Original 2G Iphones are now Collectibles...

[FC-Treasure]

I had a drawer full of old iPhones and decided to list them on eBay. Some of the older one's aren't worth much at all, unless, it is an original 2G iphone. These are evidently being collected. You can sell the box for $100 bucks! Apple iPhone 2G 1st Generation - 8GB - IOS 1! RARE - original "Box Only" | eBay

As with any collectible, it is all about condition. So a used iPhone could go for $30 with a cracked screen or $400 with no blemishes and the original box.
iPhone 2g Original First Generation- Near Perfect Condition with matching box | eBay

or, if you happened to find one in an unopened box, $1K

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Ap...d-First-Generation-2g-3G-iPhone-/262839222621

Oh, here is a page that details how to interpret the serial numbers. If you list one on eBay and it has a 2007 manufacturing date, it is worth more.

http://www.cultofmac.com/142948/understand-your-iphones-serial-number/


Crazy stuff, I never thought a 9 year old phone would be worth anything....

 

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[G.I.B.]

What could possibly give them value?

 

[FC-Treasure]

What could possibly give them value?

Some people like to collect old electronics, especially old Apple electronics. You remember the Apple 1 computer that sold for over $800K last year?
Early Apple Computer Sells At Auction for $815,000 | Fortune.com

It is the same type of thing. The first iPhone was so revolutionary that it changed people's lives forever, e.g. the first smart phone. There were a lof of them manufactured though (6.1 million), so I'm unclear on the rarity thing. I guess most were recycled during an upgrade cycle, but there has to be a million or more still in circulation

 

[AlienLifeForm]

What could possibly give them value?

Apple zombies.

 

[GibH]

Apple zombies.

Wouldn't they be Applebees? Oh wait...

 

[Deft Tones]

A phone will never be the apple of my eye!

 

[Beachkid23]

I just went to a thrift store today on a mission to pick up furniture my parents have bought while they were down here to put in the delivery truck and I picked up a brand-new iPod touch I think fourth generation and a brand-new iPod nano for $100. Should be able to get about $280-$300 return. I thought for sure the one was a Second generation I pod. I laughed out loud in the store when I saw it in the case because I thought for sure it was the same exact thing you were talking about on this thread!!!

 

[Beachkid23]

Maybe I should put the thing in my safe next to a roll of half dollars for the next 30 yrs... like saving an unopened NES game..

 

[FC-Treasure]

I just went to a thrift store today on a mission to pick up furniture my parents have bought while they were down here to put in the delivery truck and I picked up a brand-new iPod touch I think fourth generation and a brand-new iPod nano for $100. Should be able to get about $280-$300 return. I thought for sure the one was a Second generation I pod. I laughed out loud in the store when I saw it in the case because I thought for sure it was the same exact thing you were talking about on this thread!!!

How much memory does the Touch and Nano have? That seems to determine how high your price can go.

I've got four iphones up for auction right now. So far only three auctions have bids. Lots of views and watchers. I'm hoping for some sniping at the end. Right now the total is only $70 dollars. It is not bad for stuff I considered throwing in the trash, but I was hoping for a lot more considering two are first gen 2G models that still work and have no major blemishes.

 

[trdhrdr007]

How much memory does the Touch and Nano have? That seems to determine how high your price can go.

I've got four iphones up for auction right now. So far only three auctions have bids. Lots of views and watchers. I'm hoping for some sniping at the end. Right now the total is only $70 dollars. It is not bad for stuff I considered throwing in the trash, but I was hoping for a lot more considering two are first gen 2G models that still work and have no major blemishes.

I did a search of completed listings & found 70 of them between $10 & $50. Here's the link: apple iphone 2g | eBay

 

[FC-Treasure]

I did a search of completed listings & found 70 of them between $10 & $50. Here's the link: apple iphone 2g | eBay

So its hard to tell because most of the listings are for damaged phones. e.g. broken screens, selling for parts, etc. I do see a few that may have gone for fairly low.

