what happens to out -dated models?

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What happens to things like vehicles and appliances when a new model comes out and they haven’t sold out of the previous model?

In: Technology

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Depends on the specific item, but in general the older ones get discounted, first at same point of sale (ie. stores putting it on sale or clearance, offering additional discounts/incentives, putting out during tent/sidewalk sales/Prime Day). Cars might be bought by the dealer as service loaners or sold to fleet customers. Other items can also be sold to liquidators, where they might end up at retailers like NewEgg, Fingerhut, warehouse clubs, rent-to-own spots, etc.

A LONG time ago, I worked for a dot com auction site that often got these types of products… Say a new 2005 Sony TV comes out, and we buy a shipping container worth of the 2004 model for way less than Best Buy would have paid wholesale a few months earlier.

One of our merchandisers once got 1000’s of Rio MP3 players for 3 cents each — these were like the first MP3 players, and they only held about 10-12 songs. Originally retailed for $199, I think. By the time the company bought them, they were 2 years old and modern ones held 100 songs or something. But people still bought them for $30 or $40. Of course, the CEO made the mistake of telling what a great price the merchandiser got them for right after they gave us each one as a holiday gift to “thank us for our hard work” after laying off 50% of the company… glad to know doing 2-3 people’s jobs through a holiday season was worth less than a nickel to them.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Usually the price drops but they are still available to buy. Either they will eventually be sold for parts or cheaper options the new newest model. Depending on the product either the demand will stay and they’ll sell for close to the original price or they will sit there slowly losing value until they are sold off with reasonable discount or the place selling them goes bust and sells everything for whatever they can.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Those ones sit around the lot/store/warehouse and get sold eventually at a discount.

You can usually get a pretty good deal on last year’s model if the new model has a significant redesign.

It wouldn’t be uncommon to find “new” 2020 or even 2019 cars on a dealer’s lot right now, especially if it’s a lower-volume model.

Anonymous 0 Comments

They… get cheaper? Nobody is going to destroy them nor give them for free. You can buy new 2018 flagship phone today for the same price as 2020 midrange