$99 HP Touchpad sale on eBay starting 12/11, but they’re refurbished

Didn’t get your $99 HP Touchpad WebOS tablet the first time around? The company is holding an eBay sale for refurbished Touchpads starting on December 11th.

The company sent out a memo to employees detailing the sale, which prices used Touchpads at $99 for a 16 GB version and $149 for a 32 GB tablet. This follows HP’s late August sale where Best Buy stores sold new Touchpads for the same price. That sale drove people to wait outside of participating stores for hours (pictured right), only to find most Best Buys had only received ten or so tablets.

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Originally, the tablet was priced at a hefty $499, which led units to collect dust on store shelves. After the inventory-draining success of its Best Buy sale, HP decided to hold a second sale, but with a catch: People who wanted the touch pad for $149 could only get the sale price if they also purchased a PC on the Best Buy website.

People want iPads or an inexpensive tablet, and HP knows it can minimize its obvious losses by selling the tablet for so cheap. Given the sale history, HP expects the tablets will quickly run out of stock on eBay, and sent out the below memo to its employees. The memo promises the company will not make a general public announcement until the HP employees had their fill the night before. The memo also wished employees “good luck.”

The sale starts at 6 pm central time on December 11. You can only use your PayPal account to buy a maximum of two refurbished Touchpads. No returns, unless your tablet is defective. There will also be packaging available, including a case, charging dock and wireless keyboard bundle for $79 extra. The tablet may sell out quicker with the holidays around the corner and people thinking presents.

Check out the memo, which was intercepted by TechCrunch below:

To: U.S. HP Employees

HP employees will have a chance to purchase a refurbished HP TouchPad via eBay before the sale is announced to the general public. Specifically, the TouchPads will be offered through one of HP’s newest marketplaces for close-out and refurbished HP products, the new HP eBay Store.

This product will NOT be available through any other HP stores, such as the Home & Home Office store, Small & Medium Business store, HP EPP or the HP Business Outlet. PLEASE DO NOT CALL ANY OF THESE CALL CENTERS BECAUSE IT DISRUPTS REGULAR SALES ACTIVITIES AND THEY’RE UNABLE TO PROCESS AN ORDER FOR THE TOUCHPADS ANYWAY.

In an effort to give HP employees first chance at a very limited supply of refurbished TouchPads, there will be a short delay between when the product is posted live for sale on eBay and when the general public is notified of the sale.

Refurbished HP TouchPads, both 16GB and 32GB versions, will be posted for sale through the HP eBay store at: 6:00 p.m. (Central Time), Sunday, December 11th. If you are interested in purchasing a refurbished TouchPad, please make yourself a reminder to log-on to eBay a few minutes before the sale starts to make your purchase.

The TouchPads will be available for sale here (under “Laptops”):

http://stores.ebay.com/hewlettpackard

Important information about this sale:

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There will be both 16GB and 32GB versions available, selling at a fixed price of $99 and $149 respectively…while supplies last.
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There is also an optional 3-piece Accessory bundle with a Case, Charging Dock & Wireless Keyboard for $79 (est. value $199.97).
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Purchases must be made through the HP eBay store via PayPal only. If you do not have eBay or PayPal accounts, create your accounts before the sale begins to avoid delays.
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The product offer will be announced to the general public on Monday morning and is expected to sell-out quickly thereafter, so don’t delay.
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There will be a limit of two (2) TouchPad SKUs per eBay member, sold on a first come, first served basis.
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This sale is not associated with any HP-sponsored employee purchase program and there are no additional discounts for HP employees off the HP eBay store price.
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All sales are final. There are no returns unless product arrives defective.
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The refurbished TouchPad product comes with a 90-day limited warranty.
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Please note that eBay orders only allow one ship-to location per order.

Thank you for your cooperation, good luck to you and don’t forget to mark your calendars for 6:00 p.m. (Central Time), Sunday, December 11th.