A woman received a factory-sealed, first-generation iPhone as a present in 2007, but she never opened it because she didn't want to let go of her other phone. Years later, the phone was sold at auction for a staggering $63,356.40 — more than 100 times its original price.
Once the Sunday auction ended, the owner consigned the 2007 phone, which was still sealed in its box.
The phone,sold on LCG Auctions on February 2, received bids from a total of 27 people. Even though it was anticipated to fetch $50,000, it easily crossed the $63,000 mark.
The first-ever iPhone was released in June 2007.
According to USA Today, Karen Green,a cosmetic tattoo artist in New Jersey, the phone's initial owner, had it valued in 2019. It was valued at $5,000 because it was an 8GB, not a 4GB, and it was in the original packaging.
When the phone was released in 2007, Green received it as a present that summer when she was hired as a manager at PetSmart, according to Business Insider.
At the time, according to the Insider report, Green already had three phone lines with Verizon, and iPhones only used AT&T. She "kept the phone on a shelf for years, unopened and unused, wrapped in a pair of felt pyjamas for extra precaution, in order to avoid a costly termination fee."
"I didn't want to get rid of my new phone," Green said in a 2019 appearance on "Doctor & The Diva."
Over the years, Green thought about selling the iPhone, but she kept it until she got in touch with LCG Auctions in October after finding out that another first-generation iPhone from 2007 went for about $40,000. She told Insider that she needed the cash for her cosmetic tattoo business.
Apple first charged $599 for the first iPhone more than 15 years ago. According to LCG Auctions, the device was initially offered with 4GB or 8GB of storage, a 2-megapixel camera, and a 3.5-inch screen.
In January 2007, during Steve Jobs' tenure as CEO of Apple, he referred to the phone as "revolutionary" when he first unveiled it at the Macworld convention.
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