Are You Sitting on a Retro Tech Fortune?

New research by TotallyMoney.com has found that some classic tech devices are fetching small fortunes on online auction sites. Could your old tech devices actually be earning you money? The pace at which technology moves today means we’re constantly piling up old devices like phones and games consoles in cupboards, garages and attics. But a new trend for retro chic means that some of the older machines lying at the bottom of those piles are coming back into fashion. Just like how vinyl records have found their way out of the dustbin of history and into a very lucrative collectors market, old consoles, computers, cameras and more are now fetching high prices online. In some cases, they’re even achieving prices that dwarf their 2016 equivalents. For example:

• A Polaroid 195 camera dating from 1974 has reached a high price of £790 on eBay, with an average price of £613. You can pick up the modern equivalent Fujifilm Instax Wide for just £99.
• A JVC VHS recorder could bring in as much as £500 online, although the average is just £36. Today’s 3D Blu-ray players cost around £89 for a basic model.

Of course, as always, certain brands carry more retro appeal than others. Apple products hold their value particularly well.

• An original Macintosh 128k has sold for a staggering £1795 on eBay, with the average price a £407. Today a 21.5 inch Mac will set you back around £1049

TotallyMoney.com’s research has been turned into a fun online game and infographic where you can guess how much a selection of vintage tech products might set you back - if you wanted to buy them today. To play online and find out more about what a retro Sony Walkman, vintage 1970s telephone and classic Casio calculator watch might cost online, visit: https://www.totallymoney.com/retro-tech/ There is also an infographic highlighting all the costs which you can find here: https://www.totallymoney.com/retro-tech/infographic/ You might be surprised just how big the market is for retro tech. And you might also discover that some of the junk in your garage was well worth hanging on to. “It’s surprising how valuable technology from the last 10 years can be now,’ says Joe Gardiner from TotallyMoney.com, ‘We tend to think of retro technology as worthless, but there is a whole niche where people want to remember and restore these items.”