How a $75 mystery bag of old Apple gadgets could net $800 profit

A tech enthusiast has turned a $75 bargain into a potential $800 windfall. Hugh Jeffreys bought a mystery bag of 20 old Apple devices from Facebook Marketplace. The collection included iPhones, iPods, and iPads—some rare, some broken, but most still usable.

Jeffreys met the seller in a parking lot to collect the bag of gadgets. Inside, he found an iPhone XS, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 7, and an iPhone 4S running iOS 5. There were also three iPads, an iPod 5th-generation, and an iPod Touch 2nd-generation.

The seller had advertised the devices as 'unlocked and working', but not all lived up to the claim. Two iPads and an iPhone 7 Plus were locked, rendering them useless without the original owner's details. Most of the rest worked, though some needed minor repairs before resale. Among the haul, the classic iPods and the iPhone 4S stood out as potential collector's items. The unlocked iPhone XS alone could fetch around $100 on the second-hand market. After assessing the full collection, Jeffreys estimated its total value at roughly $800—more than ten times his initial outlay.

The purchase left Jeffreys with a profit of over $700 once repairs and resales are complete. While a few devices proved unusable, the majority offered working parts or collectible appeal. The deal highlights how older tech can still hold surprising value for the right buyers.