Google's Sold-Out Chromecast Soars to $100 on eBay (GOOG, EBAY)

Google's GOOG new streaming video device, Chromecast, officially retails for just $35. But after selling out almost immediately when the pre-order program began on July 24, additional customers were told that the device would not ship until August 7. Soon, Google stopped taking pre-orders altogether. Now Google is taking them again but notes that it will not ship any new units for three to four weeks. Related: Will Google's $229 Nexus 7 Upgrade Dethrone Apple's iPad Mini? This has prompted a familiar trend on eBay EBAY: over-priced Chromecasts are now being sold by early adopters. As of this writing, the most expensive Chromecast is selling for $101. It has already received six bids. That's a couple dollars more than the MSRP of Apple's AAPL streaming video device, Apple TV. The cheapest Chromecast is selling for $35 (the device's actual MSRP) on eBay. Surprisingly, it has received only one bid. There are dozens of additional units that are being sold at a wide array of prices, but the average seems to fall within the $50 to $60 range. Meanwhile, Google's long-awaited Nexus 7 upgrade seems to have inspired a collection of discounts for the previous model. Brand-new first-generation Nexus 7 tablets are going for less than $200; used models can be found for less than $100. There's even one with a cracked screen that is currently selling for $51 after 10 bids. In 2011, hundreds of first-generation iPad owners turned to eBay to unload their tablets after the iPad 2 was released. They also turned to eBay to sell the iPad 2 (which was in short supply initially) in hopes of making a quick buck. However, no sales were as famous as those associated with Sony's SNE PlayStation 3, which sold on eBay for as much as $15,000 shortly after the console was released in 2006. Nearly 15,000 PS3 units were auctioned off during the first week for an average selling price of $1,200 -- twice that of the MSRP. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