The discontinuation of the Apple iPod in 2022 marked the end of an era, closing out two decades of the company’s market dominance in the portable media industry, but does that mean that resale values for the vintage products will go up or down? It’s unclear, though data might provide a guess at where the market is trending. The last iPod to be released by Apple was the seventh-generation iPod touch, which was last refreshed in 2019. It was still sold on Apple’s website through May 2022, albeit without a homepage on the site, showing serious neglect even before it was finally discontinued. However, when the company announced it would only be sold while supplies last, the remaining stock quickly sold out.
The iPod came a long way from the first iteration in 2001 to the final iPod touch to be sold, so users looking for an old iPod in their drawer might be surprised by what they find. The first-ever iPod was a thick and clunky music player that only featured about five gigabytes of storage. Although it is large by modern standards, the iPod was revolutionary compared to its competing portable cassette and compact disc players. It used a spinning hard drive that’s similar to the one that can be found in computers, and required FireWire for syncing and charging. This is a far cry from the thin and elegant devices that Apple is now known for. Over the years, the company continued to use flash storage to make devices smaller and sleeker, so there are a variety of different iPods that were sold in its two-decade run.
It’s reasonable to expect for resale prices to climb for older iPods, since there is no way to purchase new ones following Apple’s discontinuation of the lineup. However, a report from SellCell shows that might not be the case. On average, iPods have depreciated a whopping 89 percent since their original release date, according to the report. Prices vary depending on the device, release date, and storage configuration — but all show a bleak outlook for the iPod resale market. The report states that the iPod with the most resale value is the seventh-generation iPod touch, which is the most recent of the devices, holding an average value of $100 on the resale market. This is slightly misleading, though, as it represents the one of the largest storage configurations available for purchase. The majority of seventh-generation iPod touches available on the market will be less than 256 gigabytes, which correspond to less value.
Outrageous Resale Values Are Anomalies
Though there are listings on resale sites with extremely high asking prices, they are the anomaly, and few have been successfully sold for these prices to date. There will be a demand for vintage iPods that are rare and in good condition, but the average old iPod found in a drawer won’t be worth much. One listing on eBay is asking $100,000 for a collection of limited-edition iPods in working order, and although it has 141 people currently watching the items, it hasn’t sold yet. The item page lists that the included iPods are from Apple’s series of devices that featured successful artists. Included in the package are the Billie Holiday iPod, Jimi Hendrix iPod, Bob Marley iPod, and the John Lennon iPod. These were all limited-edition devices with all of the original packaging in good condition, hence the asking price, but it still hasn’t sold.
So, should you sell that old iPod sitting in a junk drawer somewhere? The resale market isn’t likely to jolt anytime soon — values increased just three percent since the discontinuation, per the report — so the answer might be no. Many people have an emotional attachment to their iPods, since a few generations grew up with the devices or moved through pivotal life moments with an iPod. There is a sense of nostalgia associated with the product, perhaps more-so than with any other Apple devices. For that reason, it might be better to hold onto an old iPod rather than sell it for a few bucks.
