Apple’s HomePod had a short, rocky life. Critics praised the audio quality but panned its smart features, which made its $350 price tag difficult to recommend to most people. Even when Apple dropped the price to $299, too many people thought the speaker simply wasn’t worth it. Some of those people might’ve told you to sell your Apple stock in 1997, too, since the HomePod has now, somehow, appreciated in value.
How much are Apple HomePods selling for?
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I first saw this news from The Verge, who, in turn, was inspired to dig into the issue thanks to this tweet from 9to5Mac EIC Chance Miller. Miller’s tweet featured an eBay page for a factory-sealed Space Gray HomePod listed at, wait for it, $649.99.
The Verge, after presumably raiding their storage rooms for sealed HomePods, then looked into the various HomePod eBay listings. On average, they found HomePods selling for $375—and while that’s much less than the HomePod featured on Miller’s tweet, remember this is an average of all HomePods currently for sale on the platform. That includes mint-condition HomePods in the box, as well as well used speakers without the packaging.
Most HomePod owners probably didn’t keep their speakers unopened in the box, but that doesn’t change things too much. Even with these outliers removed, the average HomePod price was still $350. If you bought your speaker from Apple during their $299 period, or if you found one discounted through a third-party retailer, you could turn a profit on your HomePod (a sentence, by the way, that no one, not even Apple, has ever thought before).
Why are Apple HomePods worth more now?
Why these things are selling so high is anyone’s guess. The Verge offers up a few theories, such as Apple history, the HomePod’s solid acoustics, and Siri being an asset in the smart home. I’m not sure I buy the last one, but the first two points are pretty strong in my book. The HomePod is a great speaker, especially for both Apple Music and home theater use through Apple TV 4K, and now that Apple discontinued it, fans of the company might now see it as a bit of a collectors’ item.
Whatever the reason, the HomePod’s price increase is still impressive. Most tech products do not appreciate in value-rather, you go in hoping the depreciation is limited. It’s true Apple products tend to depreciate less rapidly than other tech, but rarely do we see something like this. You certainly can’t part with a HomePod mini for more than you paid for it.
[The Verge]