very cheap prices on Craigslist is because most of the bargain basement listings are in fact sham posts. This has been going on for some time on craigslist, and it's not just PBs- its ipads, iphones, fires, and other electronics. You can generally tell the sham posts because, 1) they don't include pics of the item, 2) generally the pricing is wierd (they'll ask for $82 rather than $80 or $85), and 3) they often times tell you to call or text but don't include a phone number to call or they have the phrase (email please), with parenthesis included, in the description. The sham is, that if you respond to one of these posts, you'll get an email back telling you "sorry, but I just sold it", but I got a few of these off this penny auction site and you can too- providing a link to a penny auction site. If you click on the link, you'll be redirected to another penny auction site. Basically, people are being paid to direct others to the penny auction site, and they're using craigslist to accomplish this.
    Last edited by pacoman03; 07-01-12 at 11:51 AM.
    aniym, kennyliu, sagec and 2 others like this.
    07-01-12 11:48 AM
  12. Hawnz's Avatar
    Basically, everybody here is wrong, so don't despair. The reason you see some very cheap prices on Craigslist is because most of the bargain basement listings are in fact sham posts. This has been going on for some time on craigslist, and it's not just PBs- its ipads, iphones, fires, and other electronics. You can generally tell the sham posts because, 1) they don't include pics of the item, 2) generally the pricing is wierd (they'll ask for $82 rather than $80 or $85), and 3) they often times tell you to call or text but don't include a phone number to call or they have the phrase (email please), with parenthesis included, in the description. The sham is, that if you respond to one of these posts, you'll get an email back telling you "sorry, but I just sold it", but I got a few of these off this penny auction site and you can too- providing a link to a penny auction site. If you click on the link, you'll be redirected to another penny auction site. Basically, people are being paid to direct others to the penny auction site, and they're using craigslist to accomplish this.
    I thought it was only on my Craigslist. Also, grammar and spelling errors.
    07-01-12 12:20 PM
  13. madman0141's Avatar
    The 9900/9930 is RIM's flagship phone so no that is going to stay high priced.
    The PlayBook is a completely different story unlike the phone I bought my 64gig as soon as it was released, at the super price of around $700.00 and we'll you can see what happened. This is my curse, it has happened with other things like the mini disc, Pontiac Aztec, and clear Pepsi. I am the cause of these failures. So I am not shocked my PlayBook is worth 2 1/2 brand new 16gig devices or 6 used 64gig devices.
    07-01-12 06:21 PM
  14. kennyliu's Avatar
    The reason you see some very cheap prices on Craigslist is because most of the bargain basement listings are in fact sham posts.
    Exactly. Click on the low price offerings and you'll see it's scam.
    07-01-12 06:28 PM
  15. G550Pilot's Avatar
    All items have scams on craigslist.

    REALITY - unpopular electronics (like playbook) sell for about 50% of what they are new.

    Playbooks can't leave the stores at $199 new....so expect to easily find one in the $100 range used.

    Of course, why would anyone buy one on craigs list for $100-125 when you can buy a refurb for $139 and have a window in which to return it.
    bigjman likes this.
    07-01-12 06:35 PM
  16. anon(757282)'s Avatar
    All items have scams on craigslist.

    REALITY - unpopular electronics (like playbook) sell for about 50% of what they are new.

    Playbooks can't leave the stores at $199 new....so expect to easily find one in the $100 range used.

    Of course, why would anyone buy one on craigs list for $100-125 when you can buy a refurb for $139 and have a window in which to return it.
    PlayBooks can sell, but stores do not seem to carry them. When US stores had them they would sell out, but not restock. Displays were not managed properly, with unplugged inoperative devices. Store employees were not trained and/or told to ignore them, aven steering customers away, telling customers RIM was going out of business...a year ago. Many threads on these forums about PlayBook neglect and abuse by the stores who were supposed to sell them!

    They continue to sell, Amazon sells them for a bit over $300 for the 64GB model, and I have bought several there. But as a result of the retail market incompetence, little or no advertising, and a media vendetta against everything RIM, PlayBooks are only selling in numbers of hundreds of thousands a quarter, so considered "unpopular".

    So many forces have worked against the demand side, helped unfortunately by the initial release that was considered incomplete and not updated on schedule. PlayBooks continue to sell, but the used market, like on any consumer electronics except a few apple pieces of crap, is soft in this overall tough economy.

    I have a 2 year old HP tablet that was bought for $700. Maybe could get $100 for it now. That is the norm in this economy.
    07-01-12 08:34 PM
  17. kennyliu's Avatar
    PlayBooks can sell, but stores do not seem to carry them. When US stores had them they would sell out, but not restock. Displays were not managed properly, with unplugged inoperative devices. Store employees were not trained and/or told to ignore them, aven steering customers away, telling customers RIM was going out of business...a year ago. Many threads on these forums about PlayBook neglect and abuse by the stores who were supposed to sell them!

