Wertsteigerung: Was Sie heute sammeln sollten, um später daran zu verdienen

In 2023, a first-generation iPhone sold for $190,000 in its original packaging. When it debuted in 2007 in the United States, the device cost $499. The record-breaking phone was a rare version with only four gigabytes of storage, compared to the common eight-gigabyte version. A similarly preserved version of the phone reportedly fetched $63,656 at an auction.

Record prices have been achieved by various items, including technological gadgets, toys, collectible cards, and comics. People who purchased certain products decades ago, and stored them unopened, can now earn significant sums. What sets these items apart? Why would something once costing a few hundred euros now be worth thousands, or even millions?

How can modern everyday items potentially become collectors' items in the future? How do collector's markets form?

Jacco Scheper, who has been fascinated with collecting since childhood, is the managing director of the Heritage Auctions Europe, a subsidiary of the Heritage Auctions group. Five years ago, the company auctioned an unopened "Super Mario 64" game from Nintendo for $1.56 million. This price represents a remarkable 380-fold increase since the game's 1996 release, when it cost between $60 and $70 in Japan and the United States.

"Video games were not expensive at all back then," Scheper notes. "Everyone had one." With nearly twelve million units sold worldwide, "Super Mario 64" is one of Nintendo's bestsellers. So, why does a single copy of the game now command $1.56 million at auction? "The fact that the game is still sealed in its original cartridge makes a big difference," Scheper explains.

Unlike most buyers, the owner never opened the game after purchasing it 30 years ago. "Games in original packaging, and sealed, are very rare," he says. For collector's items such as an old iPhone, the absence of accessories is also crucial.