Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells For Almost $40,000 At Auction

Older smartphones aren’t usually worth much more than their base components, but one mint-in-box iPhone has earned its owner a generous payday at auction. An unopened and factory-sealed version of the first iPhone model from 2007 sold for $39,339.60 according to LCG Auctions, making the original purchase of $600 (roughly $860 when adjusted for inflation) pay off handsomely.

According to Gizmodo, bids on the phone only really began pouring in during the final days of the listing and jumped from just over $10,000 to almost $40,000 by the time the auction closed. The factory-sealed condition had been inspected by LCG Auctions, with the company noting that the box had the “correct seam details and tightness” on the plastic wrapping.

“This factory sealed, first-release example is in exceptional condition,” the listing read. “Virtually flawless along the surface and edges, the factory seal is clean with correct seam details and tightness. Labels on the reverse are correctly pristine beneath the seal. All original–no aftermarket stickers or UPC labels on this one. Brand-new, never activated.”

The original iPhone was a revolutionary device when it first hit the market, and helped usher in a new age of smartphones with its buttonless design, a whopping 4GB of internal storage space at its entry-level configuration, and a number of handy apps. These days, the top-tier line of iPhone Pro smartphones field even more advanced technology and bleeding-edge specs. The iPhone 14 range has up to 1TB of internal storage, advanced camera sensors, and sharp displays.

It’s unclear how much a factory-sealed version of an iPhone 14 Pro Max will go for 15 years from now, but at $1,100 for that particular phone, it’s a pricy investment.