Worn-out iPhone 4s that used to cost only 5 yuan are now hyped up to 300 yuan in the secondhand market, and the prices of compact point-and-shoot cameras have doubled. Is the post-2000s generation starting to dig out their parents' old e-waste?
On social platforms, these old products that used to be sold by the jin for just a few yuan have become the new favorite of the current generation of young people. Some people offer a price higher than what these devices cost when they were brand new, just to buy a point-and-shoot camera that is over a decade old. How did these "electronic scrap" that were once dismissed for their low pixel count and slow focus turn into "cyber gold" in the eyes of young people?
iPhone 4s crisscrossed with screen scratches, Nokia bar phones with swollen batteries, point-and-shoot cameras that creak when their lenses extend and retract. In the eyes of parents, these are space-taking, annoying electronic wastes. But for Gen Z and Generation Alpha, they have a decent name: Millennium Holy Relics.
On social platforms, these old products that used to be sold by the jin for just a few yuan have become the new favorite of the current generation of young people. Some people offer a price higher than what these devices cost when they were brand new, just to buy a point-and-shoot camera that is over a decade old. How did these "electronic scrap" that were once dismissed for their low pixel count and slow focus turn into "cyber gold" in the eyes of young people?
1. Parents' electronic junk has become young people's retro trendy play
The so-called "Millennium Holy Relics" refer to old digital items produced around the turn of the millennium that have long exited the mainstream market. These old electronic products eliminated by middle-aged people have now become retro trendy play chased by young people.
Some netizens spent just a few yuan to find an egg-shaped mini radio. Attracted by its "simple plastic shell texture" and the sizzling "outer space vibe" sound, they listed it on a second-hand platform, where the price was bid up all the way to 50 yuan, and it was still hard to get.
It is not just radios that have been brought back to popularity by young people. The recycling price of the iPhone 4, which was discontinued more than a decade ago, has risen from a few yuan to around 50 yuan, and well-preserved units can sell for more than 300 yuan. The demand for a certain model of mobile phone released more than ten years ago has skyrocketed, its second-hand price has multiplied several times, and unopened units are even collected as collectibles. Old-fashioned DVs have gained a large fan base under the label of "low-pixel vlog", and the topic #DidYouPlayWithCCDToday on a certain social platform has nearly 1 billion views. From digital evaluation to photo output sharing, old cameras have become a new traffic password.
Some netizens dug out a point-and-shoot camera that had been gathering dust in a drawer for more than a decade, casually listed it online to dispose of it as scrap, and it was bought by a buyer in less than an hour, who even exclaimed that they got a steal. In the comment section, some people sighed at the tears of the times, while others left comments looking for the same model. These "electronic wastes" with yellowed screens and worn white buttons, which are burdens that should have been thrown away long ago in the hands of parents, have become treasures for young people that they take photos of and post online with captions saying "Finally got my hands on it".
Platform data can better illustrate the scale. Data shows that the market size of China's retro economy reached 355.25 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 11.7%, and it is expected to reach 587.85 billion yuan by 2030.
The price is even more surreal, and some netizens joked that these are not cameras at all, they are clearly annual wealth management products. A point-and-shoot camera that sold for around 1300 yuan 15 years ago is now priced at 1398 yuan for a 95% new second-hand unit, which is more expensive than it was when it was brand new. A Canon point-and-shoot camera that a netizen bought for 2459 yuan a few years ago now sells for more than 4000 yuan on the second-hand market. The Ricoh GR3, which was once bought for more than 4000 yuan, has soared to over 9000 yuan. The long-discontinued "king of cameras" Canon G12 is also priced at nearly 4800 yuan by second-hand sellers.
Some dealers said, Young people often walk into physical stores and ask directly if there are any CCD point-and-shoot cameras, without even glancing at DSLRs or mirrorless cameras. CCD cameras at the Panjiayuan Flea Market in Beijing are basically sold starting from 500 yuan, and popular models can sell for thousands of yuan. From radios that cost a few yuan to the "camera king" priced at nearly 5000 yuan, this price curve exactly depicts the process of this generation of young people re-pricing old electronic products.
