By Shiona McCallum
Technology reporter
Usually iPhones plummet in value as soon as you take them out of the shop.
But there are some special cases, as seen at an auction in the US, where a first edition, unopened 4GB model sold for $190,372.80 (£145,416).
Not many of these were made at the time, leading the model to be considered the “Holy Grail” by iPhone collectors.
The lot, run by LCG Auctions, attracted 28 bids in total and sold at nearly 400 times its original price.
The final fee includes the administration costs on top of the hammer price paid to the auction house by the buyer, known as a “buyer’s premium”.
The buyer’s premium goes directly to the auction house and not to the seller.
LCG Auctions described it as “a popular high-end” and “red-hot collectable”, adding that two other factory-sealed, first edition iPhones had sold at record values in the last year.
The website described the model as an “exceedingly rare, factory sealed, first-release 4GB model in exceptional condition. Virtually flawless along the surface and edges, the factory seal is clean with correct seam details and tightness”.
Originally retailing at $599 (£457), the lot was expected to fetch in the region of $50,000-$100,000 – but managed to smash all previous records.
First released in 2007 by the then Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the tech giant made the decision to discontinue the 4GB model just two months after it was launched, due to lagging sales.
Most people decided to purchase the 8GB model, which was launched at the same time, and gave users double the storage space, for just $100 more.
Every few months, some rare Apple memorabilia or relics of Mr Jobs’ life and career sells at auction.
They include a poem he wrote in a classmate’s high school yearbook, photos of him in college and a business card from 1978.
In 2011 the Apple co-founder died at the age of 56 after suffering from pancreatic cancer. Apple said he had been “the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives” and had made the world “immeasurably better”.
He introduced the colourful iMac computer, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad to the world.
