The Apple Vision Pro’s eBay prices are making me sad

I paid a lot of money for the privilege of getting a brand new Apple Vision Pro in February. All inclusive, with optical inserts and taxes, I financed just over $3,900 for the 256GB version of the headset. About a day ago, I made a mistake that many early adopters are probably familiar with: I checked how much it was selling for on eBay.

On Wednesday, a 1TB Vision Pro, complete with all equipment included, Apple’s $200 cushy travel case, $500 AppleCare Plus, and claimed to have been “worn for maybe an hour or so,” sold for $3,200 after 21 bids. The shipping estimate listed was $20.30. Brand new, this combination costs $5,007.03 for me on the Apple website. Another eBay listing, this one with my headset setup (but without optical inserts) was only $2,600 – again with most, if not all, accessories included. Several other 256GB and 512GB models sold for around that amount this week.

Of course, that’s how the early adopter story goes, especially when you buy very expensive technology before it becomes mainstream. Apple’s pricing doesn’t help matters, especially when the next closest competing headset – the Meta Quest 3 – only costs $500. This is disappointing even if they are ultimately not that comparable, at least in terms of target audiences and objectives for their platforms.

But it still stings, right? Knowing that I could have saved several hundred dollars And got the highest storage configuration, AppleCare Plus, and a storage case is particularly painful. I really like Vision Pro – perhaps more than any other writer in The edge – but if I hadn’t missed the return window, I’d send mine back to Apple in a heartbeat just so I could get one of these deals. Fortunately, when I wear the helmet, no one can see my tears.