2. Why do old electronic products captivate young people?
Today's electronic products are clearer and faster with each generation, but when you flip through the photo album, all the photos look the same, with an obvious AI-generated feel. Some people start to wonder, aren't we missing something? This generation of young people no longer blindly chase new products and parameter iterations, but pay more attention to the emotions and memories carried behind the products, falling in love with retro electronic products with a sense of the times. In the final analysis, what they buy is the ticket to that "unreturnable time".
What young people buy is the feeling. Tired of the perfectly polished images mass-produced by algorithms, they turn to embrace old items with noise, grain, and even a little clumsiness. The blurry noise and occasionally overexposed highlights of old point-and-shoot cameras give the people and scenes in the photos a vivid, living feel. These imperfections in the eyes of parents have become the texture with the warmth of time in the eyes of young people. At the same time, young people using old electronic products are also declaring their aesthetic independence: "I don't follow marketing blindly, I have my own style." In an era of massive information and constant online presence, young people want to "go offline for a breather", and an old mobile phone that cannot adapt to the latest software has become the best choice for leisure and relaxation, allowing them to focus on the life in front of them.
If the feeling is a rebellion in aesthetic style, the deeper layer is the clumsy sense of ritual. A photography enthusiast admitted that taking photos with an old camera is "not for how good the photos turn out, but to enjoy the process". Putting in the battery, inserting the memory card, focusing, pressing the shutter, and then connecting to the computer to view the photos, this set of processes forcibly pulls people out of instant gratification, and lets people re-experience the anticipation of waiting for a photo to develop. This slow, unrushed experience has become a rare luxury in today's world where people leave if they don't get their photos in three seconds.
Besides, this preference has coincided with non-renewable scarcity. Most of the old cameras that have regained popularity have been discontinued for many years, with only a small amount of second-hand stock on the market, and each unit sold reduces the remaining stock. With no new supply, the price ceiling largely depends on how many people are competing for the remaining stock. The more unattainable it is, the more people want to own it. The anxiety of missing out and losing it forever enhances the uniqueness of these old items, and also makes a group of young people try to buy them as wealth management products, expecting them to continue to appreciate in value.
3. You can pay for your nostalgia, but don't take "wealth management" seriously
When the price of a camera starts to be measured by its appreciation rate, its core value changes from "playing with it" to "speculating on it". Some merchants bought them at low prices in the early stage, and hoarded goods, marketed and hyped them as soon as they saw the price rise, while celebrities and internet influencers added fuel to the fire. Phrases like "magic photo-taking device" and "full of atmospheric vibe" were used one after another, pushing the price higher and higher.
The more hidden risk is that the "wealth management product" you grabbed for thousands of yuan may be a fake. Multiple media including Xinhua News Agency previously exposed the chaos of using modified dashcams to pass off as CCD cameras, and Canon China even issued a special anti-counterfeiting statement. This market boom is also mixed with a large number of refurbished machines and faulty units, and the second-hand market is full of hidden dangers. Spending a high price to buy something that is not even made by the original manufacturer, you get no nostalgia, almost no chance of appreciation, but end up paying a huge "stupidity tax".
Therefore, for middle-aged people who dig out old electronic products, it is perfectly reasonable to sell them when the market is good. But for young people who are attracted by the story that these old devices are more expensive than brand new ones back then, and plan to hoard them as wealth management products, you'd better think clearly: what you are buying is a plastic camera that is over a decade old, not gold. Gold will not plummet back to its original value once a trend fades, but this kind of retro electronic product most likely will.
Consumer culture changes, and market trends shift. When even the aunties in the vegetable market start talking about an investment product, it is not far from the end of the craze. The cultural play walnuts of the past, and the later "sneaker speculation" craze, both rose fast and faded fast. In the final analysis, the market pricing of millennium old items like CCDs fluctuates with traffic. Only genuine love for these items can withstand the market cooling, and preserve the romance of the retro revival.
This article is from the WeChat Official Account "Financial Gossip Girl Channel" (ID: baguanvpindao), written by Zhi Zhi, and republished with authorization from 36Kr.