Its crazy to see in this poor economy that people have this much disposable income
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Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction
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I worked the launch of the original iPhone and if my memory serves, it was AT&T only and wasn’t subsidized, which was a big deal at the time. The subsidies with 2-year contract came later.
I also got a phone just like this for free from Stevie-boy because I had been working at Apple for at least a year at the time. I didn’t have AT&T so I gave it to a friend. Should have kept it I guess!
This makes me wonder should we be buying all the first gen big tech and keeping unwrapped.
Like what would a first gen x box be worth it a ps5 etc 🤔
Like what would a first gen x box be worth it a ps5 etc 🤔
How much is that cellophane worth do you think?
How much would it sell for if the iPhone has been unboxed?
How much would it sell for if the iPhone has been unboxed?
The battery may have lost some of its capacity over time, but it will almost certainly still work fine. This is a modern Li-ion battery, not some old lead-acid or alkaline cell. They're not prone to leaking.
I have an iPad 2 which I purchased new almost 12 years ago to the day. It's still on it's original battery and still gets decent battery life! It has spent a fair amount of that time shoved away in drawers/boxes, but I pull it out fairly regularly to play some classic iPad games, like FTL!
Side note: It's still the only iPad I ever bought. Still waiting for an iPad that supports multiple user accounts before I upgrade.
Watches are a good investment like that. If you bought even the $260 Omega Swatch and haven't unpacked it, two months later it sells for $1000. Last time I checked 50th Moon Landing anniversary Omega Speedmaster nearly doubled in value in 4 years from it's original $9k. And if you can go into $100k+ range the returns can be even better.
Hell, you can even make a ton of money like that with Lego sets and toys in general. I paid $500 for a set that used to retail $100 just because it was retired, 5+ years old and factory sealed.
Because it was more expensive than those other devices to subsidize. When they finally did subsidize it, it strained their margins so they didn’t make a profit on the sales for years considering they had to buy the phones upfront from Apple. But they gained a lot more customers… which strained the networks instead lol.
AT&T (then Cingular) was willing to give Apple much more freedom on the software side (zero bloatware) than other manufacturers due to the power of the Apple brand, but they probably weren’t willing to spend the money to bet on this new, unproven device and Apple also didn’t agree to sell to them upfront either.
That is the "greater fools theory" in action. Anything can be worth any price, if you find somebody who thinks that it is worth even more.
There are even more irrational investments though. For $55,000 you can buy roughly two bitcoins at the moment. Bitcoins show that there is no upper limit on how mich of a fool people can be.
There are even more irrational investments though. For $55,000 you can buy roughly two bitcoins at the moment. Bitcoins show that there is no upper limit on how mich of a fool people can be.
Reminds me of all those toys I played with as a kid then threw the boxes away …
Microsoft stock actually didn't do well during Ballmer's time as CEO. It only started to really take off after he left in 2014. By comparison, Apple stock has done quite well under Cook.
Perhaps but not really relevant as the buyer likely doesn't have any intention of even opening the box. The value here is in the fact that it's an unopened original iPhone and opening the box and trying to use it would eliminate 99% of the value.
It's similar to buying a 50 year old classic car with 12 miles on it. Actually driving the car and putting miles on it can greatly reduce its value.
AT&T's $150 phone discounts for customers signing up for a 2 year contract were pretty standard and in that sense would've been factored into the iPhone pricing one way or another.
As it turned out, Apple/AT&T ended up reducing the price of the phones by $200 less than three months after launch with the 8GB iPhone going from $599 to $399. Customer backlash caused Apple to give early adopters a $100 Apple Store gift card.
The following year, prices were dropped even more with the 8GB iPhone 3G selling for just $199 (again with a 2 year contract). In a period of about one year, the price of an 8GB iPhone dropped 2/3rds from $599 to $199.
I had one of these. Bought it refurbed, 8GB storage, and I jailbroke it to unlock it. Used it on TMobile without a data plan, but wifi at home and in a few places with wifi. It was great. Sold it two years later and got a 3GS with a real data plan, GPS, etc.
Good times. It's like I was living in the future.
Good times. It's like I was living in the future.
$599 on a two year contract.
The price of cell phone plans included the price of the phone, so the original iPhone cost much more than $599.
That really should be pointed out so people these days don’t think it was $599 outright.
Which by my calculation of later phones ($650 unlocked or $200 on 2 year contract), the original phone was $1049.
The price of cell phone plans included the price of the phone, so the original iPhone cost much more than $599.
That really should be pointed out so people these days don’t think it was $599 outright.
Which by my calculation of later phones ($650 unlocked or $200 on 2 year contract), the original phone was $1049.
To be fair.... this 55,000 iPhone is worth more than the current market cap of three California banks I could name. 🤣😇
I get it but for this metaphor to work that car would be warped in the shape of a banana and would no longer run. What you say still holds true of course. I mean, george washington’s personal carriage would still be valuable even if it were warped in the shape of a banana.