Sealed Original iPhone Fetches Over $39,000 at Auction
If you bought a first-generation iPhone back in 2007 and decided not to open it, the product could fetch well over $30,000 in today’s auction market.
On Sunday, an unopened original iPhone sold(Opens in a new window) for $39,339 at an event from LCG Auctions. That’s 65 times more than what the product cost back in June 2007 when it retailed for $599.
Bids for the unopened iPhone started at $2,500 back on Sept. 30. But within the last few days of the auction, the iPhone began attracting bids at over $10,000 and then $20,000.
LCG Auctions described the iPhone as in “exceptional condition,” having never been touched or activated. The same device is also still sealed in its original plastic wrap. “Virtually flawless along the surface and edges, the factory seal is clean with correct seam details and tightness,” LCG said. “Collectors and investors would be hard pressed to find a superior example.”
However, the phone itself is primitive by today’s standards. It only comes with 8GB of memory, features a 480-by-320 touch screen, and was designed to communicate with AT&T's 2G network, which the carrier shut down(Opens in a new window) in 2017. That said, the first-gen iPhone still has a headphone jack and can communicate over Wi-Fi.
It’s unclear why and how the iPhone remained unopened for so long. LCG Auction didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But the auction house originally expected the device to fetch “$30,000 and up,” which it ended up achieving. Back in August, another unopened first-gen iPhone model was sold(Opens in a new window) for $35,414 at a separate auction.
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