I think with past sales and MS' three year RROD warranty this was less of a issue.
Now that the Arcade is $199 and MS wants $100 just to repair your 360 and give it a few more months of warranty (It's either 3 months or a year, I forget which) some people will opt to buy a new system and sell their refurb and/or RROD console.
I sold my refurb core unit from launch with the HD, and bought a falcon elite with cash back - i only ended up spending about $150ish for a new 120gig HD (versus 20 gig), new system with three year warranty, black finish and a extra wireless controller along with two free games (Marvel UA and Forza 2) so it was a good deal for me.
Now, if MS dropped a Vahalla Elite for $200 and I could sell this system for $150 I would probably "upgrade" again for $50 and get another 3 year warranty, which would be cheaper then sending it off for repair for $100. Granted that's in three years so I don't know what the repair costs will be by then, or if it will be worth it if the next box is backwards.
It's just that simple.
