Ultimate Retro Tech Gifts Unveiled With Modern eBay Prices

Ultimate Retro Tech Gifts Unveiled With Modern eBay Prices

Last Updated on January 6, 2021

In a year which will see many drawing on nostalgia from Christmases gone by in order to make this 25th December pop, money.co.uk has released a list of the ultimate presents to buy technology fans, according to their age, which will take them right back to their beloved childhood Christmases.

The research commissioned by money.co.uk, has revealed the gadgets each age misses the most from times gone by – and how much these memorable gifts will set the gifter back.

Those looking to provide Generation Z-ers with festive nostalgia should look to everyone’s beloved first digital pet, 1997’s Tamagotchi.

The data shows that 16-24 year olds miss this humble device the most missed.

Tamagotchi

The egg-shaped Japanese digital pets remained hugely popular throughout the late 90s and 2000s and were owned by more than 1 in 3 adults now aged between 16-24 (38%). 

A Tamagotchi is likely to set gifters back by just £26 – which is not a huge increase on the original 1997 RRP of £14.

Gameboy

For those gift shopping for the younger Millennial who has everything, the classic Gameboy is a safe bet.

The 1989 handheld console came up top in the list of tech those aged 25-34 miss the most – with more than 1 in every 2 (51%) of this age group surveyed having owned this device at some point.

However, this gift is better saved for someone extra special. A mint-in-box Gameboy retails for £192 on eBay – an eyewatering increase on the original retail price of £67.40.

Etch-a-Sketch

The retro tech gift most likely to raise a smile on Christmas Day amongst the older Millennials and younger Generation Xers surveyed is the comparatively low-tech Etch a Sketch.

Almost half 49% of this age group claim to have owned one of the then-innovative mechanical drawing toys when they were younger.

What’s more, this makes for an affordable stocking filler at just £20 when bought on eBay today.

Commodore 64

The iconic Commodore 64 is the key to putting a twinkle in the eye of older Generation Xers on Christmas Day according to the data.

More than 1 in 4 of this group (26%) owned a Commodore 64 and 1 in 5 (19%) say they still feel nostalgic towards this ground-breaking gaming computer.

Compared to the original RRP of £399 – equivalent to £1,418 today – this early computer is available on eBay for a comparatively bargainous £72.

Collector’s Items

Also found on the list are the ZX Spectrum, Sega Megadrive, and Nintendo SNES.

Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at money.co.uk comments: “It’s fun to look back at some of the iconic tech through the ages and to see how the costs of these items have changed since their launch date.

“It’s also interesting to see how much people were willing to spend on some of these pioneering pieces of tech and how far we’ve come in terms of the advancement of the technology and the variety of devices that are now available at much more affordable prices.

“Most of the nation’s favourite pieces of retro tech have depreciated in value over time as we’d expect, however there are a few standout items such as the iconic Gameboy that have since become collector’s items and now surpass their initial launch cost, with inflation applied.”

To celebrate the nation’s favourite retro gadgets, money.co.uk has created a visual timeline featuring some of the most iconic tech launches of the last century, their launch dates, original cost at the time of launch, costs with inflation applied and resale costs.

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