The ’80s Electronics Nobody Wanted That Now Sell For Serious Cash

When you think of iconic electronics, there are certain ’80s gadgets you can’t help but love. The Sony Walkman, Nintendo Entertainment System, and various VCRs and boomboxes defined everyday life in that golden decade. Many of those ’80s electronics still stand the test of time, either because they’re still fun to use or because the nostalgia factor is just so strong.

It stands to reason that collectors would pay serious cash for those all-time favorites. However, you might be surprised to know that some of the so-called “junk” items are worth big money too. These are electronics that nobody wanted, either because they quickly became obsolete or were simply underappreciated in their time. If you come across any of these discarded treasures in an attic, storage unit, or thrift shop, don’t overlook them just because they aren’t as famous as the heavy-hitters. Give them a good home, and you might be able to sell them for a significant sum.

The Atari 2600 was the first major game console to use plug-in cartridges, making it the grandfather of modern gaming in many ways. It was released in 1977 and continued to be successful into the early ’80s, but nobody wanted it anymore once the Nintendo Entertainment System started rolling out worldwide in 1985. The Atari might have had “Pac-Man” and “Space Invaders,” but these titles couldn’t stand up to the mainstream appeal of Nintendo’s “Super Mario Bros.” and “The Legend of Zelda.”

In the ’80s, many people saw video game consoles as toys. It seemed reasonable to toss out their old toys or let them gather dust in the attic once the newer, shinier products came out. Nowadays, though, collecting video game memorabilia is a serious passion enjoyed by people with serious money. Gaming enthusiasts value a typical Atari 2600 console at up to $60, or as much as $500 for rare bundles and variants. The real money is in the games, though. Rare cartridges of “Red Sea Crossing,” “River Patrol,” “Air Raid,” and others can go for thousands of dollars.

Following the monumental success of the Walkman portable cassette players, it was only natural that Sony would begin designing a portable device for its new compact disc medium. The result was the D-50 portable CD player. The D-50 is commonly regarded as the first Discman, but it’s worth noting that Sony rebranded its portable CD players to the name “CD Walkman” in 1997, while the name “Discman” went on to refer to their lineup of portable DVD players.

The sound quality of CDs is markedly superior to that of cassettes, so it was only natural that there would be demand for a portable CD player. However, the D-50 had some substantial flaws. It was bulky, heavy, and required an external power source. By comparison, later models like the D-E01 were much sleeker and easier to carry around. Dedicated music players are definitely old-school gadgets that people stopped using with the advent of smartphones, but modern-day collectors are willing to pay $100–$400 for the historic D-50 Discman.

Edwin Land, the founder of Polaroid, sparked a huge technological advancement when he invented and released the first instant camera in 1948. The public’s obsession with these cameras reached a fever pitch with the Polaroid OneStep in 1977. The OneStep went on to become an iconic gadget representative of the ’80s as a whole. The ability to capture a moment on film and watch it develop into a top-notch photograph before your eyes was a novelty that was slow to wear off.

However, the novelty did wear off eventually. In 1991, Kodak began selling professional-grade digital cameras to a wider market. The convenience and quality of digital photography pushed instant cameras out of the public’s mind for quite some time. These days, though, retro electronics enthusiasts are happy to pay up to $150 to once again experience the charm of snapping an instant photograph that can be held in the hand rather than viewed on a smartphone screen.

The 1980s marked a time when regular families could finally afford to have a fully functional computer at home. That was particularly true thanks to the Sinclair ZX80, a simple yet workable home computer that came out in 1980 for a mere $199.50. It was marketed as an accessible introduction to software programming and the BASIC computer language.

The ZX80 was overshadowed by the Commodore 64, which became the single best-selling computer model of all time, as well as being a competent video game system. The unveiling of the revolutionary Apple Macintosh 128K also pushed the competition aside when it impressed the world with its graphical interface. The release of Sinclair’s next model, the ZX81, also contributed to the ZX80’s eventual obscurity by being available for an even more affordable price of under $150. Nowadays, if you can find an original ZX80, it can go for up to $800 at auction.

One of the rarest and most valuable pieces of forgotten ’80s electronics is the National Ambience RX-7200 boombox. Generally speaking, boomboxes revolutionized the music experience of the ’80s by bringing high-quality sound to the home and to parties both indoors and outdoors. The RX-7200 was a particularly high-end boombox of its time. Whereas most classic boomboxes of the era had two speakers, the RX-7200 had a total of four speakers and superior build quality. However, this model only ever saw release in Japan, making it a very niche product compared to more popular boomboxes like the JVC RC-M90.

Tracking down this now sought-after relic can be a challenge unless you know what to look for. The RX-7200 is sometimes listed as a Panasonic device; National and Panasonic are two names for the same company, but the success of the Panasonic brand led to it becoming the company’s primary identifier starting in 2008. In general, boomboxes are one of those rare vintage tech items that can be worth thousands. Prices for the RX-7200 reflect that fact, ranging from around $1,000 to as high as $2,000 or more.