Are 1990's cell phones really 'collector items' and why?

[John Galt III]

I have had an old Nokia Sprint cell phone from 1998 for sale online for a year, and suddenly am getting responses to my ad. No responses at all until a month ago.

Is there a nostalgia craze just starting? Is there something cool you can do with an old cell phone you can't do with new cell phones? Like not be tracked?

What would someone do who bought my phone? Just turn it on and play whatever games it has? Make electronic notes? He can't use it to make phone calls, right?

Just curious. Thanks.

 

[MC Rider]

I can't do much with my old 3G phone. Really I don't use it at all.
If I could get actual money for it, I would sell it. Cheap.

 

[Aerides]

There is a thing out there with some people wanting non-smart phones, so maybe that's it.

 

[Car-Guy]

There has got to be tens of millions of them still floating around/available. I'm sure I have a few in my old electronics box(es)

 

[braumeister]

Consider raising your asking price immediately. Those things are nearly as valuable as Beanie Babies.

 

[MC Rider]

I gave my last one to an E waste collection day. The battery was swelling.

 

[disneysteve]

There is always a thriving market for old tech. Check sold comps on ebay to see what they're going for.

 

[Tetto]

I have my old Motorola StarTac flip phone, I hear those are fetching some $$$

 

[Car-Guy]

I have my old Motorola StarTac flip phone, I hear those are fetching some $$$

The cheapest I could find on Amazon "today" was $14.99. Many were in the 30 to $50 range.

 

[Tetto]

The cheapest I could find on Amazon "today" was $14.99. Many were in the 30 to $50 range.

Wow, a quick google search saw $105 on EBay…I’ll keep it then! I have a whole drawer full of my old cell phones. It’s interesting to charge them up and look at the old photos I took on them!

 

[John Galt III]

It was my brother's phone. Now I am wondering if it has personal info on it that can be seen by the buyer. I can't get it to do anything. I plugged in the charger and it says to hit menu, then *. When I do that, nothing happens, except the screen says 'searching for connection' or similar.

 

[DayDreaming]

It was my brother's phone. Now I am wondering if it has personal info on it that can be seen by the buyer. I can't get it to do anything. I plugged in the charger and it says to hit menu, then *. When I do that, nothing happens, except the screen says 'searching for connection' or similar.

I would do a factory reset before selling the phone. I know that some phones let you do this by pressing some combinations of buttons when powering on, but I'm sure this varies by phone model.

 

[John Galt III]

DayDreaming, Thanks, I will research that.

 

[Lorenzo]

An analog phone from the early-mid 1990s would not be compatible with today's digital standards. A circa-1998 phone might just still work on some 2G networks.

 

[silvor]

Wow, a quick google search saw $105 on EBay…I’ll keep it then! I have a whole drawer full of my old cell phones. It’s interesting to charge them up and look at the old photos I took on them!

Is that asking or sold price though?

 

[davidfin]

I have had an old Nokia Sprint cell phone from 1998 for sale online for a year, and suddenly am getting responses to my ad. No responses at all until a month ago.

Is there a nostalgia craze just starting? Is there something cool you can do with an old cell phone you can't do with new cell phones? Like not be tracked?

What would someone do who bought my phone? Just turn it on and play whatever games it has? Make electronic notes? He can't use it to make phone calls, right?

Just curious. Thanks.

Sell it to a movie prop company. Maybe you’ll see it in a period piece.