Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET

As we wait for the new iPad to hit stores, Amazon is happy to take your older Apple tablets off your hands for a big chunk of Amazon credit.

For a while, eBay's Instant Sale site was offering the chance to lock in what seemed like top dollar for older generation iPads--up to $475 for a top-of-the-line 64GB iPad 2 with 3G. But Amazon is willing to pay out $320 for even a basic 16GB iPad 2 (in excellent condition), so long as you're willing to give it all back by spending it with the online retailer.

It's a typically shrewd move by Bezos and Co.--the same used 16GB iPad 2 in "like new" condition is available from an outfit called Nimlow and fulfilled by Amazon for $395. That's a nice markup, even if Amazon has to split it with Nimlow (which is actually a company called Amile out of New York), plus they've all but guaranteed that the $320 they forked over to acquire the old iPad in the first place will come flowing back to them eventually.

The used and refurbished iPads that Amazon fulfills are even eligible for Amazon Prime.