Are you sitting on ’90s gadgets worth a small fortune? One could be worth up to £4,000
IF you have an attic bursting with old consoles and gadgets, you could be sitting on a small fortune.
Retro electronics including old game consoles and music devices are hugely popular with nostalgic collectors looking to rediscover a piece of their childhood.
Some Walkmans, SEGAs, PlayStations, Game Boys and even games themselves have held their value from the height of their popularity, with some even worth more than they were on release.
Among those attracting the largest sums are rare games for the Nintendo DS as well as the development PlayStation console.
Naturally, an item’s value will take into account its rarity, and condition, with special edition releases often fetching far more.
Pre-owned specialist retailer CeX said the most valuable retro consoles are those in a good condition in their original boxes with cables and controllers.
Meanwhile, Vinted said its most searched for items include PlayStation1 and Wii consoles as well as handheld devices such as the Nintendo DS and GameBoy Colour.
It’s always worth remembering that you’re never guaranteed to be quids in, as ultimately your old items are worth what someone is willing to pay on the day you sell.
But, if you do have an attic full of old electronics, here are some of the bestsellers you should keep an eye out for:
Sony PlayStation Net Yaroze Console – £1,000+
The Net Yaroze DTL-H3002 console was a development kit for the PlayStation.
It is essentially a simplified version of the professional development kit PlayStation which, when connected directly to a PC or Mac, allows users to create their own games.
It’s relatively rare so can fetch big prices.
CeX offers a £960 voucher for a boxed console or £876 in cash. It also offers a £637 voucher for unboxed consoles or £552 in cash.
The consoles can easily fetch more than £1,000 on eBay, with rarer variations going for several thousands of pounds.
Atari Jaguar CD console – £1,000+
The Atari Jaguar console was first released in North America in November 1993 with the CD version following two years later.
As well as allowing users to play cartridge and CD games, each CD unit included a virtual light machine, which displayed light patterns to music.
Games released with the console included Alien V Predator and Doom.
CeX offers a £671 voucher for a boxed console or £581 in cash. For an unboxed console it offers a £437 voucher or £362 in cash.
Boxed versions are listed for around £1,000 on eBay.
SEGA Multi-Mega console – £1,000 +
The SEGA Multi-Mega console combined the SEGA Mega Drive with a portable CD player and Sega Mega-CD console.
It was released in 1994, following the success of the Mega Drive, and allowed users to play both cartridge and CD games.
CeX offers a £680 voucher for a boxed console or £620 in cash.
Boxed versions are listed for around £1,000 to £1,300 on eBay.
Nintendo Entertainment System Console – £521
The Nintendo Entertainment System Console was popular with gamers in the 1980s.
It was a ground-breaking console, with games including Super Mario Bros, the Legend of Zelda, Metroid and Mega Man.
Several add-ons were released for the console including a light gun and toy robot accessory.
CeX offers a £521 voucher for a boxed console or £451 in cash.
On eBay special edition consoles, including a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles version, are listed for around £600.
How to sell
Vinted's experts share their tips for selling your electrical items:
Make sure your electronics are safe to use
Damaged electrical devices are a health and safety risk. So, if your socket plug or battery-powered device gives off heat and has frayed or loose cables, it can’t be sold.
Log out of your devices
Make sure to delete any personal data and disconnect your personal accounts on devices you sell. Some devices allow a remote reset as a backup, but we strongly advise erasing the data before you ship the item. A ‘factory reset’ is often an easy option to return the device to its original state.
Make sure everything is included
If the item you’re selling came with instructions of use, manuals, or safety warnings, make sure to include these too.
Use more keywords than you think is necessary
This significantly boosts your item’s discoverability. People search using different terms, so the more relevant terms you can use in the listing title or item description, the more likely you are to be found.
Make it photo-perfect
The first photo is the most important as it determines whether someone taps on your listing in the first instance to find out more, or not.
Countdown to the weekend
The weekend is the most popular time for browsing and shopping on the app. Shoppers are most active on a Sunday evening so prepare to list for this time.
Nintendo Game Boy – £120
Nintendo’s handheld Game Boy was a huge hit with gamers when it was released in the 1980s.
