Added to the list of obsolete Apple products to be sold for a baffling amount of money is a first-generation iPod, originally received as a Christmas gift in 2001 by a teenager in Plano, TX, and never opened. It has been sold for a remarkable $29,000 ($39,000 CAD) on the Rally collectibles investing platform, Barrons reports.
The iPod, originally purchased for $399 ($537 CAD) plus tax, was part of a limited liability corporation (LLC) established by Rally in 2021, two decades after its initial gifting.
The LLC, with the iPod as its sole asset, was featured on Rally's platform, offering 5,000 shares at $5 each to 360 investors. The transaction drew the attention of a private collector in late July, who acquired all the available shares for $29,000.
The iPod's owner initially stored the device in all its original packaging on a closet shelf, and rediscovered it when cleaning out his childhood home after his father's passing.
"He wasn't sure what he wanted to do with it," said Rally co-founder Rob Petrozzo. "So he put it on a shelf and then, inevitably time passes."
Apple-related items have gained substantial interest in recent years, primarily from those with ties to Apple's history. A factory-sealed 2007 4G iPhone recently fetched a record-breaking $190,373 ($256,513 CAD) at LCG Auctions in Louisiana, and RR Auction in Boston currently hosts an auction featuring Apple computer gear and related items, including an operational Apple-1 Computer signed by Steve Wozniak, estimated to exceed $200,000.
The iPod, originally purchased for $399 ($537 CAD) plus tax, was part of a limited liability corporation (LLC) established by Rally in 2021, two decades after its initial gifting.
The LLC, with the iPod as its sole asset, was featured on Rally's platform, offering 5,000 shares at $5 each to 360 investors. The transaction drew the attention of a private collector in late July, who acquired all the available shares for $29,000.
The iPod's owner initially stored the device in all its original packaging on a closet shelf, and rediscovered it when cleaning out his childhood home after his father's passing.
"He wasn't sure what he wanted to do with it," said Rally co-founder Rob Petrozzo. "So he put it on a shelf and then, inevitably time passes."
Apple-related items have gained substantial interest in recent years, primarily from those with ties to Apple's history. A factory-sealed 2007 4G iPhone recently fetched a record-breaking $190,373 ($256,513 CAD) at LCG Auctions in Louisiana, and RR Auction in Boston currently hosts an auction featuring Apple computer gear and related items, including an operational Apple-1 Computer signed by Steve Wozniak, estimated to exceed $200,000.