According to analyst Kevin Dede at Jesup and Lamont, the Palm Pre return rates are hitting around the 40% mark. And all this because the impromptu questioning (at a few stores) of managers at Sprint, Best Buy and Radio Shack indicated that about one in three devices is being returned, and also because he read a survey at Precentral.

We all know the Palm Pre has its fair share of hardware issues. But for this clueless analyst all this anecdotal evidence seems to be enough to publish an official report on the matter. Not only that, but Dede is also giving Palm a “sell” rating, he says Palm stock is worth about $12.50. Dede’s estimates could really hurt Palm’s return to smartphone succes.

I have to be honest and say that I had to return (on the third week) my first Palm Pre to Sprint because of the infamous “Oreo Effect”, my second Pre is almost perfect and I do not feel the need to return it. You see, forums are likely to have a higher-than-average rate of people experiencing issues with the Pre, because one of a forum’s main functions is solving problems, so people without problems may not head there.

The truth is, nobody knows for sure what the real return rate is or what percentage would be outside the norm. So until Sprint and Palm come out and tell the world those numbers, we are just going to keep guessing.

[Via Barrons and Precentral]