Price of older Rebels?

Why is it that the older Rebels (XTi, XS, XSi, and T1i) are not going down in price even with the release of the T3 and T3i?

The street prices seem to remain the same:
(Used Kit Prices)
-XTi $300-350
-XS $400-450
-XSi $450-500
-T1i $500-600

The reason I ask is because I want to get my girlfriend a T1i for her birthday. I was hoping with the advent of the T3 line, older models would drop some more. This would only make sense since the T3i and T2i MSRP are the same. Why spend the same amount of money on an old model when you can get the latest?

Perhaps I'm just spoiled since I got a XTi kit last year for only $230 and base my prices off that.

And no, I won't just spend the money or sell any of my gear. I love her, but we're young and she's not my wife.

FadedBlackSocks wrote in post #12131965
And no, I won't just spend the money or sell any of my gear. I love her, but we're young and she's not my wife.

Ahhh to be young and in love...

I think its because theres always people on a budget who want to come in at the low end and dip their toes into the whole DSLR thing and they'r competing against each other to keep prices high, also you have your 35mm film guys who finally (after a lot of grumbling) finally give in to the new fad and dont want to go all the way to the 1D's, I sell afew refurbs a week of those particular models and theres always 30+ watchers per item

Used DSLR's tend to stack up at the bottom of the market. One can find a range of used DSLR's at around $250-$300, from an original 300D, to a 30D. It probably has to do with a number of factors, owners of used gear dont want to sell for less than a third of their original cost, buyers willing to jump at any DSLR that hits the market at an acceptable entry price as they were all impressive machines at one time.

if it helps i just sold my year old XS for $375 with the kit lens.

That makes sense I guess, thanks.

It looks like I'm going to have to stalk the forums and classifieds for a decent deal and haggle.

Thanks again.

Did you check craiglist? In our area (Ontario, Canada) used Canon XS can be found for 300$. I sold mine recently, for 225$ (body only), and it wasn't easy.

Problem with used T1i is that it's still pretty recent model, few people are selling it used, the small used market keeps the price high.

If have patience you'll find the deals that you're looking for... when I wanted to try video I found a t1i with kit lens and a small bag for $500. Wasn't as cheap as I thought it would be but I sold it a month for a little profit to an eager enthusiast. Score

Yes, I check CL regularly. That's actually how I ended up with a 7D from a XTi in less than a year.

• Found an XTi kit for $230.
  
• Sold it to fund a XSi kit (body, 18-55IS, 55-250, 1x 8gb SD card, 1x 8GB CF card, 1x 32gb CF card, and camera bag) for $490
  
• Sold that to fund a brand new T1i kit I found for $500. I told myself I'm happy.
  
• 1 month later I sold the T1i to fund a new 7D kit+Printer from Amazon for <$1150 after rebate and selling the printer and kit lens.
  

The model being replaced has the most drop. Then less and less for each of the preceding models to where new models coming out does not effect some at all. Such as I sold an XT for $350 last year.