Eaton suggests taking action as soon as possible, because even though interest isn’t dwindling, there’s no prediction as to how much collectors will be willing to pay in the coming years. — Bloomberg
The newest iPhone models are now available, but what if you have an older iPhone? Ever wonder how much you could get for it?
The truth is there’s a real chance you could cash in on older models.
Why? It’s all due to nostalgia.
With Gen Xers and Millennials craving that familiar, warm feeling for technology from their younger years, some technophiles are willing to pay some serious dough for older iPhone devices.
“The rarity, scarcity, and the collectability of these pieces, it’s just becoming nostalgic with the 40-to-50-year-old group of consumers,” Bobby Eaton, of RR Auctions in New Hampshire, said to Nexstar.
In recent years, RR Auctions have facilitated the sale of numerous first-generation iPhones. There was even one that went for over US$147,000 (RM618,937) back in March. Another older iPhone model went on the auction block at LCG Auctions in Louisiana, where it sold for a record US$190,373 (RM801,557).
“As we all know, the iPhone changed the world,” Eaton told Nexstar. “So in the last three years, iPhones – specifically sealed iPhones – are going up in value depending on what model they are.”
But just don’t think any old iPhone will cut it.
Much like video games and VHS tapes, the older iPhone models that are raking in the big bucks at the highest prices are the ones that are factory-sealed and in mint condition. Currently, the only models that are most valued by collectors are the first-generation 4GB and 8GB models that debuted in 2007, including the 8GB model with an iTunes logo on the cover of the box.
“Besides the first-generation products, the market drastically changes,” Eaton explained. “There’s not that collectability yet for (later) models.”
But the most valuable iPhone of the three mentioned is the 4GB model, which was discontinued when Apple dropped the price of the 8GB version two months after the 4GB version’s debut.
Keep in mind that the big-ticket iPhone models mentioned before were both 4GB models. Also fetching a decent chunk of change are the 8GB models, especially if it’s the earlier version, before an image of the iTunes app was added to the product picture outside of the box.
But if you have an opened iPhone, all hope isn’t lost.
Opened-first generation iPhones might be worth a few thousand, but they must be in mint condition, according to Eaton. If they show signs of use or damage, they’re worth “nothing” to the collector, he said.
What if the relic isn’t an iPhone, but an iPod or an iPad?
You might be in luck.
Aside from iPhones, first-generation iPods and iPads are also valuable to collectors and could fetch a pretty penny as well, but only if they’re in exceptional condition, and preferably sealed.
Many would even wonder about older Samsung or Android phone models and if they could rake in the same cash capabilities. If so, consider yourself out of luck because the value of early models is “not even close” to what an Apple enthusiast would pay for an iPhone, according to Eaton.
“Probably the only comparable thing that we’ve sold to the iPhone is ... an early Motorola flip phone that was sealed in the box,” Eaton explained. “And it sold for US$250 (RM1,052).”
So, what if you have an older iPhone model that you think could rake in thousands?
If it’s an older, sealed iPhone model, check the serial numbers and IMEI numbers on the box to confirm it’s never been activated. You could try to get it graded by a grading service, too, but you could just submit photos straight to auction houses that specialise in vintage technology to gain further insight as to how much it’s worth.
But Eaton suggests taking action as soon as possible, because even though interest isn’t dwindling, there’s no prediction as to how much collectors will be willing to pay in the coming years.
“If something is super rare, there’s going to always be a market for it,” Eaton explained to Nexstar. “It might not be the prices we’re getting now, but they’re going to have substantial value.”
As previously reported, there have been older iPhone models that brought in massive cash at the auction, including the first-generation iPhone that sold for more than US$190,000 (RM799,635) in July 2023 and the first-generation iPhone that sold for over US$63,000 (RM265,142) back in February 2023, which was initially expected to sell for US$50,000 (RM210,430). – pennlive.com/Tribune News Service
