| We worked this out two years ago based on the publically announced details of Netpliance's deal with the mfr. That's the lowest it would have been, if Netpliance had bought the full contracted run, the price-per-unit dropping as the total number delivered increased. Someone else totalled the parts in lots of 10,000, figured in typical assembly costs and markup and hit the same number. A third calculation was based on Netpliance's leaked breakeven point - "purchase price" plus their net from the minimum contract period - and figured $350 as the per-unit cost they aimed at recouping.
The tiny lots we'd be interested in buying couldn't justify putting the thing back into production at anywhere near the quantity wholesale price, so I doubt there'll ever be another attempt. What's out there now is all there will ever be. Luckily, as the fad has died down, there seems to be a steady stream of ebay used boxes. | |
