The history of technology is littered with discontinued products that failed to enter the mainstream — from unsupported home entertainment platforms to computing systems that were beyond their time. Despite ending up in discount bins at the time of release, these gadgets can now command top dollar on eBay and the like. This infographic looks at 12 dead and largely forgotten tech products that regularly sell for hundreds of dollars online.
The infographic below comes from credit card company TotallyMoney. As you can see below, some technologies that famously crashed and burned have since appreciated in price thanks to the collector’s market. The fact they failed to sell in huge numbers has made them rare and for some people, that’s more than enough reason to want one. If you have an old Betamax player, Sega Saturn or Mini Disc player collecting dust in your cupboard, you may want to get it properly appraised.
Just be aware that included accessories, packaging and overall condition will play a big role in determining what collectors are willing to spend. Good luck!
[Via TotallyMoney]
Comments
11 responses to “How Much Are Your Old, Failed Gadgets Worth? [Infographic]”
When Microsoft EOL’d the ZuneHD, prices almost doubled overnight. A few years later, you can’t get a new one at all but they still command a decent price second-hand. For my money it is still the best music player of all time.
prices seem a bit off. and by a bit, i mean a lot.
Nah man, I’m sure my mini-disc is worth $1,000
Wait, MiniDisc players are worth over a grand? Yet when I worked at the Salvo’s we had a couple & no one wanted to pay $10 for them with discs & they even worked. Wish I had known their value at the time damn it.
They are selling on ebay for $50. So $1,000 is some sort of wolf-of-wall-street-pump-n-dump-ponzi-gold-fish-eating-red-herring
Sorry these are US prices and they don’t reflect the overall price on some items. Laserdisc plays in Australia a rare but they don’t demand a $900 price. Some manufactures special items may, e.g. the Pioneer Elite LD play may, but everything else, no one wants.
no way you would get $1000 for a Sega Saturn here in Aus, or the US for that matter.
another rebadged article by the sounds of things. exceeding expectations again Lifehacker “”AU””.
These prices are 100% bullshit and poorly researched. For instance, the Sega Saturn is from an ebay listing with 32 rare games which pushes the price WAY up. Actual Sega Saturns can be found for as little as 80 – 100 bucks, sometimes even less!
Where are they pulling these figures from? Even if the Sega Saturn and Game Gear were new and unopened you’d be hard pressed to sell them for the prices quoted.
No one wants a HD-DVD player either. $438 for something with no content to watch…
I assume they mean “failed” as in obsolete, not broken. No one would pay much for these things in non-working condition.