How to get upto $320 for your old iPad 2

Before the launch of ipad3, some sites are offering close to $300 for your entry-level iPad 2 (the 16GB Wi-Fi model), provided it was in “good” condition. Now they’re willing to part with far less: As of Saturday morning, if you’ve got a well-cared-for iPad 2, NextWorth will give you $241 for it. BuyBackMac is offering $224. eBay’s Instant Sale will net you $200. And Gazelle, the most popular of the buy-back sites, will only part with $185.

Sure, if you’re hurting for cash to subsidize your early adopter lifestyle, $200 is nothing to scoff at. But if I were you, I’d skip by all of these sites and instead log in to Amazon. As of right now, its trade-in service is offering $288 for a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad 2 that has “normal wear,” and up to $320 for one in “like new” condition. Indeed, Amazon Trade-In’s lowest offer for an iPad 2 is $236, about what others are offering for “good” models. If your tablet isn’t water-damaged and is at least in working condition, you’ll get that baseline amount.

What’s going on here? Considering that Apple is selling new iPad 2s for $399, how can Amazon afford to shell out up to $320 for your old one? What’s it doing with all the iPads it’s buying? Is Jeff Bezos running a charity?

The trick is that you get an Amazon gift card which you have to use on amazon.com purchases. But still this is a good deal, isnt it?