A rare first-gen iPhone, which had been sealed in its factory-sealed box for over a decade, has sold at auction for a staggering $63,356.40.
The 8GB iPhone was expected to fetch at least $50,000, but it surpassed that estimate as 27 people placed online bids through LCG Auctions.
Bidding started at $2,500 on February 2, 2023.
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When the phone was first released in June 2007, consumers could buy it in two models:
– 4 GB of storage, for $499.
– 8 GB of storage, for $599.
The original smartphone featured an innovative touchscreen display, a web browser, and a 2-megapixel camera – but it quickly became Apple's best-selling product!
Steve Jobs introduced the first-gen iPhone earlier that year at a trade show in San Francisco called MacWorld, and Time magazine called it "invention of the year."
The phone's original owner, Karen Green, had received it as a gift from some friends in 2007 when she got a new job. However, she already had a new phone and didn't want to switch carriers to activate the iPhone.
She decided to keep it, believing it would never become 'outdated'.
The phone remained closed on her shelf for 12 years until she put it up for appraisal on the TV show “The Doctor & The Diva” in 2019, where the appraiser valued at $5,000. – (Something like our own “Cash or Trash” hosted by Despina Moiraraki).
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Green saw an opportunity to sell the phone when she discovered that an unlocked First-gen iPhone had sold for $39,339 at a previous auction held by LCG.
So, it didn't take her long to decide that she needed to sell her 'old' phone to support her new business venture, a cosmetic tattoo studio in New Jersey.
The sale is a testament to the enduring popularity of Apple products and their ability to retain their value over time.
Source: nypost.com
