HP: more info on TouchPad availability soon, no more notification requests 42
Mon, 29 Aug 2011 9:57 am EDT 
If you’re like us, you’re ready and primed to get your mitts on the last remaining HP TouchPads around. Except that you can’t find any anywhere. We’ve heard plenty of “my Best Buy rep said” stories, but nothing that we could put any stock into. Until today. This morning, HP posted an official FAQ on the future of TouchPad orders, and as FAQs are wont to do, it provided some answers.
First and foremost, HP expects to have more information on TouchPad availability “in the next few days,” and even then they’re still up in the air “about whether or not more will be available.” Those of you that signed up for an email notification of availability should be watching your inbox like a hawk, as HP intends to send out all notification emails at the same time. The questionable nature of the TouchPad’s availability leads us to believe that if HP gets more TouchPads, they won’t have a lot. In order to avoid any more crushed dreams than absolutely necessary, HP’s gone so far as to remove the ‘Notify Me’ button from the TouchPad page, instead giving this message:
We have received an overwhelming number of requests to be notified if the TouchPad is again available for sale. As a result, we have turned off the ability to be notified. We will have more information on product availability shortly. The most current information will be provided here. Those who signed up for notification will also be receiving an email as soon as we have more information to share.
Adding fuel to the limited availability fire, HP plans to implement a one-per-person order system when the time comes. The idea is to inhibit scalpers from grabbing them for cheap and then reselling on eBay for a few hundred dollars. Availability at other retailers and even HP’s international branches is expected to fall somewhere between limited and zero. So if you’re wanting a TouchPad, here’s hoping you managed to sign up for that notification already, because it seems that HP.com is going to be the only source for future TouchPads.
Source: HP, The Next Bench
42 Comments
They should've done one-per-person from the start. How many Touchpads are sitting unused waiting for some sucker to be desperate enough to buy them at double the price? These are Touchpads that could be in consumers' hands buying more apps. Instead, they're with scalpers wanting to make a quick buck off the Touchpad craze.
And you better watch that inbox like a hawk. I would say if you don't get there within 10 minutes after the email is sent, the site will slow down to a crawl and good luck ever getting a Touchpad for cheap.
Contrary to what the article says, the HP FAQ does NOT say they will impose a limit of one per person; they simply say there will be a limit. Quoting from the FAQ:
Q: Please limit stock to 1 per person: some people are getting 20 and then selling them on craigslist and eBay for a major profit.
A: If more inventory is available in the future, there will be an order limit.
The "1 per person" is in the question, but not in the answer.
Exactly. Doesn't say 1 per at all. In fact, it specifically doesn't address the question in that sense. HP will likely have a more reasonable 3 to 5 limit per household/account/address.
5 is a good limit. I was able to make enough to get an ipad for someone instead.
I was talking with an hp rep last on Friday and they said they amended the offer to a limit of one TP per customer/household.
same here I hope its one per person or they make millions of them
one per person would suck for me because i wanted to get one for myself and one for my mom as a gift.
For every normal person such as yourself there are 1,000 who want to buy 5 to scalp them on eBay. It's the lesser of two evils.
It's not HP's responsibility to control "scalping." Even with just a limit of 1, that doesn't guarantee that everyone who wants will get. In fact, once this HP sale comes and goes, the eBay prices will likely go up since everyone who wants, still may not get. Simple supply and demand.
The prices on eBay are actually fair secondary market prices. If they weren't, people wouldn't buy it. The TP is not a staple good. It's a luxury good.
That sucks though because yes, I've bought a bunch of them already but I'm not scalping them. I'm actually reselling them to friends at cost. In fact if I buy 5 more, I already have takers. Oh well! I'll try to snag one more.
I have the TouchPad page on HP's site bookmarked on my phone and computers. As soon as I get the e-mail I'm ready to go.
There's a seller on eBay right now that has about 400 touchpads. Oh, the hoarding. Zeguras2009.
What a jackass.
how the **** does he get 400!??? boycott buying from this seller.
Update: The posting was either removed, or they removed it. It was Zegura 2009. Google it. As of this morning (I was checking), they sold about 30-40 16GB and 32GB before it was taken down.
Another update: read below to see the response. Apparently they have a warehouse full of them. www.ebay-forum.ru/phpBB2/topic94755s1545.html
HP is a bunch of F*UC*KBAGS! I ordered my Touchpads on the 21st. I'm still waiting for a shipping email confirmation. I had called up last week and the guy said that I should get one by Thursday. Well now it's Monday...No EMAIL and I've been on the phone for an hour waiting to talk to someone. HP should die a miserable death and I'm glad they blew millions if not billions on WebOS. Worse company ever!
So.... You wanna sell that TouchPad if you get it??
Yeah right, I don't expect anything from them anymore. Especially after I start cursing them out (if they ever answer their phone). Yeah I'll sell you both of the ones I get and use the money to get a tablet that's going to actually evolve into something that's not already DOA.
Do you mind selling me one of them if you do get it and decide to resell it? I havemt been able to get one yet and i would not mind paying a bit extra to get one from you. I do apprecaiste your time. Thanksbin advance. :)
Well, by the time I get mine, I doubt they'll even be selling that high on ebay, so the excitement is over.
You know you don't mean that. The second a Touchpad is in your hands, you'll love HP all over again....Except for the killing off of the Touchpad. Maybe Samsung will brighten your day soon enough.
