Well-known tech blogger Marcus Brownlee (MKBHD) bought a sealed, original 2007 iPhone at auction, spending almost $40,000 on it. To make sure it wasn’t a fake, the box was X-rayed and a serial number check confirmed that the smartphone had never been activated. As SuperCarBlondie says, inside the box, along with the phone, there was the original accessory kit: a charger, a docking station, and wired headphones. It didn’t turn on right away because of the deep discharge from being stored for so long, but it worked fine after I recharged it. Brownlee admitted that right after he broke the seals, the device’s market value dropped a lot, but he “has almost no regrets” about the expense because he got to experience unboxing the legendary device, which is pretty unique.
Well-known tech blogger Marcus Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, dropped nearly $40,000 on a completely sealed original 2007 iPhone. It’s a rare collector’s item, but it’s pretty hard to find these days because of scammers and counterfeits, as SuperCarBlondie points out.
The enthusiast bought the smartphone at an auction. They X-rayed the box to check the contents, and a serial number check revealed that the device had never been activated or registered.
Even though the packaging was a little damaged, everything inside looked perfect. In his unboxing video, the blogger showed his followers what a buyer of the original iPhone would have seen in 2007—the smartphone itself in a screen protector, a charger, a docking station, and wired headphones.
The phone had been sitting in the box for nearly 20 years, so it didn’t turn on at first, but it worked fine after charging.
It’s interesting to note that the value of the iPhone drops significantly right after unboxing because the factory packaging is what collectors care about most.
“This brand-new iPhone is now worth significantly less than what I paid for it, and that’s okay. I (almost) have no regrets,” the blogger said.
In the end, Brownlee ended up paying for more than just a rare gadget — he also paid for the unboxing experience. After all, opening the box was the main reason its market value dropped.