Best Buy does a 180 degree change, will sell HP TouchPad in U.S. stores at fire sale prices

Perhaps Best Buy's U.S. managers saw all those HP TouchPads being sold around them and decided to join in the fun, too. After saying that its U.S. stores would not partake in the fire sale of the webOS tablet, deciding instead to send the unsold inventory to HP, the big box retailer has made a U-turn and starting immediately it will offer the heavily discounted device at stores and online. A message on the Best Buy online forum says that due to HP's decision to discontinue producing the tablets, it is now offering the tablets at clearance prices regardless of any other promotion or advertisement.

Just to reiterate the pricing laid out by HP, the 16GB TouchPad (SKU 2842056) now sells for $99.99, down from $399.99. The 32GB (SKU 2842092) version has a $149.99 price tag, down from $499.99. There is alimit of one of each SKU for each customer, which is a fancy way of saying that a customer can buy no more than one of each model. As of Saturday night, the tablets have yet to show up on Best Buy's web site. The good news is that those who were unable to find an HP TouchPad on Saturday just might find some inventory at their local Best Buy on Sunday. The company says that inventory might be low for the online store.

By the way, if you bought the HP TouchPad from Best Buy after June 19th, you can receive the difference between what you paid for the tablet and the new sales price. If you bought it at a Best Buy store, you simply need to return to the store you bought it at. Those who bought it online need to call Best Buy.com support at 888BestBuy (888-237-8289).