For some reason, putting the model number in the auction title yields much higher auctions. Check this out:

A1203 in Cell Phones and Smartphones | eBay

edit: I have a theory... When you use the model number to list, eBay is more likely to figure out that your listing belongs on this aggregate page, which is probably how the prices get bid up? Another example of how choosing the right listing information can make a big difference?

http://www.ebay.com/p/Apple-iPhone-1st-Generation-8GB-Black-AT-T-Smartphone/101829149

 

[trdhrdr007]

I saw the ones that sold for higher prices. When I look at an item for resale that has a wide range of sale prices I make my decision based on what the lowest priced sale was for an item comparable to the one I'm looking at. There were working models in the $10-50 price range. I'd still try to sell for the highest price possible but I'm only buying if I can make a profit at the lower prices.

 

[cyberdan]

When I recycled cell phones I would always grab iphones and smart samsungs (unless they were utter trash) and save them from the chipper/acidbath. I think I might have more than 50. I will have to go through them to see if I have any winners.

See my pic below for what I consider utter trash. Those are the the worst of the worst.

 

[FC-Treasure]

When I recycled cell phones I would always grab iphones and smart samsungs (unless they were utter trash) and save them from the chipper/acidbath. I think I might have more than 50. I will have to go through them to see if I have any winners.

Cool, let us know what you find! Would you be selling them as "broken, parts only"? How much did you originally pay for them? Seems like broken iPhone 2G's are going for between $10 and $30 dollars. What would be the recycled value?

 

[Geobound]

I have just about every cell phone I've ever had for the last 30 years tucked away somewhere in my basement.

Out of all those phones I would bet that I have roughly 90% of the original boxes, and documents. Perhaps I should look and see what they are worth?

Somebody also mention NES games..........I've got 2 or 3 unopened ones of those, X-box, Sega and an original TelStar system.

I wasn't saving them for cash or anything like that, I'm just a bit of a junk collector apparently and hate to throw things away.

Perhaps a bit of inventory on all my junk is in order? Who knows, I could buy myself a new CTX3030 with the extra cash? LOL........

 

[cyberdan]

Cool, let us know what you find! Would you be selling them as "broken, parts only"? How much did you originally pay for them? Seems like broken iPhone 2G's are going for between $10 and $30 dollars. What would be the recycled value?

99.5% of the phones I buy I pay .50¢ each because I only got between .80¢ & $1.00 for recycle value. At yard sales if they balked at my 50 cent price and it was an iphone I might offer $2-3. If I tried harder I could get more on ebay as gold recycle phones.

I used to sell all samsung smarts for $3.00 and iphones for $5.00 each to a guy back east. he would go through and fix or pull apart for parts. I am sure I could get more on ebay. But it was easy dealing with him. he would always buy everything. I never sent what I have in stock now. They are put away somewhere. I just made an 800 mile move.

 

[FC-Treasure]

Well, my auctions ended a minute ago. I did not get the big bucks.

8GB iPhone from 2008 (2G 1st Gen) - $40
16GB iPhone from 2010 (3GS) - $25
16GB iPhone from 2012 (4S) - $43

So that was about $60 less than what I was hoping for. I did have sniping on all three phones at the end, but unfortunately, the existing bids were not very high. Snipers won all three auctions in the last 15 seconds.

I've got one more iPhone 2G, it is going up for auction on Sunday night. That seems to be a better time for collectors, I will report back. It isn't in as good of shape as the one I just sold though. Still works well, but the back is scratched.

Side note - I had the boxes for all of the above phones right up to last year, when I threw them away during a move. Yikes...

 

[trdhrdr007]

Nothing wrong with making money off something you aren't using.

 

[FC-Treasure]

Ok, my second 2G iPhone auction just ended. This time I got $62 dollars and this one was in rougher shape with more scratches, but it did still work. So I don't know, definitely good for a 9 year old phone. If I had the box I would have done better. Box + accessories (plug, earbuds, info book) even better.

Definitely starting/ending the auction Sunday evening was a better idea. Also though, I noticed that people from last week came back and bid up the price on this phone. So I guess you get a higher price as you build an audience for your merchandise. Oh, yeah, I did make sure my listing was associated with the aggregate 2G 1st gen iphone page.