My TouchPad Today: TouchPad Firesale - Reveals That No One is in Charge

The TouchPad firesale fiasco this past weekend exposed a dirty little secret of the computer and Internet worlds... No one is in charge (and no one's been in charge for a long time).

Like many others, I had a TouchPad firesale purchase ($99/16GB) cancelled by the wonderful, upstanding merchants at Amazon and onSale.  I include Amazon as a full-fledged co-conspirator since they host the onSale storefront.

Here's my take on the firesale weekend...

Good Outcomes

The TouchPad (severely overpriced at the original $499 for the 16GB model, still overpriced at $399) was a super bargain at the $99 firesale price.

HP inadvertently changed the future pricing structure of the tablet PC market. Apple may be able to maintain their pricing structure, but every other tablet manufacturer is faced with selling their tablets at a loss, in hopes of somehow finding a profit in the long run.

Revelation of the Dirty Little Secret

Commerce on the Internet is built on sand. The underpinnings -- both human and electronic -- are sand and washed away rapidly by unanticipated forces.

What most of us saw and experienced were the crashing waves of the TouchPad weekend washing out the sandy electronic  foundation beneath the websites selling the TouchPad, exposing them to the open air.

The waves also exposed a lack of business integrity that has been hidden behind the gloss of the Internet for a generation now.

Merchants took TP orders that they couldn't possibly fill. Where were the businesspersons with the integrity to say "Shut it down. If we don't have 'em, we can't sell 'em."?

Merchants were clueless -- and continue to be clueless -- in regard to matching the firesale price of the TP for all purchasers, regardless of the date of purchase. Some have matched. Some won't match. Some will match, for some dates purchased.  Some will match for some people, regardless of when purchased.

Where's the integrity? HP has asked TP merchants to match the firesale price for all purchases.

No one is in charge here.  No one has been in charge for a long time.


Follow me on Twitter... @rnolan1087

My TouchPad Today: Shame on Amazon...

Shame on Amazon and the other merchants/vendors who are not matching HP's weekend's liquidation price ($99 - 16GB / $149 - 32GB) for TouchPad customers who purchased their units prior to August 12.

I'm one of those early adopters who pre-ordered on June 20 and received it on July 8.

Amazon, through their various customer service channels (e-mail, online chat and telephone), has refused to make the adjustment/match to the HP's liquidation price. Their only offer is to return the TP for a full refund.

I can understand their position, up to a point, but what makes it particularly frustrating/aggravating is...

• HP has asked their sellers to match the liquidation price for all purchasers
• Amazon, despite citing a policy of not matching the price for purchases before August 12, is giving a liquidation match to some customers who bought before August 12.  They refuse to comment on those cases.

Readers, please let Amazon and other merchants know of your displeasure with inconsistent price matches for the TouchPad and ignoring HP's request to give the match to all purchasers, regardless of date.


Follow me on Twitter... @rnolan1087