    They continue to sell, Amazon sells them for a bit over $300 for the 64GB model, and I have bought several there. But as a result of the retail market incompetence, little or no advertising, and a media vendetta against everything RIM, PlayBooks are only selling in numbers of hundreds of thousands a quarter, so considered "unpopular".

    So many forces have worked against the demand side, helped unfortunately by the initial release that was considered incomplete and not updated on schedule. PlayBooks continue to sell, but the used market, like on any consumer electronics except a few apple pieces of crap, is soft in this overall tough economy.

    I have a 2 year old HP tablet that was bought for $700. Maybe could get $100 for it now. That is the norm in this economy.
    Most major retailers (Walmart, BestBuy, Amazon, Buy.com, Tigerdirect, Newegg, etc) still have them in stock. I am not sure what you mean nobody carries them. People are just not buying them much.

    As for being neglected in brick-and-mortar stores, Playbooks have been as much neglected as any other tablet (except for iPad).
    Last edited by kennyliu; 07-01-12 at 09:11 PM.
    07-01-12 09:02 PM
  18. aniym's Avatar
    Why compare Playbook and 9930 prices? One is bought off-contract, while the other comes with a 2-year ball and chain.

    Most people bought Playbooks at $199. Most, if not all people bought 9930s on a two-year contract for anywhere from $50-$299, the high end being the launch price (another ridiculous move by RIM, pricing an ancient-looking phone above Iphone/Galaxy S2 price).

    If you wanted to sell your 9930 and get a new phone before the contract was up, you can't simply charge the price you paid because you can't buy a new phone at the upgrade price, you have to pay full. That' why new-ish 9930s will go for $300, and honestly that's low if you compare it to what Galaxy S2s and Iphone 4Ss are selling for because people know there's higher demand for the latter.
    dugggggg likes this.
    07-01-12 09:17 PM
  19. EdY's Avatar
    Also considering the number of NEW tablets from the competition in the 7 inch form factor (like Google Nexus 7) and prices quite low from competition ($150-250 range) there are so many options now!

    People will not value a 1 year old tablet with a not so popular OS like QNX, and the constant media-bashing thinking RIM will not survive. They fear they may be stuck with a device that will stop getting updated and developed for.

    Personally I have 2 playbooks, I value them, but they do exactly what I need them to do with my Blackberry phones bridged.

    But most people just want a tablet that will let them do....

    1. skype
    2. browse web
    3. read kindle book
    4. watch youtube/netflix
    5. read a magazine
    6. play games
    7. look at photos

    They do not value the unique things Playbook offers, and so given that a new Playbook has already such a low starting price at $199, it is hardly surprising that it would be $100.

    Now the iPads are a different story. Firstly, nobody else makes an iPad but Apple, whereas there are many Android tablet options at many price levels.

    Secondly, Apple has kept the prices the same pretty much from the beginning except recent drop on iPad 2 due to iPad 3 release.

    Therefore, if you must have an iPad then you don't have much choice but pay $399 (iPad 2) or $499 (iPad 3) and if you are trying to sell one you will probably ask for $299 for iPad 2 or $399 for iPad 3. Still $100 drop but then again, so is a Playbook used going from $199 to $99, right?






    Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Crackberry Tapatalk Forum app
    07-01-12 10:09 PM
  20. anon(757282)'s Avatar
    But most people just want a tablet that will let them do....

    1. skype
    2. browse web
    3. read kindle book
    4. watch youtube/netflix
    5. read a magazine
    6. play games
    7. look at photos

    They do not value the unique things Playbook offers, and so given that a new Playbook has already such a low starting price at $199, it is hardly surprising that it would be $100
    This is precisely why RIM has said they are refocusing back on enterprise as their primary customer base. Enterprise has different needs and demands compared to the general public, and RIM believes these products meet those needs. They are meeting with enterprise customers to verify that their products meet the needs.

    RIM's success with enterprise will be a huge factor in whether or not the upcoming tablet and phone offerings are successful.
    07-02-12 12:27 AM
  21. Fuzzballz's Avatar
    I agree. RIM should have never tried to compete with the consumer phones in the first place. Its niche is government and business.
    07-02-12 01:17 AM
  22. BBplaybookJS's Avatar
    The 9900/9930 is RIM's flagship phone so no that is going to stay high priced.
    The PlayBook is a completely different story unlike the phone I bought my 64gig as soon as it was released, at the super price of around $700.00 and we'll you can see what happened. This is my curse, it has happened with other things like the mini disc, Pontiac Aztec, and clear Pepsi. I am the cause of these failures. So I am not shocked my PlayBook is worth 2 1/2 brand new 16gig devices or 6 used 64gig devices.
    Dude anybody bought a Pontiac Aztek got what they deserved, that was one ugly-assed vehicle.

