- nypost.com
VIVA – A first-generation iPhone still in its factory-sealed box was officially sold at auction for US$63,356.40 or IDR 950 million. The unsealed 8GB iPhone was originally expected to fetch at least US$50,000 or Rp750 million, but surprisingly resulting in much more.
According to the New York Post, the Apple relic sold for more than 100 times its original price, which was US$599 in 2007 after 27 people bid online through LCG auctions.
Bidding started at US$2,500 or IDR 37 million and the auction began on February 2, 2023. Back in 2007, the first release of the smartphone featured an innovative touchscreen, web browser, and two-megapixel camera.
Iphone generasi pertama
- nypost.com
The iPhone seller, Karen Green, said she got the phone as a gift from friends for starting a new job in 2007. But at the time Green already had a new smartphone and didn't want to switch wireless carriers to activate the iPhone.
That first iPhone sat unopened on her shelf for 12 years until she appraised it on the daytime TV show "The Doctor & The Diva" in 2019.
"I didn't want to get rid of my phone, and I thought, 'This is an iPhone, so it will never go out of style,'" she said during the show's "Treasure Hunt" segment. The show's resident appraiser valued it at $5,000 at the time.
But in October, Green noticed that an unopened first-release iPhone sold for $39,339 in a previous auction held by LCG. He told LCG that after keeping the phone for years, he decided it was time to sell it to support his new business venture, a cosmetic tattoo studio in New Jersey.
"If I could put the phone on hold for another 10 years, I probably would. The only reason I sold the phone was that I needed the money to support the business." Green explained.
The phone was purchased by a private buyer or individual whose name has not been exposed.
