This is from a UK perspective as it's only ebay UK that I monitor. I don't intend this thread to be a "here's a cheaper one->>> url" discussion, but a high level view of how ebay pricing reflect demand and supply, and the number of people buying the n900 who quickly sell it on.

When the n900 was first on sale, there were rarely units on sale, perhaps one a week, and prices were close to full retail list price of £500. Items are typically new in box.

It took about a month for there to be significant numbers offered and prices remained solid right the way to Christmas - typically £450 and up, depending on the seller's reputation. Typically a few items were listed every day, most were either new in box or slightly used. Items attract bids even at £480.

Soon after Christmas, and particularly in 2010, numbers offered increased, and start price fell, by the end of the first week of January, some sales reached only £425. More of the devices are lightly used. Items over 475 attract few or no bids.

By the end of the 2nd week of January, starting prices have fallen to as low as £300 and closing prices have fallen to about 400. Items listed for over £440 do not attract many/any bids.

When it reaches 200, buy...

Here in the US/Ebay nothing is closing under $500 for unlocked n900s. Given a New In Box one is $550 (amazon) or $540 (dell) that seems about right.

Perhaps some of these UK ebay'ed ones fell off the back of a truck?

Remember with ebay, you never know what the reserve is, so even if they're listed dirt cheap, does not mean they sell them at that price.

Seems odd to lose money on a phone you could return for a refund, doesn't it?

also remember some people got it free on upgrade unlike the us who doesnt.....take that into consideration...my mate got one free on voda but had already bought hers sim free from the flagship store...selling it even at £200 was a profit! (sold at £480 on xmas eve)

I've been following all n900s listed on Ebay UK and initial listing prices have slumped down to as low as 250, typically 300-ish. Bidding is quite fierce on items starting under 300, those starting over 425 usually attract no bids unless new in box from reputable dealers.
Closing prices generally are up to 400, typically 380, unless NIB; occasionally one will sell for 350.

Some recent cashback deals with discount codes highlighted on hotukdeals.com might have gone unnoticed but that pushed the new price down below 400.

Next bulletin as trends emerge.

I don't want to get into a discussion here about phone subsidies and the "free" upgrade which is really just a method of locking the person into another year's contract - they are paying for the phone but it's a hidden cost and many people simply can't do the math of £25 per month multiplied by 18 months. If you buy one of these, you're buying something that someone else hasn't really paid for yet!! I too have benefitted from this, I've not bought a brand new phone in more than 10 years, since there are a lot of people who change their phone for the sake of it!

However, yes, people buying phones on contract and then deciding on something else does mean that there is a bigger supply of used devices to be sold. Many of the items listed are vodafone ones, so it's definitely happening. Amusingly, some state the phone is locked and can be unlocked cheaply, I would guess these are people who know nothing about the n900 at all!

There have been surprisingly few obvious scams, but there are quite a few offered by people with very low feedback ratings, this doesn't seem to deter too many bidders.

people are starting to list n900s for as little as £150, but more typically £250 and sometimes less

I predict by end Feb they'll be closing under £350 maybe even down to £325.

A few weeks ago I got my N900 direct from Nokia retail for 500 - £50 discount and - £100 quidco cashback. Net=£350 new,.

Similar thing happens with most phones/new technology...

And I agree with speculatrix -- this whole mentality of a "free" upgrade - people are kidding themselves. I know friends/relations who go "hey, I got a free XXX" or "this iPhone only cost me £100" or whatever. Oh yes, and the £40/month for 2 year contract.

Interestingly when researching contract options for the N900 I took a long look at the contracts from nokia retail on vodafone. Unsurprisingly the total cost over the contract for nearly every single option was about the same, varying just a little dependent on 12/18/24m. Arguably compared to full retail the prices did work out "competitive", but that's an eyes-open view not a "free phone" view.

The thing that swung it was Nokia's store discounts.

I think you need to consider what else is on offer.

Pre-Christmas, N900 was very difficult to get hold of. Only MPD/NR offered the phone and it wasn't readily available to your normal user.

Now that it has big network backing, people will tend to take it from them. Although the 'Free' isn't actually free, the minutes/texts etc is pretty much on par with every other phone out there - so people will use this option first.

Also, pre-christmas everyone is loaded followed by skint!

I have been keeping a close eye on ebay (also gumtree) for the last month or two too. It seems that the going price for a BNIB is somewhere between 380 and 400 at the moment. There are hardly any being sold as 'used' at present.

Does anyone have any guesses as to how long it'll take for the going price to fall below 350? I'm holding off for the time being.

There are now quite a few n900s listed on ebay every day, some start as low as 150, but 250 is typical

Closing prices seem to be holding steady and even going up for NIB sales - 380 to 400 are typical, some even as high as 425.

This is a bit unusual but I think since the recent firmware update the n900 is getting a lot of publicity, perhaps also people who held off thinking the iApple tablet would be a rival are now going for the n900.

I note that the Motorola Milestone ("droid" when on Verizon USA's CDMA network) is following a similar pattern.

When the Google NexusOne is readily on sale in the UK it might dent sales of the n900 and the Milestone