Last year we saw a drop in sealed original iPhone auction prices. But in July, a very rare 4GB model tripled the record as it sold for $190,000. Now what may be the first 4GB sealed original iPhones is up for auction in 2024. Can it challenge the $190,000 record?
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Some rare Apple items are up for grabs in a new auction starting this afternoon. Among the items are a very rare 20-year Apple employee award, an uncirculated original iPhone that’s not just sealed in the Apple packaging but also the cardboard shipping box from FedEx, a 4GB sealed original iPhone, and more.
Update 10/31: With this Apple auction now ended, here’s what the final sale prices ended up at.
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Earlier in the year we saw a rise and fall of sealed original iPhone auction prices. But then in July, a very rare 4GB model tripled the record going for a whopping $190,000. Now another one of the elusive 4GB sealed original iPhones is up for grabs – could it cross the $200,000 threshold?
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Following the record-breaking auction of a sealed 4GB original iPhone for almost $200,000, a new lot of rare Apple items is up for grabs. The latest auction includes Apple’s second check ever written which is signed by both Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, a working Apple-1, another sealed original iPhone, and more.
Update 8/25/23: The rare check quickly surpassed the $50,000 estimate and ended up going for a bid of $135,261. However, another document signed by Steve Jobs actually sold for more.
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Apple memorabilia has been selling for record prices this year. After a Steve Jobs signed check went for over $100,000, we saw a rare 4GB sealed original iPhone smash the previous record with an auction price of $190,000. Now another world record has been set with the sale of a sealed original iPod.
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At the end of June, another sealed original iPhone came up for auction. However, this time around, it was a very rare model, the 4GB version of the smartphone that was only produced for a couple of months. After starting the auction with an estimated value of up to $100,000, this iPhone has blown past the world record, selling for a whopping $190,373.
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After seeing a wave of sealed original iPhones go up for auction over the last few months, a new Apple memorabilia lot is up for grabs. Here are all the details on the Steve Jobs signed Apple Computer Company check from 1976, a Jobs NeXT business card, and more.
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The latest original sealed iPhone went up for auction earlier this month with the expectation of bringing in at least $50,000. With the auction now ended, the final price surpassed $50K and set a new record, almost doubling the price of one sold just six months ago.
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An original Apple Computer sign from ~1978 is up for grabs in a new auction. The famous six-color rainbow logo artwork comes in the original frame with the auctioneer calling the condition “very good.”
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Commerce company eBay announced today that it will soon retire several of its mobile apps including ones on iPhone and iPad. eBay’s primary iOS app will not be going anyway, however, and several of the discontinued apps will eventually see their features appear in the main eBay app.
In an effort to simply the shopping experience, eBay says it will be shutting down its Valet, Fashion, and Motors apps soon and later integrate their features into eBay’s primary app.
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If you like a little Steve Jobs memorabilia and want to contribute to a good cause, the Marin School has three Steve Jobs business cards up for auction, spanning 1984 to 1990, providing one each for NeXT, Apple and Pixar.
Bidding started at $600, and was up to $2,405 at the time of writing. The cards were collected by a family who used to do catering for the former Apple CEO, reports Business Insider.
The Marin School is a private school offering financial assistance to 18% of its students to allow access to students from all socio-economic backgrounds.
The recent biography Becoming Steve Jobs was backed by Apple, in contrast to Walter Isaacson’s earlier biography which was attacked by several Apple execs. Tim Cook, recently named by Fortune as “greatest leader,” spoke extensively about Jobs during an interview with the magazine.
Update 2/5: Auction just wrapped up at $3,250 just over the estimated value.
Former Beats Music CEO and current Apple employee Ian Rogers is participating in a charity fundraiser through the online auction site Charitybuzz. With the estimated value pegged at $3,000, the fundraiser has a starting bid of $600, and runs for two weeks starting today. The highest bidder will have the opportunity to meet the former Beats Music CEO in either Los Angeles (where Beats is headquartered) or Cupertino (near Apple’s campus) for a private lunch meeting.
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Update: The winning bid was £570 ($940).
