iPhone 5 or earlier Tempted to buy this sealed 1st Gen iPhone - legit check?

[bobbytallant]

Surely this is not a genuine sealed 1st gen unit right?

The serial matches up fine.

But it seems too good to be true. Cellophane almost too good etc.

Seller claims they themselves bought it from eBay some 15 years ago - but has no proofs / checks otherwise.

Anyone with a keener eye than me spot anything?

New Unopened Apple iPhone 2g 8gb 1st Generation - Rare Collectors Piece 2007 | eBay UK

This product is a rare and highly sought-after Apple iPhone 2G 8GB, the first generation model released in 2007. The phone has a 3.5-inch screen size and comes in its original black colour. It is unlocked and has built-in memory with 8GB of storage capacity. The device features Bluetooth, Wi-Fi...

www.ebay.co.uk

I am obviously not in anyway associated with the seller - I am genuinely interested if I have found a gem here, or (more likely) not lol.

 

[chabig]

It might be real. It's hard to tell from photos. One thing I know for sure is that the seller's claim that the phone is unlocked is incorrect. All first gen iPhones were locked to AT&T exclusively. That might just be honest mistake in the description, but it's a small red flag.

 

[Bigwaff]

I think these sell for over $50K US at legitimate auction houses. Why not get the exposure and certificate of authenticity by using auction houses? What price are they asking? Selling venue (or lack thereof) and asking price should be red flag.

 

[TumbleDryer]

Was going to say the same thing about it being 'unlocked'. It was locked to O2 in the UK. When they first came out iPhones had only a single carrier in each country for exclusivity if im not mistaken. i.e. carrier paid more to get them so Apple made more money in the beginning. Then later on it makes more sense to sell them unlocked which is what they did. So a first gen unlocked iPhone to me is suspicious.

 

[Ifti]

Its not difficult to apply a plastic seal around a box. Could be a stone inside a sealed box for all you know!

 

[bobbytallant]

I think the title / mention of it being unlocked is simply pre populated stuff from eBay's catalogue of products, to be fair to the seller. Its obviously an AT&T unit as per the rear box art.

I do agree re value being a giveaway though, the real deal ones of these go for $50K+ as mentioned above. Hence why I thought there was a small chance this would be a gem find (if its legit!).

 

[bobbytallant]

Its not difficult to apply a plastic seal around a box. Could be a stone inside a sealed box for all you know!

Ive seen some auction houses have listings where a CT scanner has been used to verify the contents, without unsealing. Sadly I do not have a CT scanner lying around!

I have messaged the seller back and fourth and they seem to think relying on the eBay money back guarantee, for buyers, is good enough reassurance. They are right if you think you can get away with the brick inside a box thing these days as a seller, think again

 

[Snide]

eBay has run a bunch of ads about their authenticity guarantee, so I assume you'd be covered if it's not legit.

 

[JPack]

Ive seen some auction houses have listings where a CT scanner has been used to verify the contents, without unsealing. Sadly I do not have a CT scanner lying around!

I have messaged the seller back and fourth and they seem to think relying on the eBay money back guarantee, for buyers, is good enough reassurance. They are right if you think you can get away with the brick inside a box thing these days as a seller, think again

CT scanner isn't helpful because there's no way to tell if the iPhone has been used. It's relatively easy to recreate the box and packaging. Just look at the latest clones of iPhone 17.

 

[MarkX]

There's the old saying, if it seems too good to be true it probably is

 

[rwh63]

buyer beware. anything worth counterfeiting, is.

 

[dave006]

Surely this is not a genuine sealed 1st gen unit right?

It really does not matter since the seller pulled it with the following message: This listing was ended by the seller on Wed, 17 Dec at 5:14 PM because there was an error in the listing.

Dave