First-generation iPod sells for $29,000 – after being bought for $399 in 2001 and sitting on owner’s shelf for over two DECADES

A first-generation iPod that has been sitting on a shelf by its owner for more than two decades has sold for $29,000.

The Apple Relic was originally gifted by his parents to a teenager in Plano, Texas for Christmas in 2001 – shortly after the design was unveiled in October of that year.

The iPod, bought for $399 at an Apple Store in Plano, was then placed on a shelf in a closet, still in its original packaging, until it was recently rediscovered.

The sale was orchestrated by Rally, a platform that allows investors to buy and sell shares of collectible assets, including tech memorabilia.

Initially, the first-generation device was on the platform with 5,000 shares sold to 360 inventors for $5 per share. But last week, an unnamed private collector unexpectedly acquired all of the stock, securing exclusive ownership of the iPod for $29,000.

Apple co-creator Steve Jobs unveiled the first-generation device in 2001

The device’s original owner, who also has no name, said he was so shocked when he received the gift that he wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“So he put it on a shelf and then inevitably time passes,” Rob Petrozzo, co-founder of Rally told Penta.

The owner rediscovered the iPod when his father died and he started cleaning up the house where he grew up.

The music player was in the original Apple Store bag – and the original case it came in. “It really is a time capsule,” Petrozzo said.

The first-generation iPod originally retailed for a total value of about $20,000, Petrozzo said, but the price skyrocketed after selling a first-edition iPhone for a record $190,000 at auction last month.

The unopened 4 GB first edition model, described as “exceedingly rare,” was purchased for more than 300 times the $599 price it was listed for in 2007 at LCG Auctions in Louisiana.

“You’re very rarely going to get an iPod sale, but as these iPhone records started to get over the course of the last three months for sealed iPhones, that’s when we got a lot more activity and a lot more volume within these assets, which was driving (the value) back to just over US$20,000,” he said.

The unopened 4GB first edition model, described as “exceedingly rare,” was purchased in 2007 for more than 300 times its original price of $599

The two-decade-old iPhone was first released 16 years ago by then Apple CEO Steve Jobs

Collectors who flock to Apple products are interested not only in the company’s early history and innovation, but also in the larger-than-life character of founder Steve Jobs.

The American business magnate co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976 and revolutionized the world of technology before passing away in 2011.

“He’s someone people look up to and immortalize as a pioneer, a genius, as someone who really changed the way we think about hardware and software,” added Petrozzo.