A handful of electronics retailers are cutting the price of Research in Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook due to lackluster sales.
BGR found that Staples, Best Buy, and Office Depot have all slashed the PlayBook price by as much as $200. Both Staples and Office Depot have reduced the price of all three versions of the 7-inch tablet by $100 and are offering an additional $100 discount with a mail-in rebate.
In Canada, Best Buy has a similar promotion, but it says the deal is only good through Oct. 6. The retailer has knocked $100 off the price of the tablet, and in-store shoppers qualify to receive a $100 Best Buy gift card, rather than a rebate.
RIM told PCMag in a statement that though the official price of the tablet has not changed, these independent promotions are an effort to drum up interest in the PlayBook.
“As mentioned on the Q2 earnings call on Sept. 15th, we have a number of promotional plans in place for the fall with our retail partners that are intended to drive sell-through and increase adoption of the BlackBerry PlayBook. We are already starting to see some of these promotions being implemented in the form of instant rebates and gift cards within the consumer channel, and expect these promotions to continue into the holiday season.”
RIM also confirmed that it has a major software update planned with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, but it did not say when it would roll out.
While a price reduction could give PlayBook sales a boost, it’s not looking good for RIM’s tablet. Last week PlayBook manufacturer Quanta announced that it would cut 1,000 people from its factory in Taiwan where the tablet is produced.
Earlier this month, RIM also reportedly started offering discounts of up to 50 percent off the tablet to employees. The Canadian company said in its earnings call this month that it only shipped 200,000 PlayBooks in the last quarter, and the Guardian has alleged that RIM is sitting on a stock of 800,000 unsold tablets.
The future looks dismal for the BlackBerry PlayBook, which will only face increased pressure as Amazon likely unveils its tablet this week.