Here’s one undeniable reason why buying an HP TouchPad tablet at the firesale price of $99.99 was a good move: Mere hours after the tablets were available for $100, they’ve been selling for nearly $300 on eBay.
As PC World first reported, the market for TouchPads over at eBay is pretty screwy right now, and savvy resellers can take advantage. A week ago, few consumers seemed interested in the TouchPad selling at the then-discounted price of $300 (down from its original retail price, $500).
What with all the media attention over TouchPads selling for $100 over the weekend, however, some consumers have become irrationally excited about the prospect of owning one—even if they have to pay far more than $100. Yesterday and today, 16GB TouchPads, which were selling not long ago for $99.99 at retail, have regularly been going at auction for $250 to $300 on eBay.
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Tablets are so new to many consumers that it’s been necessary to explain what these devices might be used for—a fancy alarm clock, a handy recipe finder in the kitchen, and “baby’s first tablet” have been suggested. A Gizmodo post also suggests, among other things, giving a $100 tablet to your toddler, or storing the TouchPad in the bathroom strictly for (no joke) use on the toilet:
Nobody likes to talk about it, but everybody uses their phones while they’re taking a crap. Wouldn’t you rather have a larger display while evacuating your bowels? Yes, it’s kinda gross, but your touchscreen is already supposedly more bacteria-covered than most public toilet seats. Just keep a bottle of hand sanitizer next to it. And hide it when you have company.
Here’s one more suggested use for a freshly purchased $100 TouchPad: Sell it for a quick and easy profit while you can.
Brad Tuttle is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @bradrtuttle. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.
