iLounge

1

no, but I did sell one for $350 the other day. 

the lack of overseas availability and the weakness of the dollar means that lots of folks are happy to pay “a lot” for a mini.

Posted by anon on April 30, 2004 at 5:49 AM (PST)

2

Sold my green mini for $421. $$$

Posted by Pigpen65 on April 30, 2004 at 6:03 AM (PST)

3

I thought about buying one on eBay, but I found one in the Apple Store.  Lucky Me I guess.  Those people are crazy to pay that much, but if you got em, and people are willing to pay for them…more power to you!

Posted by Asian_N02 in Delaware on April 30, 2004 at 6:21 AM (PST)

4

It all depends on suply and the demand. Apple is not doing so well in suply right now unfortunately.

Posted by Sparks9 on April 30, 2004 at 6:31 AM (PST)

5

Wow, makes me regret not buying the rest of the mini stock my local BB had when I bought my mini.  They had 10 of them and there were only two left after I bought mine (during the week the mini was first released).

Posted by chinhster on April 30, 2004 at 6:40 AM (PST)

6

Supply and demand is cool.

I still can’t believe I just walked into an Apple store 4 days after they were released and bought one.  Oh well, guess I just hit it at the right time.

Posted by m. sherman on April 30, 2004 at 7:09 AM (PST)

7

I really don’t get the logic here.  For just a little bit more (sometimes less than $50 more), you can get the highest capacity iPod that’s TEN TIMES the capacity of the mini and only about 10% bigger, AND you don’t have to give your money to some eBay speculator. 

Don’t like the color white?  Then change the color: http://tinyurl.com/2oc78 .

But if you really want a mini right now, can ONLY make do with a mini, and are that desperate/dumb to pay that much, then I guess you get what you deserve.

Posted by scaredpoet on April 30, 2004 at 8:10 AM (PST)

8

One other thing: 

Will Apple accept an eBay printout as “proof of purchase” for warranty purposes?  Something to think about… if you’re paying that much for a mini, you better amek damned sure that warranty is in effect.

Posted by scaredpoet on April 30, 2004 at 8:21 AM (PST)

9

I sold my green mini on ebay quite a few weeks ago for $300. 
Watch out though, the money was in my account, but then they told me it was insufficient funds… Ebay waited to tell me this until after I shipped!  So, basically, the creep got away with a free iPod mini, and I’m out $290.  Watch out!  and if I ever get a hold of him…..

UGH!

Posted by hookedonitunes on April 30, 2004 at 8:42 AM (PST)

10

Scared - Apple’s the only company that makes the ipod mini. They know the ipod mini was released on teh date it was released. If you can’t prove when you purchased it, they’ll assume it was bought day 1, but since day 1 is less than a year ago, you’re still covered. At least assuming the warranty is transferable. Of course,  if you’re paying 500 bucks for an ipod mini, the 50 or whatever for extended applecare isn’t much.

Posted by JC on April 30, 2004 at 8:48 AM (PST)

11

re. the desirability of the Mini v.s the fullsize - I too was sceptical, until I held one in my hand.  Everything changed, and I immediately wanted one.

Posted by maxplanar on April 30, 2004 at 10:15 AM (PST)

12

and you guys thought $250 was too much!

well so did i

Posted by jperry on April 30, 2004 at 10:26 AM (PST)

13

Someone really, really wanted it to pay $900 USD. 

Posted by Layla on April 30, 2004 at 11:17 AM (PST)

14

WOW!  People are so impatient!  Spending 200 more dollars than nescessary is just inconcievable to me.  Wait a fricking month geez!

Posted by Bobby on April 30, 2004 at 6:19 PM (PST)

15

Sidenote: you have to take into account that a lot of these people might be overseas buyers and the US dollar is extremely extremely weak and puny.  If you are living in the UK and earning pounds, spending £510 isn’t like spending $905… it’s just after converting to the US dollar that’s what it ends up being.  Of course in that particular case, the person still paid and awful lot.  However someone in the UK getting an mini for $400 (~ £200 these days) is most likely paying the same price as they would when the mini officially debuts overseas.  So it’s kind of a win-win situation for both the buyer and the seller in that case.

Posted by zan on April 30, 2004 at 7:30 PM (PST)

16

I dunno, I guess I’m still not convinced.  Yes, the dollar is weak and that’s great for everyone overseas, but even if someone offered me a 40GB iPod for $5 (five US dollars) and an iPod mini for $4.75 (four US dollars and seventy-five US cents), and I could ONLY pick one, I’d still take the 40GB iPod.

To me, the tenfold increase in storage space infintely makes up for the 10… okay, maybe 20% increase in size (do the math… 20% increase in size for a 1000% increase in storage capacity… it’s a no brainer!). 

And it’s not like the iPod is a clunky beast either, I think it’s pretty darn stylish, and even an improvement in interface over the mini (having separate buttons for skip, reverse, menu and play/pause is a plus for me… I don’t want to scroll and accidentally press too hard and find myself on the next track).

*shrug*  But, I guess when it comes to these things, Apple knows what it’s doing… so much so that the public at large is willing to through rational logic out the window.  At this rate, they may as well quadruple the retail price of the mini, change their name to the iPod Audio Player Company, and spin off the Macintosh division because profit margins are probably far less than what it could be for the iPod mini.

Posted by scaredpoet on May 1, 2004 at 3:14 AM (PST)

17

I wonder how many of them are scam auctions, though.  You know, they take a picture of the box and don’t indicate there’s nothing in it…or selling “information” how to get a mini?  I’m always hesitent to purchase anything electronic or expensive on eBay because of the high probability of getting ripped off. Just my 2 cents.

Posted by JennLINY on May 1, 2004 at 4:55 AM (PST)

18

It’s so not worth that kind of money.

Posted by skylowlow on May 1, 2004 at 6:44 AM (PST)

19

ipods rock and stupid is them on a sunny day in july like sb

Posted by xlr on May 1, 2004 at 10:19 AM (PST)

20

“I really don’t get the logic here. For just a little bit more (sometimes less than $50 more), you can get the highest capacity iPod that’s TEN TIMES the capacity of the mini and only about 10% bigger, AND you don’t have to give your money to some eBay speculator.

Don’t like the color white? Then change the color: http://tinyurl.com/2oc78 .

But if you really want a mini right now, can ONLY make do with a mini, and are that desperate/dumb to pay that much, then I guess you get what you deserve. “

Why do people buy a $700 Versace handbag when they can get one for 7 bucks made from China at a local K-Mart? Because it becomes trend.  Because people like how it looks.  There’s a reason why the mini is so popular among women and esp. pink.  It’s become a fashion statement.  You could pay 50 dollars for a T-Shirt from a name-brand store.  Or you could find one at a yard sale.  The iPod mini phenomenon is nothing different.

Posted by asd on May 1, 2004 at 3:50 PM (PST)