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I have a sealed 2G iPhone. Do you think it will become worth a lot?

I would sell it if someone would pay me more than 1K, otherwise hold it and check again in 5 years.

If you find someone who is paying that price now, you will find others who will do that in 5 years as well, since the device itself is basically no longer useful now as well as in future.
 
jo.Lo said:
I would sell it if someone would pay me more than 1K, otherwise hold it and check again in 5 years.

If you find someone who is paying that price now, you will find others who will do that in 5 years as well, since the device itself is basically no longer useful now as well as in future.
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Not useful at all. I had one that I found in the drawer, in its box and turned it on and it was so damn slow, i immediately said....can't use this and sold it about five years ago.
 
Another update! The value has appreciated much quicker than I anticipated. A sealed original 8GB iPhone without an App Store icon (indicating it’s one of the earlier models, similar to mine) recently sold for $39K at auction.

Mine is still in the safe deposit box (costing me $85 a year now). I haven’t been to the bank in a decade, but I plan to go down there this year (I’ve since relocated so it’s a bit of a trip for me). I’ll snap a photo of it and post it here. The serial number has never been activated. Unfortunately I don’t have the receipt so I could see this impacting value.

I think the recent high sale may not hold up for future sales. With major news outlets reporting on this ~50x return I’m expecting a lot of sealed iPhones to come into the market (there has to be thousands right?). However, I don’t think most will be the earlier model. I’m also very curious how much a 4GB iPhone would fetch. (Hard to believe the base model of an iPhone 14 is 128GB!)

And I appreciate the mods keeping this thread alive! Super interesting to read the changing sentiment across the life of this decade+ thread.
 
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List it on eBay with a ridiculous starting price - see what happens.
If you decide to do so, let us know, so we can watch the progress.
:D
 
I had an original iphone in its box like new and sold it on ebay about 4 years ago for $550.

Even at that price, it took a long time to sell.

Maybe a new, sealed one is worth a lot more.
 
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I mean, if you're comfortable hanging onto this thing and protecting it from heat/light/moisture for a decade or two, you might make a few hundred dollars.

It's a useless object, practically. I'm suspicious that you can even activate the thing, and this phone was notoriously useless without activation. Servers were down on release day back in 2007 and so I had to spend my first 24 hours with the amazing new phone unable to do anything but make an emergency call or turn off the screen.

My hunch is this is much less an Apple I situation and more like an Apple II plus situation.
 
Some people pay a lot of money for what they consider to be a collectable.
Even if it's a paperweight.
 
The hardest part about "investing" in collectibles is knowing when to cash out. If one is a collector, the actual cash value is not so relevant, if one is a speculator ones fortunes could drop on a whim.

If the OPs sealed retail phone is worth even half of what he noted in his update, it would be well worth contacting the insurance company and increase the coverage on that item. It would be devastating if the bank sustained damage to their safe deposit boxes and have the value zeroed out.

Hey @lambo thanks for keeping this alive!
 
I've noticed that when tech YouTubers run out of content, they will often seek out sealed early models of Apple products. I bet one of them would pay a fortune to buy it and feature it on their channel.
 
I find it funny that when this post came out, nearly everyone agreed that you should sell it instantly because it's "low value", yet now it's over $10000 on some sellers... the amount someone would pay for a sealed relic
 
Weird and crazy considering you can't use it or do anything with it. It's an expensive paperweight with some bragging rights. Mostly someone will buy it just to say they did.
 
AbSoluTc said:
Weird and crazy considering you can't use it or do anything with it. It's an expensive paperweight with some bragging rights. Mostly someone will buy it just to say they did.
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You could say the same for wedding rings or luxury watches.

(though watches do have similar functionality to an iPhone 2G, they can tell the time at least)
 
AbSoluTc said:
Weird and crazy considering you can't use it or do anything with it. It's an expensive paperweight with some bragging rights. Mostly someone will buy it just to say they did.
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Well the Apple I, which was made in 1977, is worth something like $500k.

You aren’t supposed to use it, lol. These are collectors items. Some people purchase them as speculative assets to resell at a later date and others just like owning them.
 
AbSoluTc said:
Weird and crazy considering you can't use it or do anything with it. It's an expensive paperweight with some bragging rights. Mostly someone will buy it just to say they did.
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You clearly know nothing about collectibles. The first iPhone was a major breakthrough and put smartphones on the map for consumers.

Hell, look at old classic cars that sit in climate control garages and never move but keep being worth more because they aren’t being used but being preserved.
 
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My only worry would be being able to prove to a buyer in the future that it isn't just an empty 2G box with some stones inside for weight, that someone has just vacuum/plastic sealed at a later date.
 
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1BadManVan said:
You clearly know nothing about collectibles. The first iPhone was a major breakthrough and put smartphones on the map for consumers.

Hell, look at old classic cars that sit in climate control garages and never move but keep being worth more because they aren’t being used but being preserved.
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The car could be driven, though (and many are). I suppose the Apple I analogy is closer, but only ~200 were made….
 
mpavilion said:
The car could be driven, though (and many are). I suppose the Apple I analogy is closer, but only ~200 were made….
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Not talking about your grandfathers old Camaro here. I’m talking about extremely rare cars, as rare as these vintage apple products. Time capsules, cars that are treated like a time capsule and preserved, never see the light of day except to be sold and moved to the next owner.

Like I said, some people clearly don’t know collectables, true ones.
 
1BadManVan said:
Not talking about your grandfathers old Camaro here. I’m talking about extremely rare cars, as rare as these vintage apple products. Time capsules, cars that are treated like a time capsule and preserved, never see the light of day except to be sold and moved to the next owner.

Like I said, some people clearly don’t know collectables, true ones.
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Yes, but those cars are still drivable… If not, they have much less value!

The OG iPhone cannot be used, it won’t turn on
 
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