Later today Apple is expected to reveal a new iPad at an event that it hopes will spur better sales than it’s seen for the iPhone 5c. The iPhone 5s has sold well, but with Apple cutting iPhone 5c production, the Cupertino-based company doesn’t want that slow-sales fate to befall the new iPad as well. The company will have two targets with the new tablet: new customers, and ones who upgrade. But it’s that latter group that may pose a challenge.
Apple acolytes will instantaneously upgrade from one iPhone to the next, but moving from an old iPad to a new iPad comes with a higher price tag. In addition, new tablet devices aren’t at people’s fingertips at all times like a smartphone, making them seem less essential and thus fall victim to delayed upgrades or postponed purchases.
The question, then, is why people refuse to sell their old iPads, even as they know a new iPad is just around the corner. That question becomes all the more flummoxing when you consider that the current iPad models can be sold for upwards of $425. uSell.com, an online marketplace for used gadgets, recently conducted a survey to determine the answer to just that question.
The uSell survey sought to learn more about this “gadget hoarding” phenomenon by asking a random sample representative of 1,000 people why they haven’t sold their old devices. Some interesting findings include:
- 67% have multiple old gadgets at home that they have not used in the past 3 months
- 50% said they still have old gadgets because they don’t know what to do with them
- 68% percent said they usually keep old, unused gadgets for multiple years
- Despite this, only 25% consider themselves “gadget hoarders”
So how much could a savvy consumer expect to get for their old iPad if they stopped hoarding it? According to uSell.com COO Nik Raman, some recent offers from uSell’s marketplace of buyers include:
- Apple iPad 4th Generation 128GB WiFi + 4G = $425
- Apple iPad Mini 32GB WiFi = $205
- Apple iPad 3rd Generation 32GB WiFi = $250
With those prices literally at current iPad owners’ fingertips, it’s remarkable to think that people won’t unload their current gadget for a new iPad. Looking at that third item, what’s the motivation to keep an old gadget for multiple years even if the newer one is in their possession? If it’s just truly a matter of not knowing what to do with them, go sell them now, people! Get the money while you can, because Apple will unveil its new iPad today in a move that’s likely to damage your earning potential for a used iPad as the market’s flooded with them. Unless the gadget hoarders continue to hoard, of course.