Searches For iPod Spike On eBay After Discontinuation

The discontinuation of a popular music playing device by a tech giant has led to sales of used players seeing increasing attention.

What Happened: Technology giant Apple Inc AAPL announced recently it was discontinuing the iPod music player device.

Launched in 2001, the iPod was an important device in Apple history that helped diversify itself from computers into personal devices. Years later, Apple would introduce the iPhone, a popular mobile device, that is now part of the reason why iPods are less used to play music.

“If we didn’t do the iPod, the iPhone wouldn’t have come out,” Former Apple Senior Vice President Tony Fadell said. “The iPod brought us confidence. It brought Steve [Jobs] confidence we could do something outside of the map and that we could actually continue to innovate in new areas.

The news of iPods being discontinued has led to an increase in searches for used and new iPods on auction site eBay Inc EBAY. Searches for iPods were up 372% in the thee days after Apple made the announcement.

Searches for the iPod Touch First Generation saw a 420% increase in the first three days after the announcement from Apple.

Searches for the iPod First and Second Generation were up 290% and 270% respectively after the announcement.

While older models of the iPod saw the biggest increase in searches, the iPod Seventh Generation also saw a 255% increase in May versus the previous month on eBay.

Related Link: How To Own A Sealed Apple iPod And How Much Is It Worth 

What’s Next: Along with increased searches for the Apple iPod, searches on eBay increased for Apple computers as well, which could be a foreshadowing of older models getting discontinued and being sought after by tech fans and collectors. Searches for Apple computers were up 240% in the three days after Apple’s iPod announcement.

eBay is auctioning off a rare Apple 1 computer in an auction that runs June 2 through June 12. The computer in question is one of only 80 originals in existence and is restored. The computer also features an autograph of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

An expert analysis estimates the auction could see the Apple 1 computer go for over $500,000. The bid on the auction at the time of writing is $100,201.

Fractional investing site Rally offers investments in both iPods and the Apple 1 computer.

Rally has a sealed iPod First Generation from 2001 that is valued at $41,500. The iPod was one of 25,000 First Editions sold and one of a limited number that are still sealed and include original materials.

An Apple 1 computer also signed by Wozniak is valued at $429,000 on Rally, a figure that could rise depending on the final price of the eBay auction.

Other Apple assets on Rally include a 1983 Macintosh Plus signed by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, a 2009 Apple iPad prototype, a signed magazine by Jobs, and a jacket worn by Jobs and featured in a famous photo giving the middle finger to International Business Machines IBM.