    Not to worry though you can still buy a Nissan Juke ( urk, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit)
    look_alive and Rello like this.
    07-02-12 08:07 AM
  23. look_alive's Avatar
    This is precisely why RIM has said they are refocusing back on enterprise as their primary customer base. Enterprise has different needs and demands compared to the general public, and RIM believes these products meet those needs. They are meeting with enterprise customers to verify that their products meet the needs.

    RIM's success with enterprise will be a huge factor in whether or not the upcoming tablet and phone offerings are successful.
    Pardon me for going off-topic but THIS (above) is what I don't understand about the Playbook and RIM with their "enterprise focus" and trying to sell the Playbook as a "business-class device" for "real work." I just don't get it.

    Aside from the nice hardware and standard Blackberry security features, there is very little about the Playbook that makes it a "business-class device." What's the point of fantastic hardware and security on a device with lackluster software and applications that can't manage the most basic business tasks?

    If I purchased Playbooks today for my employees and business, they would not be able to:

    • Read more than one PDF document at a time.
    • Read more than one Word document at a time.
    • Annotate a PDF document.
    • Bookmark a PDF document.
    • Search a PDF document.
    • Open a password-protected PDF.
    • Present a Powerpoint presentation in real-time using transitions and effects.
    • Create new Powerpoint slides.
    • Edit existing Powerpoint slides.
    • Videochat with customers or clients who don't also own Playbooks.
    • Sync with Exchange server 2003.
    • Sync Notes and To-Dos with ANY version of Exchange.
    • Use a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse while still using the internet.
    • Print a document from your playbook.
    • Edit your internet bookmarks.
    • Multitask in the browser. (ie: Listen to internet radio in one tab while browsing in another.)
    • Need to "find" something on a webpage - no "find on page" feature. (Ctrl-F)
    • Bypass lack of apps by using the browser, because the browser is blocked by Netflix, Hulu, Skype, and many others.
    • Add words to your auto-correct dictionary.
    • Make basic edits to a spreadsheet, like inserting a new row or copy/paste from one cell to another.
    • Use a spreadsheet formula more complex than SUM or AVG.
    • Enter dates correctly in a spreadsheet.
    • Spell check a Word document.
    • Add bullets to a Word document.
    • Insert an image into a Word doc.
    • Put a header or footer in a Word doc.
    • Search a Word doc.
    • Save a Word document as a PDF.
    • Read or edit a TXT file (.txt)
    • Video chat or Instant message with a customer or colleague using Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, iChat, ICQ, or BBM.

    These are not obscure things, they are very basic "business" tasks. I like my Playbook, but it is certainly NOT a "Professional-Grade" tablet, a "tool not a toy", a "business-class device" or any of the other enterprise buzzwords that have been bandied about since it was released.

    iPad and Android can do every single thing on that list, but overly-zealous RIM/BB fanboys love to call those competing tablets "toys", when the actual reality is that it's the exact opposite. The even sadder fact is that 99% of the items on that list cannot be corrected by third party apps on the Playbook, because there aren't any alternatives now over a year after launch. Since it's inception, the PLAYbook has been far more suited to consumer use than it has for business use. It's like RIM is trying to shoehorn the Playbook into the enterprise world without even BASIC business tools and apps.

    I just don't understand how any corporate IT department could test the Playbook today in mid-2012 and decide it is a good fit for business use. What exactly are they doing with them if not editing and parsing documents and communicating with colleagues and customers, both of which the Playbook sucks supremely at?
    Last edited by look_alive; 07-02-12 at 02:21 PM. Reason: Me English goodly write!
    07-02-12 01:34 PM
  24. Bluemoonjules's Avatar
    I agree. RIM should have never tried to compete with the consumer phones in the first place. Its niche is government and business.
    Not in the UK they aren't - very popular with kids, mainly due to BBM and cheaper contracts than other phones.
    07-02-12 01:57 PM
  25. cbvinh's Avatar
    Basically, everybody here is wrong, so don't despair. The reason you see some very cheap prices on Craigslist is because most of the bargain basement listings are in fact sham posts. This has been going on for some time on craigslist, and it's not just PBs- its ipads, iphones, fires, and other electronics. You can generally tell the sham posts because, 1) they don't include pics of the item, 2) generally the pricing is wierd (they'll ask for $82 rather than $80 or $85), and 3) they often times tell you to call or text but don't include a phone number to call or they have the phrase (email please), with parenthesis included, in the description. The sham is, that if you respond to one of these posts, you'll get an email back telling you "sorry, but I just sold it", but I got a few of these off this penny auction site and you can too- providing a link to a penny auction site. If you click on the link, you'll be redirected to another penny auction site. Basically, people are being paid to direct others to the penny auction site, and they're using craigslist to accomplish this.
    It made it really difficult for me to sell the spare, boxed new 16 GB Playbook. I think buyers eventually figured out the other ads were scams though, as I finally sold it for $200, even after telling them it's not an iPad nor an Android tablet.
    07-02-12 02:29 PM
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