This iPod held its value better than other models

Earlier this month Apple announced it was no longer producing the iPod touch, effectively ending a long and glorious chapter for one of the most popular products in company history, the iPod. Available in several variants for over twenty years, the iPod was Apple’s effort to improve the quality and capabilities of the best-selling MP3 players of the time.

Apple would do the same with smartphones less than six years after it first released the iPod. When Apple announced the end of the iPod touch this month, the company said the device, which resembles an iPhone but lacks telephony capabilities, will be on sale until supplies are completely exhausted. Almost immediately, the online Apple Store sold out of all versions of the seventh-generation iPod touch with the largest amount of available storage (256 GB) and the PRODUCT (RED) unit with 128 GB of storage.

Those who buy Apple iPod models are trying to capture nostalgic feelings

As those bitten by the nostalgia bug turn to the online Apple Store, eBay, Amazon and other retailers in search of an iPod or an iPod touch, a report from Sales cell (through 9to5Mac) notes that the average iPod has fallen in value by 89% since launch.

Chart showing valuation lost by iPod models due to depreciation

The most valuable iPod model right now is one that we said sold out of the online Apple Store. That would be the seventh-generation iPod touch with 256GB of storage (the largest amount of storage available), which SellCell says can sell in good condition for as much as $100. The 128GB variant of the seventh-generation iPod touch can are sold for $60, also in good condition. The original 2019 launch price for the seventh-generation iPod touch was $399.99 for the 256GB version and $299 for the 128GB storage model.

iPod Model Pricing After Depreciation - This iPod held its value better than other models

Prices of iPod models after depreciation

The iPod model that has stood the test of writing best is the seventh-generation iPod touch with 32GB of storage. That device can still run you $57, resulting in a 71.4% depreciation rate. And surprisingly, the iPod Nano 7th Generation 16 GB has seen a 13.4% increase in value since Apple’s announcement earlier this month. SellCell says if you need the extra few bucks you can get by selling your iPod device now, put it up for sale.

Are you selling or keeping your depreciated iPod to give to your kids?

But if you’re planning on keeping your iPod as a second device, or because you’re planning on giving it to one of your kids, the depreciation is slow enough to allow you to hold onto the device for a while before you it sell it. And there could be a small increase in resale value in the coming weeks. Not a huge amount, mind you, but maybe just enough to make you think you did the right thing by waiting.

Any device you buy starts to lose value as soon as you take it home and open the box. When you buy a car, the depreciation starts the moment you drive the vehicle off the dealer’s lot. But with smartphones, while the basics apply, some models are a better value than others because of things like the rarity of the model, the condition of the specific device being sold, and how many months of support are left.

And while it may seem hard to imagine now, there will come a time when even today’s flagship smartphone models, including those from Apple and Samsung, will find themselves in the same position as the iPod; technologically behind the times and valued at a small percentage of the original launch price.