First-generation, factory-sealed iPhone sells at auction for over 100 times original price

A factory-sealed first-generation iPhone from 2007 sold for $63,356.40 on Sunday at LCG Auctions, more than 100 times its original sales price of $599.

Even when the original price is adjusted for inflation to $860.10, the auction price is still 73 times more expensive than what a consumer would have paid for the product in 2007.

Another sealed first-generation iPhone sold at LCG Auctions for $39,339.60 in October 2022.

As opposed to later iterations, the original iPhone was only available on AT&T, only came in four and eight-gigabyte options, and only had a two-megapixel camera. By comparison, the iPhone 14 comes with 128, 256, or 512 gigabytes of storage and two 12-megapixel cameras.

This iPhone was initially appraised by an antiques collector on a 2019 episode of digitally streamed daytime talk show the “Doctor and the Diva”, where appraiser Lori Verderame estimated it was worth $5,000.

The owner, cosmetic tattoo artist Karen Green, had received the phone as a gift in 2007 but was not on an AT&T plan. The phone went unused, as Ms. Green held on to it, particularly after first-generation iPhones began attracting big prices at auction.

Ms. Green indicated she would have held on longer, if she weren’t in need of the money. The October iPhone auction made it clear she could get a lot of value out of the eight-gigabyte phone.

“If I could hold off on the phone for like another 10 years, I probably would. The only reason why I am selling that phone is because I need to support this business,” Ms. Green told Business Insider, referencing a new tattoo parlor she had opened.

LCG Auctions, meanwhile, had gotten a lot of calls about old iPhones, but most of them were duds.