If you’re in London and want to grab an iPhone 6 tomorrow morning without all that tedious queueing, the homeless charity Depaul UK can help. They’ve grabbed a space close to the front of the queue at the Regent Street store and are auctioning it off on eBay to raise funds for homeless, vulnerable and disadvantaged youngsters.
This auction is for one spot near the front of the queue outside the Apple Store on Regent Street, London for the launch of the iPhone 6 and a Depaul UK t-shirt.
This auction is for the physical space outside the Apple Store and a Depaul UK t-shirt, not the iPhone 6. Just turn up and take your place in the queue before the store opens to make your purchase.
The auction runs until 6am on Friday, with the store opening at 8am. At the time of writing, the high bid was £105.
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The idea of a former Canadian Apple Specialist auctioning his last business card might sound rather bizarre until you see his name.
The amusing card is being auctioned on eBay, with all proceeds going to the Children’s Wish Foundation, a charity whose mission is to fulfill the wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. The charity fulfills the wishes of more than a thousand children a year.
At the time of writing, the high bid was $4,850 with eight days to go. If you’re feeling well-off and generous, you can bid here. The winner will get the framed shirt, lanyard and card.
This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Update: The Auction is now closed with the winning bidder donating $330,001 to the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights
Going once, going twice, almost sold! Just two and a half weeks ago, Charitybuzz kicked off a campaign to raise money for the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights by offering the opportunity to have lunch with Apple CEO Tim Cook at the company’s campus in Cupertino. The auction’s goal is set at $100,000 – twice that of the previous year’s auction of coffee for two with Mr. Cook – and the clock is about to run out on this year’s chance to dine with the chief executive.
For perspective, last year’s auction for a similar prize (coffee with Cook) and the same charity far exceeded it’s goal of $50,000 raising an astounding $610,000 for the RFK group by the time it ended. This year’s charity auction for lunch with Tim Cook is an absolute bargain in comparison as the latest bid at the time of writing is sitting at only $180,000 with less than five hours before the closing bell…
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Famed former head of Apple’s iPod devision and current founder and CEO of Nest Tony Fadell was recently spotted showing off the Jony Ive-designed and auctioned Product (RED) Mac Pro and Gold EarPods.
It’s unclear whether Mr. Fadell was the buyer at either auction, but both photos suggest he is the owner of both one-of-a-kind treasures from the company he helped build strong in the early 2000’s.
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The Mac Pro sold at auction for $977,000 while the EarPods went for just under half a million dollars at $461,000.
Update 12/13/2013: A day and a half following the original tweets showing Tony Fadell photographed with the auctioned products, Mr. Fadell has clarified that he is not the owner of either.
[tweet https://twitter.com/tfadell/status/411508413428813824]
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The Charlie Rose Show has tweeted that Jony Ive and Marc Newson are interviewed on the show, which aired last night in some markets and is shown tonight in others.
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The two previously appeared in a five-minute video talking about the items they designed for tomorrow’s charity RED auction, which include special editions of the Mac Pro and Leica M camera, and an aluminum desk …
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF1ZzrKpnjg&start=60]
You may have already read Apple Senior VP Jony Ive and designer Marc Newson discussing their design pieces of the Sotheby’s Product(RED) auction, and now you can watch them go into more depth in the above video. The designers focus on pieces such as a brushed aluminum table and Ive touched upon the prototyping and manufacturing process that went into the Leica camera. Besides those items, the pair redesigned some Apple products such as a Red-colored next-generation Mac Pro. (Warning: Bono gets NSFW at the end).
As we’ve been covering, Jony Ive and Marc Newson have teamed with Sotheby’s to host an auction for Bono’s Product(RED) Charity. The auction, which takes place on November 23rd, is highlighted by several items hand picked by the two world-famous designers. The auction includes one-of-a-kind items such as gold-plated Apple EarPods, an aluminum unibody Leica camera, and a red next-generation Mac Pro.
