Paid £430 for the iPad a few months ago and it has now come down to half that price after the launch of the newer version. The re-sale value has diminished. Its now better to keep it than sell it and buy the newer version with the proceeds.

There were rumors going back a few months of the iPad 2 coming out. It is no supreme that technology gets updated and no surprise that Apple was updating the iPad to keep ahead of the competition. Technology gets updated. This is not new in the tech world. No one is to blame for that.

And I have only seen price drops of $50 or so on the current iPad. 1/2 price? not from a reputable vendor.

[edit] The 1/2 part was citing what the poster above me had originally put in their post about the original iPads dropping to 1/2 price with the announcement of the release of the iPad 2. [/edit]

I got the $499 in November, so using mine to compare, I haven't see it for $250 anywhere yet. but the US Best Buy stores do have them on clearance for $399, but that's $100 off, certainly not half price. The US Apple Store does not list the first generation at all for order at this point.

Perhaps the OP is referring to the used value of the iPad. I have seen some remarkably good deals for used iPads in the past two days. So good in fact that I am having a hard time not purchasing a second (G1) iPad.

No matter the new or used price, it isn't Apple's fault the OP feels cheated. When new devices are introduced, it is common sense that the older devices will drop in price. This has been the way of technology, especially since the 90's.

More fool you for purchasing a piece of technology which you expected to retain its value over time... You certainly must have never owned an Apple product before, nor done any research into their history for releasing new iDevices...
Welcome to the wonderful world of Apple. Purchase them because you love them. Not because you want to be able to punt them for something close to what you paid for them...

Originally Posted by f4780y

More fool you for purchasing a piece of technology which you expected to retain its value over time... You certainly must have never owned an Apple product before, nor done any research into their history for releasing new iDevices...
Welcome to the wonderful world of Apple. Purchase them because you love them. Not because you want to be able to punt them for something close to what you paid for them...

no doubt, but just about any tech device will lose it's value quickly.

i never feel cheated when something i purchased goes on sale not too long after i decided to get it. i obviously felt comfortable making the purchase at the asking price so why should i regret that it's cheaper now? i got to use it months more than those who waited.

Originally Posted by madsquabbles

i never feel cheated when something i purchased goes on sale not too long after i decided to get it. i obviously felt comfortable making the purchase at the asking price so why should i regret that it's cheaper now? i got to use it months more than those who waited.

In the long run, I've had some lucky finds where I've bought stuff at discount because I chose to wait, and also some near-misses where stuff I bought at full price went on sale just after I spent the money. To me, it kind of evens out over time (not that it's any consolation to new owners who missed out by weeks or even days.)

I've got my 3 month old iPad 16gb wifi only on ebay right now and the trend is showing them selling at $350 or higher. I also put it on craigslist and didn't have a single offer over $225. Craigslist is full of wishful thinkers if they think they are going to buy it for that price.

I bought the lowest end one available on 1/31/11 from Verizon and it was $700...now I missed the rebate by 2 1/2 weeks...oh well, that is why I don't gamble...lucky in finance I am NOT!!!