iPad 2 Rollout Leads to Massive Deflation in Secondary Market

If youre planning to trade in your old iPad for a shiny new iPad 2, you arent alone. In the hours after the iPad 2 announcement, thousands of iPad users have headed for the web to sell off their tablets of yesteryear.This frenzy coupled with Apples decision to drop the price of the original iPad to help clear out inventory has had a drastic impact on the secondary market. That makes this a prime opportunity for savvy buyers to get a good deal on last years iPad.Earlier this afternoon, reCommerce company Gazelle started promoting its buyback prices for the six original iPad units. The original prices offered sellers 70 75% of the original purchase price for a unit that included original accessories and in like new condition. Within hours, the company was forced to lower its trade-in quotes (users that managed to lock in their prices early are not affected), thanks to the price drop and significant interest in trade-ins.Gazelle tells us that typically, a large number of device trade-ins in one day will drive prices down 3-5 days later. These market forces were perceptible with the iPad within hours. Gazelle estimates that in the first hour after the iPad 2 keynote, more than 2,000 individuals visited the site and started the trade-in process. Yesterday, the day before the keynote, only ten iPad units were submitted for trade-in the entire day.Existing iPad owners can still use Gazelle to easily sell back their old iPads but they can expect to get a lot less. At the time of this writing, a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad will fetch $300 from Gazelle. Thats compared with $375 earlier today. A 64GB Wi-Fi and 3G iPad went for $595 right after the keynote (disclosure: I sold my own iPad via Gazelle for this price) and now fetches $510. A 32GB Wi-Fi and 3G unit that could be sold for $522 earlier this afternoon now commands $350 from Gazelle.Meanwhile, were also seeing lots of iPad activity on eBay and Craigslist. Ebays Instant Sale site which operates in a manner similar to Gazelle is still reporting comparably high buyback prices.This new secondary market is great news for consumers who might want a way to get an iPad in the sub-$400 range. Being a year old doesnt change the fact that the original iPad is a fantastic gadget.iPad owners, let us know in the comments if you plan to trade in your old model for an iPad 2. If you are considering a trade-in, where do you intend to sell your device?More About: ebay, gazelle, ipad, iPad 2, recommerce, trendingFor more Tech & Gadgets coverage:Follow Mashable Tech & Gadgets on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Tech & Gadgets channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad Read More ...