It seems a majority of Best Buy's supply of HP TouchPads are sitting on the shelves and hiding in stock rooms collecting dust, and the retailer is apparently not happy with its excess inventory, All Things D reported.
Citing a "source who's seen internal HP reports," All Things D said Best Buy took on an inventory of 270,000 TouchPads, but it has only sold 25,000 of the tablets. Another source told All Things D that 25,000 could be a "charitable" estimate since it doesn't take into account the TouchPads that were returned to the store.
Best Buy reportedly told HP that it won't pay for the unsold tablets that are costing it pricey space on store shelves and warehouses. All Things D claimed a senior HP exec will head to Minneapolis soon to try and smooth things over with Best Buy executives.
It doesn't look like the news will get better for HP anytime soon, either. HP is set to report its quarterly earnings on Thursday, and the company is not expected to report iPad-esque sales for its webOS tablet. It's possible that TouchPad numbers will not be revealed, but if they are, the number might appear a bit inflated. All Things D predicted that it will report channel sales (the number of tablets sold to retailers such as Best Buy or Costco) rather than "sell through" numbers.
For those that have been following the TouchPad, the news is no surprise. Earlier this month, HP placed a permanent $100 discount on the TouchPad, bringing the price down to $499.99 for the 32GB version and $399.99 for the 16GB version.
For more, see PCMag's full review of the HP TouchPad and the slideshow below.
Update: HP on August 18 announced that it would end support for webOS-based devices, including the HP TouchPad. The price of the tablet was later reduced significantly; $99 for the 16GB and $149 for the 32GB. Best Buy said it will offer the TouchPad at the discounted prices.