Believe me, HP and I go WAAAAAAY back on other lameduck products they've sold me. Not to mention their sad excuse for customer service. ASUS is my choice now. They are reasonably pricey and well spec'd. Also, I've seen the reports posted on CNET of them having fewer problems than any laptops in the industry (including Apple's) I have a netbook and laptop from them that have given me zero issues and I'll probably look into getting a tablet from them as well.
Good luck on getting through to them on the phone vivajay. I was on hold for 2 hours and 12 minutes the other day and finally gave in and hung up. I was trying to cancel my order because I was lucky enough to snag one during the Amazon sale.
At one point I was sure the order would be canceled anyway but now it's looking like I have a decent chance to get one shipped. I don't want to try and resell it because i'd feel like a scumbag scalping it. I'd rather them just take it back and sell it to someone who still wants to buy one.
Do you wamt to sell it over to me if you get it? I dont mind paying a bit extra for it and i havent been able to get at least one yet. :( Thanks in advance!
I was on hold for 5 and a half hours last Wednesday before being transferred to an automated message saying they were closed and to leave a voice mail. Of course the voice mail was full.
I too ordered several TPs on the 21st and one more on the 22nd, none have shipped yet, but I am in no rush, if I get them tomorrow or if I get them in 3 weeks I don't care, as long as I get them :)
One order is apparently set to arrive before the end of the month(not shipped yet according to the site), the other says something like "pending date".
Most of them will be gifts for xmas or something.
Any clue what the email address HP will be sending the notification from is? I'd like to set up a text alert when it comes...
I bought one on craigslist last week for 200 couldn't wait anymore 16GB.Im also on HP waiting list like to get one for my son and hold it in till xmas
I was able to order on HP's SB site early in the morning on the 21st. Right now the order status shows Estimated Ship Date: 08/26/2011, Estimated Delivery Date: 08/26/2011 but on the line item itself est. delivery date 08/31/2011, Requested Ship Date: 09/06/2011 and finally Qty B/O: 1. Maybe 9/6 is when they think the next batch will be in stock?
I managed to get through on the phone to HP this morning to check on the 2 TP's I purchased on 8/21, and I was told that my order would not be cancelled, and estimated ship date was mid- to late September.
Similar deal here. Estimated Ship Date: 08/25/2011, Estimated Delivery Date: 08/25/2011. But I must have got order in earlier? Line item Detail: est. delivery date 08/30/2011, est. ship date 08/25/2011. Here's hoping...
Thank goodness I signed up for email updates last week. Still not optimistic about my chances but fingers crossed. I moved to android for my phone and I miss my webOS!
Same here, webOS never had the hardware but now i have the hardware but lacking a good os
My working assumption on TP availability is that with the intense demand, its going to be hard to get direct from HP in time and impossible via other retailers. So I think the prices of TPs in the Ebay/Craigslist markets is going to stay at $200+ and may go higher as the availability becomes worse. I think if you want one, you should get one for the best price you can from other sellers, as soon as you can, because I think the prices will stay high. You can do what I did, which was to place an item wanted listing on Craigslist for a seller local to me willing to sell it for $150 cash. I specified I would close the deal within 1 hour of contact. It was a longshot, I did not expect a hit because local sellers on Craigslist were all listed at $200+. But I got a call from seller about 35 miles from me willing to sell the 16gb at the price I asked on those terms. I immediately arranged to meet him and close the deal. Got my touchpad and original receipt for warranty purposes. Ebay is a lousy option because of the auction format. Its too hard to win the auction at a reasonable number. So it was out for me as paying $300+ just was not feasible. So I paid a bit of a premium, but the device is worth every bit of $150. Now if I could just get accessories! So go the item wanted route for a local seller on Craigslist and see if you get a hit. That would be my suggestion.
There will still be touchpads on ebay and craigslist after HP starts its second round of the fire sale. I wan't one but I don't need one, so If I miss out on the fire sale pricing I won't worry about picking one up.
The thing that's surprising to me is the ambiguity over whether or not there will be any more, in contrast to what was said after the first round of sales. For example, this from @BrynaAtHP on Aug 22:
Home and Home Office Store: Confirmed they are definitely getting more. But not in stock just yet. Any day now. Stay tuned for more info.
This makes me wonder if behind the scenes HP is getting offers to buy in bulk, possibly at a premium to the firesale price. It would be totally feasible for some company to say "look, HP, we'll pay you 20% above firesale, and we'll take 1000" either to use with their employees, or to sell on Ebay. At 200/250, there would still be a good profit margin there.
... I think $200.00 to $250.00 is a loss for HP, but I'm not sure.
Just so you know, EBay bidding on these is suspect. I do alot of ebay, and there are ppl who have mutltiple accounts to drive up bidding. Pay attention to the initials of the high bidder and see of they don't show up on multiple bids. It happens, trust me.
Oddly enough, the TV ads started again. So why is HP continuing to throw money at this?
To me we're all like Charlie Brown, WebOS devices are the football, and HP is Lucy.
And we're all here lying on our backs...
welcome to our website:
------- http://www.chic-goods.com/ --------
if you like to order anything you like.
More details,
please just browse our website Quality is our Dignity;
Service is our Lift.
enjoy yourself.
thank you!!
------- http://www.chic-goods.com/ -----
If you have not got a chance to subscribe to HP notification, now is the chance to get to know about the availability. www.hptouchpadnotify.com will notify you on the touchpad availability as soon as it receives availability information from HP . www.hptouchpadnotify.com will also send availability information from other stores like Tiger Direct, Best Buy, Home Depot etc that plan to sell HP Touchpads once they get the new inventory.
Hurry ! Get on www.hptouchpadnotify.com mailing list and get notified Now!!