A first-generation unopened iPod that has hit the auction block multiple times has been sold for the record price of $29,000. The original iPod debuted in 2001 for $399.
The unit in question was originally purchased at Willowbrook Mall Apple Store in Plano, Texas as a Christmas gift. However, the original recipient must have not been into music, as it was then left unopened on a shelf for more than a decade.
The iPod was first sold on eBay for $20,000 in 2014, then was sold for $25,000 at an RR auction sale in 2018. Since then, it’s been through eBay sales multiple times and after then was part of a private collection. The iPod next ended up at Rally, a museum/trading hub located in Manhattan.
As reported by iDropNews:
In December 2021, Rally offered 5,000 shares of the iPod to investors at $5 each, placing the total value of the factory-sealed iPod at $25,000. This week, the firm made a buyout offer to those investors for $29,000, representing a 16% return since the initial offering and a 26.1% return since the last time shares in the device were traded. Shareholders had to vote on whether or not to accept the deal, with over 60% accepting the terms, thereby setting a new record on the price for an original iPod.
While $29,000 is a record amount paid for an unopened OG iPod, it isn’t the highest price ever paid for a vintage iPod. A rare limited-edition 2004 U2 iPod went up on eBay in 2016, where it sold for $90,000.
A factory-sealed original iPhone was sold in a more traditional auction for just over $39,000 more regular auction in October 2022.