From the dormant Nokia holding your university boyfriend’s first text gathering dust in the attic to the camcorder you filmed family holidays on decades ago laying abandoned in the garage. We’ve all got sentimental clutter hidden in the cobwebs of our houses – but it could actually be worth thousands.
Research shows that a quarter of Brits struggle to clear out old junk because they have an emotional attachment to it.
But brave the mess and you might make a pretty penny from your clear-out, especially as old tech and retro toys could fetch eye-watering figures on platforms such as eBay.
A survey of 2,000 Brits, conducted by refurbished tech marketplace Back Market, found that 26 per cent still cannot bear to be parted from their favourite childhood teddy, 24 per cent have hung on to their child’s first pair of shoes and 11 per cent still have all their love letters from old flames.
However, while your child’s drawings and old fridge magnets likely won’t attract much attention on resale sites, old tech we’re holding onto could be a secret treasure trove.
Around 24 per cent have clung on to their first games console – which could go for upwards of £1,000 online – and 15 per cent still have an iPod worth hundreds, with all their favourite tunes on it.
‘We’re seeing a clear shift in how people think about their devices,’ said Joy Howard, Chief Marketing Officer at Back Market.
‘For years, tech was about having the newest thing. Now, it’s about whether it works for your life. People are starting to question why they’re replacing devices that still do everything they need.’
Here are the items we can’t bear to part with that could fetch thousands on eBay…
Old mobile phones
First generation iPhones, which came out in 2007, are also in high demand. Unopened ones go for £500 but used ones can still rack up a respectable £200
Meanwhile, an Orbitel Cityfone from the 1990s can also go for anywhere from £30 to £150 online
Leading the old tech Brits struggle to part with is mobile phones, many of which may contain photos and texts we’re wary of losing or leaving adrift in the cloud.
But everything from old brick phones to special iPhone editions can fetch a pretty penny on online marketplaces – so it’s worth a go if you can bear to part with your old SMS exchanges.
Of particular interest are Y2K-beloved Motorolas, which can start from £48 to a whopping £10,000 for a bulky old Motorola 8000X from the 80s.
Meanwhile, an Orbitel Cityfone from the 1990s can also go for anywhere from £30 to £150 online.
And Nokia N950s, which were all the rage in the 2000s, have even been known to sell for £5,000.
Equally as popular are Blackberry mobile phones, which range from £60 to £150 for well-kept models.
First generation iPhones, which came out in 2007, are also in high demand. Unopened ones go from £500, but used ones can still rack up a respectable £200.
Childhood teddies
Beanie Babies famously make a killing on online sites, with some – such as a special Princess Diana memorial teddy – racking up an eye watering £746,475. However, more reasonable listings have also seen them go for anywhere from £5 to £100
It can be tough to get rid of the cuddly toy that carried you through your childhood. But in some cases, it’s more prudent to let go than hold on – especially if you hold a special edition or collectible.
Beanie Babies famously make a killing on online sites, with some – such as a special Princess Diana memorial teddy – racking up an eye watering £746,475. However, more reasonable listings have also seen them go for anywhere from £5 to £100.
Other popular variants to look out for are the TY Kuku stuffed bird and the TY Wise Owl – which have each sold for upwards of £600. Other stuffed animals are popular because they contain production quirks – such as TY’s chameleon Beanie Baby, ‘Rainbow’. According to Cosmopolitan, this has fetched as much as £59,718 online – for versions that were made with the wrong, darker fabric.
Those who were lucky enough to get premium Steiff bears may also consider selling them, as they frequently sell for tens of thousands.
A Titanic mourning bear which was made to commemorate the tragic sinking of the ship in 1912 has fetched $136,000 (£100,000) at a Christie’s auction, while a Steiff x Louis Vuitton bear sold for $2.1million (£1.5million) at an auction in Monaco in 2000.
A model from the 1950s has been seen going for £1,395 on eBay, while newer and less vintage bears can still fetch £50 to £60.
What’s the most valuable old item you still have tucked away at home?
