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Fans of Apple's discontinued iPod are forking out four times the original retail price in order to have a chance own one before they disappear for good.

Just three months after Apple discontinued the iPod classic in favor of more advanced models, demand for the music player with the traditional click wheel has risen, causing prices to soar. 

Some are listed for nearly $1,000 -  in 2008, the product retailed for just $249.

The latest versions of the classic with a maximum storage of 160GB - more than any other portable music player - are currently selling on eBay for up to 1,000 as music fans and tech geeks clamor to get hold of the last of the 6th generation models before they're all gone. 

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Old model! Prices of the iPod Classic have soared to more than $1,000 on eBay for some models in recent months as they become the 'must have' present for Christmas, after Apple discontinued them in October

It was once considered bulky and too primitive to compete with slim touch screen music players and smartphones that could play videos at the same time but in a case of pure nostalgia the older model is experiencing a resurgence. 

Apple discontinued the iPod classic in October following a slow but steady drop in sales as people began to favor the iPod touch and using their phones and cloud devices to store music.

But the large capacity of the Classic, which allows people to store thousands of songs without having to sign up to a website and pay a subscription fee, has made it the must-have present this Christmas.

Music experts began advising experts to get hold of an iPod Classic as early as last year, before they were discontinued and demand, and prices began to increase. 

And its value is likely to continue to rise after Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, said it was unlikely the model would be revisited because they lacked access to the components and a redesign would be too expensive, the Observer reported. 

Early last year Will Dunn, editor of Stuff magazine, advised people to buy a version of the Classic, predicting prices would double. 

He said: 'There's still a huge affection for the iPod Classic and it's not hard to see why - Spotify might offer 20 million songs, but 120GB of music is more than most people need, and your iTunes library doesn't carry data charges or a subscription fee.' 

Blast from the past! Unboxing the iPod Classic Black 160GB

Twisted logic: Customers are paying up to $1,000 for 6th generation iPods and around $480 for 7th generation, with 160GB storage

eBay has been selling versions of the iPod Classic 6th generation, with 160 GB storage for between $180 and $1000. The latest, 7th generation version, is currently listed on the site with a $480 price tag. 

The iPod Classic was first launched in 2002, with storage increasing to 160GB with the sixth and generations produced from 2007. It began to be replaced by slimmer more advanced models, such as the nano, first launched in 2005 and the iPod touch in 2007 as the popularity of the touch screen began.

The iPod Touch is now the only model being produced with the most capacity, but at 80GB this is still only half of the Classic version. 

FROM CLASSIC TO TOUCH SCREEN - HOW THE iPOD EVOLVED  

2001 - The first iPod, capable of holding 1,000 songs was created and later became known as the first generation iPod Classic.  

2002 - The second generation was unveiled and made available for Windows, rather than just Apple, users for the first time. 

The iPod shuffle was launched in 2005, giving people the chance to store songs on a much smaller device

2003 - The iTunes music store was released along with a slimmer third generation iPod, capable of selling 7,500 songs. In its first week iTunes sold 1million songs.

2003 - The millionth iPod is sold.

2004 - iPod mini is launched and iTunes is made available in the UK. Sales of iPods tops 10 million as the iPod Classic fourth generation goes on sale. 

The iPod nano replaced the iPod mini in 2005 

2005 - Apple launched the smaller iPod shuffle and the iPod nano replaced the iPod mini. A fifth generation iPod is released that plays TV shows and music videos. Around 42 million iPods are sold throughout the year

2006 - Sales throughout the year reach 88 million. 

2007 - The iPod touch, which eventually causes the demise of the iPod Classic was launched, along with the iPhone. Sales of iPods reached 141 million throughout the year and the iPod Classic reaches its sixth generation version, with 160GB of storage. 

2008 - Almost 200 million iPods sold. 

2009 - Films can be bought and rented in high definition on the iTunes store and around 250 million iPods are sold throughout the year

2010 - iTunes achieves a new record with 10 billion songs sold. A new version of the iPod touch becomes available and the seventh generation of the iPod Classic is produced.

2014 - Apple removes all iPod Classics from its website in October and discontinues production. Three months later demand for the models causes prices to increase to $1000.