The original consoles were sold for almost £100 in the late 1980s with the first games including Super Mario.
At auction the consoles will now fetch between £100 and £120, while their average selling price on eBay is £48.19.
That said, some limited edition models, including those of the later Game Boy Colour, can go for thousands of pounds.
Among these are a Manchester United console, currently offered by CeX for £450 and a boxed Game Boy colour yellow Pokemon edition listed for £330.
PlayStation1 – £70
The Sony PlayStation console, or PlayStation1, was released in Europe in 1995 and became an immediate hit.
It was the first console to sell more than 100 million units and remains popular with retro gaming fans.
The amount of units sold means that second-hand consoles don’t fetch huge sums but CeX lists boxed consoles for around £70.
Nintendo 64 – £200
The Nintendo 64 was launched in Europe in 1997 as a direct competitor to the Sony PlayStation.
It had four controller ports allowing for multi-player games, including hits such as Mario Kart 64, Mario Party and Donkey Kong 64.
Again, sales of the consoles were so high that second hand units don’t fetch huge sums, but a number of special editions can make you some serious money.
CeX currently lists a Pikachu console for sale at £350 and unboxed coloured consoles for between £150 and £200.
SEGA Mega Drive – £90
The SEGA Mega Drive was released in Europe in 1990 and sold more than 40 million units globally.
Popular games for the console included the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Altered Beast and NBA Jam.
CeX is offering boxed consoles for sale for around £90.
Games – £3,999
It’s not just the consoles that could make you cash, Nick Drewe, a trend expert at the online discount platform Wethrift, said some games can fetch huge sums.
For example, second hand copies of Pokémon SoulSilver with a Pokéwalker for the Nintedo DS can fetch £195 at CeX, but Drewe said unopened factory-sealed versions can be listed for as much as £3,999 on eBay.
Simialrly, copies of Pokémon HeartGold and Pokéwalker are valued at £205 at CeX, while Drewe said unopened versions on eBay have
reached as much as £1,999 – as long as you have the pedometer alongside the game.
Walkman – £300
Walkmans have seen a huge boost in popularity in recent years and vintage models can fetch hundreds of pounds.
Alex Tadros, owner of Mars Tapes in Manchester, said working vintage Sony Walkmans are being sought out by collectors young and old.
He explained: “I think pop culture is a big part of it, you see Marvel films and television shows referencing the 1980s technology a lot more these days.
“For example, when Stranger Things catapulted Kate Bush into the music charts we sold out of every single cassette tape we had in stock of her music, even the lesser known albums. We had so many young people asking not only for the tapes but the players as well to listen to them on.”
Prices listed on eBay vary greatly but rare designs can easily fetch hundreds of pounds.
iPods – £100
Apple launched the first iPod in 2001 and continued to produce the handheld music players until 2022.
Some models remain popular and can fetch hundreds of pounds second hand.
CeX said the 2019 iPod Touch 7th generation remains popular, along with some of the Classic models.
Both the 7th generation iPod Touch and a Classic iPod in good working condition can fetch more than £100 second hand.
New Vinted rules to be aware of
IF you fancy clearing out your wardrobe and getting rid of your old stuff on Vinted, you’ll need to consider the new rules that recently came into play.
If people are selling personal items for less than they paid new (which is generally the case for second-hand sales), there is no impact on tax.
However, since January 1, digital platforms, including eBay, Airbnb, Etsy, Amazon and Vinted, must share seller information with HMRC as part of a crackdown.
You’re unlikely to be affected if you only sell a handful of second-hand items online each year – generally, only business sellers trading for profit might need to pay tax.
A tax-free allowance of £1,000 has been in place since 2017 for business sellers trading for profit – the only time that an individual personal item might be taxable is if it sells for more than £6,000 and there is a profit from the sale.
However, firms now have to pass on your data to HMRC if you sell 30 or more items a year or earn over £1,700.
It is part of a wider tax crackdown to help ensure that those who boost their income via side hustles pay up what they owe.
While your data won’t be shared with HMRC if you earn between £1,000 and £1,700, you’ll still need to pay tax as normal.
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