RIM certainly looks like they are in trouble. So far reports of the company have not painted their situation in a favorable light and it looks like their customers are starting to feel a little skittish. This has manifested itself in a rise of Blackberry phones being traded in, according to online trade-in website Gazelle.
The website has offered up some of its latest stats and according to the graph pictured above, the number of Blackberry devices being traded-in have risen by 80% over the last month and that certainly is an alarming figure. The company has also marked on its graph several key events which has seen the spike in trade-ins, such as legal troubles, RIM’s earning call and after seeing the stock price of RIM drop from $15 to $12. According to Gazelle’s Chief Gadget Officer Anthony Scarsella:
“Our data illustrates that BlackBerry trade-ins have risen 80% above the normal 30-day average since March 1st here at Gazelle […] Consumers could be starting to fear the end of the Canadian based device maker. BlackBerry owners are indeed starting to dump their current smartphones before their beloved BBM and email support comes to a screeching stop if RIM collapse. The fear of rapid depreciation and unsupported devices has consumers upgrading to other platforms quicker than ever before.”
Blackberry owners do you agree with this assessment? Has the recent bout of trouble RIM has found themselves in shaken your faith in their products and services, or do you believe that this is merely temporary and that RIM will claw their way back up with their Blackberry 10 devices?
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