Do you have an old iPad 2, 3, or 4 that you want to get rid of? Microsoft said earlier this week it is willing to take them off your hands for a minimum of a $200 gift card at the MS store. The promotion is running to increase Microsoft Surface tablet sales, but thankfully when you trade in your iPad you won’t be limited to purchasing only a surface since the gift card they give you will work on anything in the MS store, even online. After reading about the promo I took at look on eBay for what iPad’s are selling for and the Microsoft deal is actually pretty sweet. Selling a used iPad 2 will only net around $220 if it’s in good condition. But then you have to consider the ~10% cut that eBay/Paypal takes not counting shipping. So, if you have an iPad 2 in crummy shape with a crack in the screen, this is likely the best possible way to get rid of it; especially so when you consider Apple is only offering $141 for its trade-in program.
As for the iPad 3 and 4? That one is a little harder to call. Microsoft says that $200 is just the minimum it’s offering, but I’m willing to bet that the stores will be competitive with the market value of used iPad 3’s and 4’s. If so, the gift card amount will be upwards in the $300 to $450 range depending on the condition and storage size of the iPad in question.
The Surface RT is currently selling for $349 (+tax and keyboard)The Surface Pro is currently selling for $799 (+tax and keyboard)
So… If you’re in the market to buy an iPad, I would recommend you hold off a bit. My guess is in the coming weeks as this promotion runs its course, Microsoft will resell its refurbished iPads over eBay using its manufacture_certified account. The fine print and full offer details can be viewed here. I see this as a Microsoft’s sign of desperation. They are desperate to pull as many Apple products from the market as possible. Nice try but why try to be a second Apple when they are already a first Microsoft? Comment
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