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Money

Check your garage! 10 vintage tech gadgets worth a ton of money

Do you have any old coins in the family? They could go for some big bucks. You can at least find out what they’re worth if they have sentimental value. Tap or click here for a site that helps you identify, buy, sell and estimate the value of your coins.

Now’s the time to search your closet, basement, garage and attic. Look through those unpacked boxes from your last move or the ones you put in storage when your kids moved out.

What are you looking for? Old devices that are worth a fortune nowadays. Everything from phones to video game consoles can bring in some big bucks. Here is a list of items that can fetch big money.

Nostalgia can be a valuable thing

While any old object can bring back memories, the feeling is stronger when it’s something we have a strong connection with. When you lump sentimental longing with rarity, you have something special on your hands. And by special, we mean expensive.

Remember Guitar Hero? If you have any old guitars or accessories lying around, you could be sitting on a pile of cash. Tap or click here for the most valuable Guitar Hero and Rock Band gear.

SimpleGhar analyzed the selling prices of old electronics, like discontinued iPhones and gaming consoles, to find the highest prices today.

The data was collected in June 2022, and the final list consisted of 159 devices. Here are the top five items by price:

  1. Lawson’s Ticket Station J-League Nintendo 64 — $64,646.
  2. Zelda Minish Cap Game Boy Advance — $24,000.
  3. First-generation Apple iPod (sealed) — $20,000.
  4. Pokemon Charizard Game Boy Advance SP (sealed) — $15,008.
  5. First-generation iPhone (sealed) — $11,900.

You’ll notice that most of these items are sealed, which can make a huge difference. A first-generation iPhone is not rare, but one sealed and in the original box? That’s where you’ll see prices skyrocket.

Here’s what we found

As you may be aware, you can set the price for anything you sell on eBay. You can ask for $100,000 for your busted-up old high school calculator. It doesn’t mean anyone will buy it.

We scoured eBay for more high-ticket items but only looked at sold listings. Here’s a pro tip for you when looking to buy or sell something. After getting eBay search results, go to Filter and scroll down to Sold Items. Check off the box if you’re on a computer, or tap the slider if you’re using the eBay app.

Now you’ll only see listings that actually sold to customers. This gives you a better idea of actual prices.

Here are five valuable sold devices and electronics we found on eBay:

  1. Sony WM-8 Walkman — $10,580.
  2. Apple Macintosh 128K — $7,499.
  3. Nintendo Entertainment System Action Set — $3,804.
  4. Clairtone 7980 boombox — $3,200.
  5. Super Mario Bros. 3 (sealed) — $2,550.

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