Old laptops
Some retro laptops can sell for huge amounts online, such as the Commodore C286-LT from 1990 which fetches upwards of £500
Many of us hold onto laptops out of fear of losing old documents and beloved memories. But some hidden treasures can earn thousands, especially with the growing appetite for ‘retro’ tech from the 1990s and 2000s.
For instance an Apple Macintosh PowerBook G3 WallStreet, which was first released in 1997, can be seen listed on eBay for £150 to £380.
It’s a similar price range for IBM ThinkPads from the early 1990s, which are considered a ‘rare’ find on places like eBay, or an early gaming Alienware laptop from Dell.
And going even further back, a Commodore C286-LT from 1990 could be worth upwards of £500.
But it’s not just the vintage – even newer laptops from 2018 (especially if they are refurbished) can go for between £160 and £670.
Old games consoles
Old games consoles can sell for thousands online, such as a Nintendo Game Boy that went for a staggering price of £1,562 online
Experts from Protect Your Bubble have scoured eBay listings to find the most valuable retro gaming consoles.
Topping the list is the NTSC Limited Holiday Edition Xbox Original, which was just £299 when it was first released in 2001.
If you were clever enough to hold on to yours for the last 25 years, it could now be 1,601 per cent more valuable – reaching £5,086 on eBay.
Following closely behind the Xbox Original is the Nintendo DS, the wildly popular handheld touch-screen device that was launched in 2004.
One of these highly sought-after consoles recently sold on eBay for a staggering £1,816.
Likewise, rare editions regularly fetch several hundred pounds at auction, with one Zelda Phantom Hourglass DS Lite selling for £991.
Sony’s PlayStation 1, meanwhile, came to Europe in 1995.
While the average top-end resale price in 2025 was around £217, the rare Net Yaroze Black and Matt Black editions go for significantly more, with one reaching £1,744.
The successor to the PlayStation 1, the extremely popular PlayStation 2, is also worth a pretty penny.
Released in 2000 with an RRP of £299, one of these now-rare consoles sold for £1,653.
Rounding out the top five most valuable consoles is the Nintendo Game Boy, which went for a staggering price of £1,562.
If you do happen to have any of these rare editions, holding onto your old consoles might have been a great financial move.
Protect Your Bubble found that several retro consoles actually grew in value faster than inflation.
The strongest financial performer was the Nintendo DS, which can now sell for 904 per cent more than its inflation-adjusted cost.
Likewise, the most valuable Xbox models can now be worth up to 795 per cent more than their 2025 inflation-adjusted cost of £568.
The Nintendo Game Boy also posted impressive gains since, although its inflation–adjusted value would sit at £188 in 2025, one unit sold for £1,562 – a 733 per cent increase.
The Nintendo Game Boy also proved to be the most popular retro console, grossing a whopping £302,417 in 2025.
MP3 players
The iPod Classic, which came out in 2001 and was discontinued in 2014, can sell for upwards of £600 for unused or boxed versions
Although by far the most valuable is the original iPod Classic which came out in 2001 and was discontinued in 2014 (and can go from £400 to upwards of £600 for unused or boxed versions); any variant of Apple’s popular MP3 players can fetch quite a bit of cash.
A fifth generation iPod video from 2005 is also a popular pick, with options from £70 to £200 listed on eBay. Meanwhile, an unboxed 2004 iPod mini can be around £250 (with used versions fetching £30 to £50).
A first generation iPod Nano from 2005 can also go for around £50, as can an iPod shuffle.
Elsewhere, unopened iPod Touch versions have also been listed from £70 to £238 online.
And it’s not just Apple – a Sony NW-A306 player from 2023 has been listed for £329.99.
Retro video cameras
A Sony Handycam is very popular, going from £60 to £139 on platforms such as Ebay and Vinted
Old camcorders are all the rage now, fresh off the heels of the digital camera comeback.
And you can make hundreds for some models, especially if you have an SD Card and charger with your old device.
Sony Handycams is very popular, selling for between £60 and £139 on platforms such as Ebay and Vinted, as is a Canon Legria, which can fetch around £80, and a Panasonic Leica, going for around £150.
