If you’re in the market for an iPad 2, and don’t care about the price, the easiest place to find one is eBay. Since the launch of the device on March 11, thousands of eBayers listed iPad 2s for sale on the auction giant’s website.
While many believed that the vast majority of iPad 2s listed on eBay would end up being sold to international buyers, it turns out that most of them stayed here, in the U.S.
After the mess eBay had to deal with when the first generation iPad launched, with thousands of fraudulent iPad listings on its site, this time around, eBay enforced strict guidelines for iPad 2 listings, and only allowed established eBayers to sell the device.
The site also carefully monitored and tracked all iPad 2 sales since the launch of the device, and earlier today, the auction giant released its data, to give more details about where all these iPad 2s ended up.
Overall, only 12,000 iPad 2s were sold through eBay, much less than initially expected. Interestingly enough, two tablets out of three stayed in the U.S., which can be partially explained by the fact that the device is almost impossible to find at more conventional retailers, such as Apple’s retail locations. In comparison, only 35 percent of iPad 1s were sold domestically back in 2010.
Russia and Canada were the largest iPad 2 importers, with about 500 devices each, followed by Hong kong and Japan, with 350 devices each.
Also worth nothing, the most successful models were the low-end 16GB WiFi-only iPad 2, as well as the top of the line 3G-enabled 64GB model. On average, these two devices sold for $200 and $400 above retail price, respectively.
