--- title: Your Old iPod Could Be Worth $20,000 description: 'Old Apple iPods have become surprisingly collectible: Many are worth thousands of dollars, even though they''re outdated--and not that old!' authors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Technology - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2016-05-12T14:57:47.000Z' modified: '2024-05-16T11:09:55.000Z' section: Technology tags: - Apple - collectibles - Odd Spending - pubdesk - vintage word_count: 335 canonical: https://money.com/vintage-ipods-value-ebay/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![A new iPod is seen on display at Apple's new iTunes Music Store May 8, 2003 inside the Apple Store in Emeryville, California.](https://img.money.com/2016/05/160512_em_ipod.jpg) The outdated tech collecting dust in your closet could very well be worth big bucks. Like rare [VHS tapes](https://money.com/vhs-tapes-valuable-collector/) and [old computers](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303618904579167683061946954), vintage iPods are now considered highly prized collectibles. What's surprising is that while Apple's MP3 players have undoubtedly been [enormously influential](http://techland.time.com/2011/10/21/the-ipod-turns-10-how-it-shaped-music-history/) in shaping the music industry, they're not that old. The first one hit the market in 2001—selling for a whopping $399, or [double the price](http://www.apple.com/ipod/compare-ipod-models/) of today's iPod Touch. Nonetheless, vintage iPods have joined baseball cards and Star Wars memorabilia on the list of nostalgic items that collectors will pay surprisingly large sums to buy. Yes, in today's speeded-up world, clunky tech devices that are only 12 or 15 years old can already get people feeling nostalgia, to the point that they'll fork over big money to feel like they're back in 2004 or whenever. The [*Guardian*](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/11/vintage-apple-products-ipod-collectors-item-ebay) recently scoured eBay for Apple collectibles, and found listings including: a factory-sealed third-generation iPod Shuffle for $1,000; a silver first-gen iPod mini for $2,500; a first-gen iPod for $10,000; and a never-opened second-gen iPod for $20,000. As you'd guess, the condition and rarity of the device can have a big influence on its value. It'll be worth more if you have the original packaging as well. Granted, the figures mentioned above are just asking prices, and they might not sell for that much. But it appears as if the collectability of Apple tech and paraphernalia is no passing fad. Heck, even just an [iPod brochure](http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Apple-Computer-1st-Generation-5gb-iPod-BROCHURE-Say-Hello-2001-CANADA-/371160683989?hash=item566ae695d5) circa 2011—with no device or electronica whatsoever—now has an asking price of $49.99. What's more, the idea that people will pay seemingly insane prices for certain old iPod models is not new. Back in late 2014, not long after [Apple discontinued the iPod Classic](https://time.com/3543541/apple-ipod-classic/), there were reports of sealed, first-generation iPods selling for $20,000—and one rare model [sold for $90,000](http://mashable.com/2014/12/10/u2-ipod-ebay/#gsy9iX78iiqC). And if you were wondering: Sure enough, old iPhones can also be quite valuable. Check out [this eBay listing](http://www.ebay.com/p/Apple-iPhone-1st-Generation-8GB-Black-AT-T-Smartphone/101829149) for a factory-sealed first-generation iPhone, with an asking price of $18,000. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/vintage-ipods-value-ebay/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Technology", "item": "https://money.com/technology/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Electronics", "item": "https://money.com/electronics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Your Old iPod Could Be Worth $20,000" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/vintage-ipods-value-ebay/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/vintage-ipods-value-ebay/", "name": "Your Old iPod Could Be Worth $20,000", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2016-05-12T14:57:47.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/vintage-ipods-value-ebay/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/vintage-ipods-value-ebay/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-05-16T11:09:55.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Your Old iPod Could Be Worth $20,000", "articleSection": "Technology", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/05/160512_em_ipod.jpg", "width": 2100, "height": 1395, "caption": "160512_EM_iPod" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brad Tuttle", "url": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/#author", "description": "Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals.\r\n\r\n", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/01/Brad-Tuttle.png?w=226&h=247&crop=1", "alumniOf": "Columbia University School of Journalism, MS", "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle", "https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2016-05-12T14:57:47.000Z", "description": "Old Apple iPods have become surprisingly collectible: Many are worth thousands of dollars, even though they're outdated--and not that old!", "abstract": "Old Apple iPods have become surprisingly collectible: Many are worth thousands of dollars, even though they're outdated--and not that old!", "@id": "https://money.com/vintage-ipods-value-ebay/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-05-16T11:09:55.000Z", "wordCount": 335, "keywords": [ "Apple", "collectibles", "Odd Spending", "pubdesk", "vintage" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Technology", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Electronics", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics" ] } ] } ] } ```