iPad second hand sales boomed ahead of iPad mini launch

About 140 000 second-hand iPads were put up for sale ahead of the iPad mini’s launch, a 700% increase of the day before, according to Anthony Scarsella, chief gadget officer at Gazelle.com.

“Consumers can fetch up to US$495 for an old iPad,” Scarsella says. Not a bad idea as many thought, as you can walk away with over US$160. What is very significant and interesting is that nearly 70% of the most advertised is the third-generation iPad, released just six months ago.

The iPad mini, priced at US$329, is poised to take on less expensive tablets, such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD and Google’s Nexus 7. Regarding the quite significant price difference between these 7-inch tablets and the iPad mini, many state that the mini’s main competitor could be the larger 9.7-inch iPad.

Thirty-five of iPad owners surveyed by TechBargains.com have indicated they would trade in their older model iPad for a mini. According to e-commerce consultant Bryan Eisenberg, some iPad fans could also be waiting for the fourth iPad with its faster processor, but that is highly unlikely as it comes out just seven months after the iPad 3.

And at the same time, very faint rumours (the perfect way to start advertising a new product as we all know) are already starting to gather that Apple is working on an even thinner lighter 9.7-inch iPad. As Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst for KGI Securities said, “though the iPad mini is expected to be successful, we think launching the lighter, thinner 9.7-inch iPad as quickly as possible matters more for Apple strategically.”

The iPad mini will be available from 2 November 2012, perfectly timed for the holiday season.