7 Products That Depreciate the Most
Written by
Sean Bryant
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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When purchasing items, most people look for things that will serve them a purpose and keep their value. Unfortunately, many items depreciate in value soon after purchasing them. Within this article, we will look at seven items that lose their value the fastest.
Cars
The idea of getting a brand-new car excites a lot of people. Unfortunately, according to Trusted Choice, new cars depreciate by 11% as soon as you drive them off the lot. That depreciation increases to 25% after the first year of ownership and 37% after five years. Of course, the amount can fluctuate based on the make and model of the car as well as the car’s reputation.
Phones
Have you ever noticed that Apple has a launch event every fall to announce a new line of products? This speedy technological development is great unless you hope your phones will retain their value.
According to a report by Decluttr, Apple iPhones will lose 57% of their value after the first 12 months. While this might seem like a lot, it’s the lowest among the major cell phone manufacturers. LG phones ranked last, losing 78% of their value after 12 months.
Timeshares
Timeshares are generally thought of as being terrible investments. According to Brian Rodgers, owner of Timeshare User Group, timeshares on the resale market are approximately 10% less than their retail price. However, hundreds of timeshares are sold on eBay for just $1. While these vacation properties offer the allure of being in attractive vacation destinations, restrictions around when they can be used and the extremely high fees associated with ownerships can make them highly restrictive, hurting their resale value.
Diamond Jewelry
You might think jewelry would be an excellent investment, but that’s not true. Diamond jewelry is marked up 300% on average but can be as high as 1,000%. This huge markup causes the resale value to be pretty poor. According to The Diamond Pro, diamond jewelry will sell anywhere from 20% to 60% below its original cost.
Wedding Dresses
Wedding dresses are items you’ll only wear once but can cost thousands of dollars. Consider selling it instead of leaving it untouched in a closet for years. Unfortunately, you shouldn’t expect to recoup anything close to what you paid for it. Typically, a gown in good condition and less than 2.5 years old will sell for approximately 50% of its retail price. If it’s a designer brand, you might be able to get a slightly higher amount.
Computers
Similar to cell phones, computers can become outdated very quickly. That means their resale value is going to be less than ideal. On average, computer equipment will depreciate 2% each week that you own it. That means a computer purchased for $1,000 today would only be worth $300 in 12 months. Three years after being purchased, it would only be worth $30.
Books
While some books have collector editions that can be worth a significant amount of money, most decrease in value quickly after purchasing them. A quick search on Amazon can show you the drastic depreciation.
The New York Times bestseller, “It Starts With Us” by Collen Hoover, was released in 2022 and sold for $17.99. Today, you can purchase a used book copy for just $1.73. That means the price has depreciated by over 90% since its release a little over a year ago.
The Bottom Line
While some items you purchase will increase in price over time, others will quickly depreciate. Before you purchase one of these items listed, make sure you know what their resale value could be in the future.
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