Well that was quick.
Almost as soon as it began, HP's fire sale of discontinued TouchPad tablets has screeched to a grinding halt. The official HP online store is completely sold out of both 16GB and 32GB variants, discounted to $99.99 and $149.99 from a whopping $499 and $599 respectively. However, craftier purchasers can still pick up a tablet (as of this article's writing) by surfing over to HP's Small & Medium Business site and ordering from there.
A number of larger U.S. retailers' online stores are similarly sold out of the TouchPads, which HP decided to discontinue in an eye-opening decision announced this past Thursday. Early reports indicate that online stores for brick-and-mortar retail like Target, Walmart, Microcenter, and Fry's are completely sold out of TouchPad stock. Interested purchasers might find luck in physically going to said locations, but it might be best to call ahead at this point.
An earlier memo from HP allegedly informed its retail partners about the new "lowest price ever" for the discontinued tablets and asked them to "please post it as soon as it goes live." However, a number of online retailers are still carrying TouchPads for their original prices as of noon PST on Saturday. This includes Buy.com, which has the 16-gigabyte TouchPad up for $400, as well as CompUSA, Newegg, and Tiger Direct. Again, if you're interested in a TouchPad and have a particular loyalty to one online retailer over another, it's worth your effort to contact a company representative to determine the actual price of the devices.
If you're one of the unlucky few to have purchased a TouchPad just prior to its official demise, HP is allegedly offering either full refunds or a credit of the difference in price between the TouchPad's original cost and its new discounted cost. The catch? You had to purchase the device directly from HP.com – and there's no indication just yet as to how long ago you could have purchased the device for it to qualify under HP's refund.
HP has also allegedly instructed its retail partners to extend their refund offers for those who have purchased TouchPads prior to the fire sale. Best Buy, for example, isn't selling the devices for their discounted prices. However, the retailer has announced that it has extended its return policy for TouchPads from 14 days to 60, just in case recent purchasers want a do-over on their decision.
To get a handle on the latest places you can pick up a TouchPad for cheap, we recommend you check out the associated Slickdeals.net forum post that's updating with new information about fire sale retailers as it comes in. Good luck!
UPDATE: Despite reports that Best Buy was returning its stock of TouchPad tablets to HP, the retailer said Saturday night that it would be selling discounted TouchPads after all. But does your store have any in stock? An HP rep also said the discounted listing on the small biz Web site was a glitch.
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