In addition to the images and online catalog of the products, we thought it would be interested to provide a look at Sotheby’s hardcover version of the catalog. As you can see in the images above, the book has an intriguing front and back cover design that showcase cartoon-like representations of both Ive and Newson. Inside, the catalog provides an in-depth look at the items on auction.
You can see our full gallery of images of the catalog below, courtesy of 9to5 reader Chris:
Last month we reported that Apple’s Senior Vice President of Design Jony Ive had teamed up with designer & friend Marc Newson to create one of a kind pieces for Bono’s (Product) RED charity auction scheduled for November 23 at Sotheby’s New York. Those pieces included one-of-a-kind 18k sold rose gold Apple EarPods, and Steinway & Sons piano, and other unique items designed by the pair. Today we get a look at another beautifully designed product set to go up for auction next month.
In the gallery below we get a look at the gorgeous aluminum Leica M for (RED) designed by Ive and Newson that features “a laser machined aluminum body and an anodized aluminum outer shell.” The one of a kind camera took 85 days to create with the team going through 561 models and nearly 1000 prototype parts:
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eBay’s iPhone application has received a significant update that affects both the user-interface and some core features.
Notably, the application’s interface has been tweaked for simplicity and features an improved bidding process for soon-to-be-ending auctions, larger photo views, and the ability to checkout multiple items simultaneously in the United States and United Kingdom.
Perhaps the most interesting and handy feature, though, is the ability to quickly sign-up for an eBay account by scanning your Drivers License with the iPhone’s camera. eBay owns high-profile barcode scanning technology, so perhaps that is used to make that new feature a reality. The free update is available on iTunes.
eBay’s (separate) iPad app also got a notable update today: release notes below.
That auction for coffee with Tim Cook we showed you last month wrapped up today, and it looks like the Apple CEO severely underestimated his value.
Tim Cook and Charitybuzz hoped to raise $50,000 for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, but the final price for an hour long cup of coffee with Mr. Cook ultimately reached $610,000 just before bids closed today.
Apple CEO Tim Cook appears to be offering up his services to charity auction site Charitybuzz in hopes of raising an estimated $50,000 to support the The RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights. By services we mean the winning bidder will get the opportunity to have coffee with Apple’s top exec at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.
The auction listing notes that it was “Donated by: Tim Cook” and after opening earlier this morning currently has two bids of just over $5,000.
The estimated value for the auction is set at $50,000, and the winning bid will get two lucky individuals the chance to sit down with the CEO for 30min to 1 hour. However, bids don’t include travel or accommodations and Cook’s guests will also be “subject to security screening” before hand to weed out the crazies. (via @Ihnatko)
If you can’t afford Tim Cook, former U.S. President Bill Clinton is available for less than half the price (via).
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A few apps and updates hit the App Store today, unfortunately some are still reporting issues with apps not launching after updates. Let us know if you run into any issues in the comments.
eBay version 2.6.0: ebay’s main iPhone app received an update today alongside a small update to the eBay for iPad app. Unfortunately, eBay has now posted warning on at least the eBay for iPad release notes that some have reported the app is not working. As for the iPhone app, version 2.6.0 includes the following features and fixes:
• Improved selling flow
• Landscape support for easy typing of eBay item descriptions
• Faster bidding experience
• Check auto parts for compatibility before you buy
• Ability to search for items in My eBay
• Add and remove your Favorite Sellers
• Filter Feedback for buyers and sellers
• Payment support for Singapore and Malaysia
• More UI, stability and performance improvements
TED Books: TED, the people behind the TED conferences that are later made available online as TED Talks, released a free app today, which offers paid subscriptions to “Ted Books.” The books are produced every two weeks and “are typically under 20,000 words. They also consist of audio, video, and built-in social features. Subscriptions cost $15 for three months or $2.99 per book for non-subscribers.
InstaTalks: Recently released on the App Store, InstaTalks is a third-party messenger built for Instagram that allows you to exchange private messages and photos with Instagram users. There is no registration required (just an Instagram account), and the app is available for free now.
NBA Summer League: NBA Digital just dropped the official Summer League app, while the NBA Game Time app has also been updated with live video and scoring content for Summer League games.
