Probably doesn’t deserve it own thread, but it’s a slow news day….

Here.

Verizon Droids already dropping in price. Dell sells for $120
Fri, 11/20/2009 - 1:15pm — Seth Weintraub

Update: Amazon has dropped Droid to $150 as well

You might be able to find a refurbished iPhone for $49 off…but only if if it is refurbished.  Even chain discounter Walmart only takes $2 off the price of the iPhone and there are never sales.  Apple simply doesn’t discount it, ever (we’ll see about Black Friday).

Verizon/Motorola have taken a different approach with their top handset.  Merely a week after launch, the Droid has already lost $80 in value over at Dell who are selling it for $120 with plan.  This follows news that the Palm Pre is selling for $79.99 at Amazon (Pixie is $24.99 - not even enough to qualify for free shipping - zoikes).

Why are Verizon and Motorola so quick to discount the Droid when apparently it has been flying off of shelves?

The Droid is not the iPhone.  Verizon made the marketing mistake like Pre. If you decide to faceoff directly with the market leader then you end up promoting the iPhone to iconic status and then defeat the king.  The problem is when you fail to vanquish the leader you fade away.  I wonder who is covering the discount.  Verizon and moto are probably both suffering margin compression.