timandkathy.co.uk

Second-hand ripoffs

I’m coming increasingly to the conclusion that (a) second-hand iPods are overpriced, and (b) eBay is a living, breathing example of the power of a heady mix of capitalism and stupidity. You know, more money than sense and all that…

I’ve been gathering data from eBay (manually) of the closing prices of iPods, which model they are and which generation.

[Note for the uninitiated: the latest "All New!" iPods are the fourth generation. The first ones were…oh, I think you get the idea]

At the moment it’s a CSV file. I will probably make a PHP script at some point to do strange and wonderous mathematical things to the numbers. Well, it will take the average for each model and generation, at least.

I suspect, though, that the numbers will bear out what I already know: second-hand iPods aren’t worth the bother, especially as the 4G models are (in the case of the 40GB) £100 cheaper than the 3G ones. I can only guess as to the mental state of the person who spent £215 (plus £8.50 p&p!) on a 3G 15GB iPod from eBay, when the 4G 20GB is £220 direct from Apple! If you’re on a budget, the Apple Refurb store last week had 3G 15GBs going for £175 with an Apple warranty.

The mind, quite literally, boggles.