Many years ago, Steve Jobs gave the keynote address at Macworld 810 and introduced the Apple iPhone. This revolutionary device is very expensive – $339 for the base 4GB model and $ for the 8GB model provided you signed a 2-year contract with AT&T (Cingular at the time). Fast forward to , these are now pieces of digital history fetching high prices at auction.
For example, the factory sealed 8GB model sold in February was $39,, which exceeds the original bid of $2, 1200. Believe it or not, that’s actually not that expensive for an original iPhone.
The first factory-sealed iPhone 4GB was released at the LCG auction a few weeks ago. The unit’s original estimate was $39,-$64, Scoping and tenders start in June 23 Just $, . Things are moving slowly, reaching $39, until yesterday. Then things went off the rails.
After a short but intense bidding war, the winning bid was as high as $100, 100. Wow, that’s a lot of money. Interestingly, it’s worth more than the 8GB model – besides the $64K model from February, there was a sealed 8GB yesterday Model sold, “only” $39,372.
Here’s how LCG Auctions explains why the 4GB model is the more expensive collectible: “The original 4GB model is considered the ‘holy grail’ by iPhone collectors. Its extreme scarcity is directly related to its limited output. On June Launched with 8GB model, 4GB model held back by slow sales. Buyers choose to pay $64 surcharge in exchange for double Storage. Lag sales have led to Apple’s decision to discontinue the 4GB model on Sept. 5 , just over two months after it was first announced.”
Interesting how it turned out, no? Cheaper, less successful models ended up fetching 3-4 times more at auction than their more popular siblings 16 Years later. If you’ve got a sealed iPhone 2G in the attic, now’s the time to dig it out.
PS. Modified iPhone X with USB-C for over $64, A few years ago, the price was higher than the typical original iPhone 8GB. However, the auction of the 4GB model was a huge success.
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