This Business Week article describes the rising demand for first generation iPhones. "Shelf prices" (using eBay values of virtual shelves) for the 16GB iPhone are currently at about $600, and $500 for 8GB models. In other words, the $250 AT&T refurb specials from March are now worth roughly double what you paid for them.
From easy-unlocking to contract-free usage to eco-consumerism, consumers are looking for those original units and paying premium prices to get them. A majority of phones are heading outside the US for resale while growing demand at home keeps resale prices high.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-03-2008 @ 6:59PM
narcema said...
there was no 16GB first-gen iPhone
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9-03-2008 @ 7:12PM
Warbrain said...
Yes, there was. They added the model (not sure when) but it exists. Trust me.
9-03-2008 @ 7:08PM
David said...
lol.. I own a 16GB 1st gen iphone, and I love it.
9-03-2008 @ 7:08PM
SneAKz said...
Douche, yes their was.
9-03-2008 @ 7:19PM
SaNcTuS said...
damn! I sold my 1st-Gen for 200 bucks...I gotta go look for the kid I sold it to and offer a refund!
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9-03-2008 @ 7:27PM
mark said...
And I'm sitting on 3, 1st gen iPhones. Pay up suckers!
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9-03-2008 @ 7:34PM
alansky said...
There was also a 4 GB first-gen iPhone, which works as well as any other iPhone. Just doesn't hold as much stuff.
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9-03-2008 @ 7:45PM
Dan said...
I put my 8g first gen on eBay with a buy-it-now price of $485. It sold in less than an hour. I offered it locked (with a year of Applecare left on it) or unlocked. I'd never unlocked a phone before, but the instructions I found online were clear and it took me less than fifteen minutes to do.
The guy who bought it told me that he sends them right to China, where they sell for double what he bought mine for. I didn't feel bad at all; that's business!
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9-03-2008 @ 8:10PM
Rob said...
This is so true! I found out the hard way how much these original iPhones are goin' for when for a couple of weeks last month I tried bidding for 16GB models on eBay.
NOT ONE of the iPhones I bid on ultimately sold for less that $550. Not one. Some were WAY more. It was insane!
I finally gave up. It just wasn't worth 600 bucks for a first-gen iPhone to me.
I am now the proud owner of a 16GB iPod Touch, and lovin' every minute of it! ;-)
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9-03-2008 @ 8:30PM
Derelict said...
So, mine has a cracked screen, which Apple charges 250 bucks to fix. R you all telling me its worth fixing, then selling?
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9-03-2008 @ 9:20PM
Byran Newell said...
I wonder how much I can get for my cracked, for-some-inexplicable-reason not working iPhone 1G.
The prices are a little ridiculous though- it seems that people want them because they're unlocked, but I just bought a 16GB unlocked iPhone 3G off of eBay from Singapore for just a few hundred more than the 1G. If people would only think... well, damn- a lot of things'd be different, huh?
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9-03-2008 @ 9:53PM
Curtis said...
Is it still possible to get one, and make it a prepaid contract? And do it that way, like a long time ago when they first came out. (1 gen)
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9-03-2008 @ 10:04PM
tim said...
I just sold my 1st gen 4GB for $280 to a local. It had a cracked screen and was a little battered. The touchscreen worked fine. I am now the proud owner of a 16GB iPhone 3G!
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9-03-2008 @ 10:06PM
emil said...
http://www.tuaw.com/2008/06/09/whither-the-1-0-iphone-resale/
:)
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9-04-2008 @ 4:00AM
Jim Danner said...
While you're reading that post, check out my calculation in the comments section: http://www.tuaw.com/2008/06/09/whither-the-1-0-iphone-resale/4#c12585892
The $500 estimate was pretty good, I think...
9-03-2008 @ 10:56PM
Matt said...
Amazing. Its incredible I was lucky enough to buy an 8 gig iPhone off eBay for $300 flat.
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9-03-2008 @ 11:45PM
adam said...
Yup... my unlocked 4GB just sold at auction today for $375+ shipping... to Poland. (and from someone who actually had positive feedback, hurray!)
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9-04-2008 @ 12:26AM
Andrew said...
TUAW: "A majority of phones are heading outside the US for resale..."
According to this report (from April) there are over 250,000 iPhones in use in Russia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSKb8qaFKn8
And according to this one, Apple considers Russia a part of Europe and so the unlocked price will probably be around $900...so demand for 1G iPhones will probably remain high and thus the prices for them will remain high.
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9-04-2008 @ 12:30AM
Andrew said...
Forgot to add the second report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzVrL-pxK6E&NR;=1
9-04-2008 @ 3:02AM
Derek said...
also, the first gen is still better than the 3G
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