UPDATE 8/31/2001: HP will be producing more TouchPads for $99 and should have availability in October, for more information read this article about October HP TouchPad Availability
UPDATE 8/23/2001: HP has indicated they are no longer accepting email addresses for stock alerts due to overwhelming demand already
Were you able to snag an HP TouchPad for $99 over the weekend? Count yourself lucky if you were because the TouchPad is now sold out on HP.com and everywhere else online, people made a mad rush to buy a tablet for $99. If you want one now the only place to get an HP TouchPad easily is on eBay, and the 16GB version is selling for around $250 to $300 new in box there – much more than what retailers were charging. But all is not lost, if you want to be updated by HP when more TouchPads are in stock via HP.com simply go to the following page and enter your email:
HP TouchPad Availability Sign-up Page
Apparently HP will be able to get more TouchPads in stock in the coming days and weeks. Some retail outlets decided that instead of selling the TouchPad for a reduced amount they would just ship their inventory back to HP. Once HP receives the inventory they will start to sell it on the HP.com web site, those that sign up for an email alert for availability will be notified when stock of the TouchPad is replenished. There’s no exact telling how many devices HP will receive, but rumor has it that the number is in the hundreds of thousads still. For those that don’t want to pay $300 on eBay for a TouchPad you know was bought for $99, it might be worth waiting and trying your luck again later in August when HP gets more stock. Of course, they won’t be producing any more TouchPads, even though they’re selling like hotcakes at this $99 price it doesn’t mean HP will change their mind on making more. The iSuppli site estimates that the component costs for the TouchPad 16GB version is $318 so when selling for $99 they’re actually losing over $200 on each sale. Ouch!
i want one so bad.,,,,,touchpad 32GB for 149.99 thank you, Barbara Kekina
good luck, hope it works out!
They should have sold them for $200 initially in order to build the WebOS ecosystem. By discontinuing WebOs devices, they have essentially thrown away the billion they spent on palm. I thought HP got it, apparently they don’t.
Well, the fact that the HP TouchPad 16GB version is going for $250 on eBay now indicates HP severely underestimated the value people put on the device. They could have made more money liquidating them at $250. I totally agree with your points, it’s a real shame that WebOS has been left to wither.
You say “they’re actually losing over $200 on each sale.” They’re not losing anything, they’re just not gaining as much as they had hoped to.
It’s like my uncle who went to the casino that planned to lose $50 but only lost $40 so in his mind he “came out ahead”, even though he’s out $40.
Well it is real money as there’s a cost to producing something whereas with gambling if you have a theoretical amount you don’t want to lose and don’t lose that it’s just “imaginary money” if you will. The cost to make a TouchPad 16GB is $318 so if they sell it for $99 they’re out $218. That’s a real loss. It’s like buying all the ingredients to make a dozen cookies for $10 and then finding you can only sell those baked cookies for $5.
Please notify me if the Touchpads go on sale again for the 16gb for $99.00 and the 32gb for $149.00. I’m sorry but I don’t know what website you are refering to. I’ll put down the the websiteI use.
HP is not going to be selling any more TouchPads, although Best Buy might have some left, official statement is here: http://p.p0.com/YesConnect/HtmlMessagePreview?a=qBzLW-q7qxrj9m7tqmlQnL7i&msgVersion=web