6 of the most valuable vintage tech products available for purchase today

[ad_1]

steve jobs original iphone

  • Some old tech products have gone on to become valuable collector’s items.
  • Products like an original iPhone and an exercise bike that played Nintendo games are now worth thousands of dollars.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Although a lot of old tech products wind up in the dustbin of history, a few of them go on to become valuable collector’s items.

And as it turns out, some of the old tech products in your attic might be able to fetch you a pretty penny.

We found six vintage tech products that are worth way more than their original asking price today, from the first Apple computer to a Nintendo-backed exercise bike you could play video games on.

Here are six of the most valuable vintage tech products today.

SEE ALSO: The first jobs of 14 of the biggest tech executives

DON’T MISS: The Walkman just turned 40 — here’s how listening to music has changed over the years

Texas Instruments Speak & Spell: $50 to $100

A product of the 1970s, and reimagined as “Mr. Spell” in Pixar’s Toy Story franchise, this child’s toy was designed to help children learn to spell. The toy featured an early voice synthesizer and would quiz children on the spelling of words.

According to TechRadar, Speak & Spells can fetch anywhere between $50 and $100 on eBay (depending on its condition). While not a gold mine, it might be enough cash to give your family attic another once over for. 

Sony TPS-L2 Walkman: $300 to $700

We’re all pretty accustomed to streaming music directly to our phones, but not so long ago listening to music was a very different experience.

Before streaming there were MP3 players, and before those there were CD players, but even before that, there were cassette tapes.

Read more: The Walkman just turned 40 — here’s how listening to music has changed over the years

This Walkman was originally released in 1979 and, according to TechRadar, has seen a new surge in popularity thanks to their film depiction in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films. Money Inc writes that in recent years these Sony Walkmans have seen bids on eBay between $300 and $700.

Exertainment exercise bike and Nintendo games: $1,899 to $2,683

Before there were AR and VR video games, developers tried low-tech approaches to create an immersive experience for players.

In the early 1990s, Life Fitness debuted its Exertainment exercise bike through a partnership with Nintendo. Gamers could play two games specially made for the exercise equipment: “Mountain Bike Rally” and “Speed Racer.”

Today, the equipment and copies of the games are nearly impossible to find. According to Kotaku, Nintendo collectors have paid nearly $2,700 for the collection. And as of this writing, an eBay seller is seeking $7,500 for a model.

Original iPhone: $15,000

A revolutionary of its time, the original iPhone was released in 2007 and has since had more than ten generations. To get your hands on the phone that started it all, Popular Mechanics reported that $15,000 can buy you a mint-condition iPhone still in its factory sealed box on eBay.

Xerox Alto: $30,000

Yes, the scanner company. But no, not a scanner.

The Xerox Alto computer was released in 1973, and while it was never commercially produced (it was sold instead primarily to universities), its innovative mouse-driven user interface system would eventually inspire the classic desktop-style interface introduced on Apple’s Macintosh in 1984.

According to Popular Mechanics, a non-functional Xerox Alto was sold on eBay in 2010 for $30,000.

Apple I: $43,000

Years before the first Macintosh computer revolutionized the personal computing space, Apple released its first desktop computer, called the Apple I, in 1976. According to Mashable, the fledgling company only made 200 Apple I units and sold them for $666.66 each. Turbo Future reported that an Apple I was sold in 2013 for a staggering $390,000, but that the highest successful eBay bids on other units have been around $43,000.



[ad_2]