They say you don’t know what you’ve got, ’till it’s gone.

The iPod Classic – you know, that mp3 player that relies on a click-wheel and only plays music (it can’t make phone calls?) – is apparently in high demand.

Apple unceremoniously retired the classic device back in September, around the time the company was unveiling the brand new Apple Watch on a stage in Cupertino. And in the months since its departure, online marketplaces have become saturated with people looking to buy the now-discontinued players and plenty looking to sell.

According to the Guardian, “more than 3,000 of the models – the seventh, final version came out in 2010 – have been sold on eBay since the Classic was retired in October, most for between £350 and £500. Even refurbished older models now cost far more than the £229 for which the later generations retailed.”

For Americans, thats anywhere from $550 to nearly $800. They report that some iPod Classics have even fetched as high as $1000.

And this is not just a UK phenomenon. A quick search of eBay shows hundreds of listings for iPod Classics coming from American locations – of all generations. Some are priced at $1000 and beyond, but the sweet spot seems to reside around $700.

Why would people pay this much for old technology when they could easily purchase a brand new iPod Touch or Nano for much cheaper?

Well, nostalgia for one. Also, everything has more value when it’s unattainable.

Or, it could be that the ol’ click-wheel iPods hold a whopping 160GB. Try finding that kind of storage capacity with one of them fancy touch-screen iPods.

Image via Sam Weiss, Flickr Creative Commons