The Price of the First iPhone Increases 100 Times! How come?

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Don’t rush to sell unused cellphones. Maybe you’ll make big money if you sell it in a few years.

At least that’s what happened to sales of the first generation iPhone. Sold 16 years later after its 2007 debut, it sells for over 100 times its original price.

The first iPhone was sold at the LCG auction. It was stated that the price reached US$ 63,356.40 (Rp. 961.7 million), whereas when it was sold in 2007 it was US$ 599 (Rp. 9 million), quoted from Insider, Tuesday (21/2/2023).

What’s more, this cellphone has never been used. The iPhone was still sealed when it was auctioned.

The first auto-rich iPhone seller

Karen Green, a tattoo artist in New Jersey and owner of the cellphone, explained getting an iPhone as a gift. The phone was never unlocked due to an unavailable Verizon subscription for the phone.

For years Green actually wanted to sell it. But still not done until contacting LGC Auctions last October.

At that time, he learned that other first-generation iPhones were selling for US$40,000 (Rp. 697 million). To Insider, Green said he needed money for his cosmetic tattoo studio.

The cellphone is expected to sell for at least US$50 thousand (Rp. 758.9 million). But the auction, which opened from US$2,500 (Rp. 37.9 million) ended at more than US$60 thousand (Rp. 910.7 million).

The first-generation iPhone was announced by Apple boss at the time, the late Steve Jobs, at the Macworld conference in January 2007. He called the phone a ‘revolutionary’.

Apple’s first mobile phone is very different from the latest iPhone output today. Storage is 4GB and 8GB, the camera is 2MP, and the screen is 3.5 inches.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]