The Resale Market for Kindle Fires

As we wait for the Google I/O 2012 day-one keynote address to begin, it might be worth noting the resale market for the current market-leading 7-inch tablet, the Kindle Fire. A DF reader in New York searched Craigslist for Kindles for sale, and found that the going price is well under $100. (Screenshot, for posterity.) Kindle Fires retail for $199. E-ink Kindles suffer no such indignity — it’s hard to find an e-ink Kindle for sale for much less than the retail price of a new one. Same is true for iPads, unsurprisingly.

So is the problem that 7-inch tablets are a bad size, or that the Kindle Fire is simply a bad 7-inch tablet? Or both?

Update: On Twitter, Carl Anderson suggests another possibility: that these cheap Kindle Fires on Craigslist are scams. Certainly possible, but then why aren’t there similar scam listings for e-ink Kindles and for the far more popular iPad?

★ Wednesday, 27 June 2012