23 Years of the iPod: How Elite Obsolete Electronics keeps the music playing

There’s probably enough material to produce a book about the importance of the iPod to Apple’s history (and revenue). Yet, the company said goodbye to the brand in 2022 as it finally discontinued the last edition of the iPod Touch. There is a small but growing community committed to keeping the dream alive. Elite Obsolete Electronics is one of the companies that saw growing Reddit communities dedicated to the iPod and the iPod Classic. I recently chatted with the owner, Austin Lucas, about the company and its success.

A passion turned into a business

Lucas started Elite Obsolete Electronics in the fall of 2018 as a side project, fueled by a background in tech repairs during high school and a stint studying computer engineering in college. Although he envisioned designing consumer electronics, dropping out of school left him searching for a new path. His eureka moment came when a customer brought an iPod Classic into the local repair shop where he worked. None of his colleagues knew how to handle it. Lucas quickly realized there was untapped potential in servicing a device that many had moved on from but still held sentimental value for a dedicated few.

What began as buying broken Apple products on eBay, repairing them, and selling them for profit soon grew into a full-fledged business. Elite Obsolete Electronics tapped into a growing Reddit community and other online forums dedicated to iPod fans. Lucas noted, “There used to be a big iPod community, but as people moved to iPhones and iPads, the skills to repair iPods dwindled.” Yet, Elite Obsolete Electronics became the go-to source for those who wanted more than just battery replacements.

Elite Obsolete Electronics’s success is about offering pre-built solutions for people who don’t want to worry about modding their own iPod. The company specializes in replacement parts, original accessories, and fully upgraded iPods. Unlike other shops, Elite Obsolete Electronics doesn’t do repairs; instead, they sell ready-to-use, customized iPods with modern features like iFlash storage upgrades and upgraded batteries. With zero dollars spent on advertising, Elite Obsolete Electronics has built a profitable business purely from word-of-mouth and organic traffic through Reddit, Google, and its popular YouTube channel.

“Most of our customers are Gen X and Boomers who already have extensive iTunes libraries,” Lucas shared. These are people who spent years curating their digital music collections and prefer a dedicated MP3 player over streaming services. For them, the iPod is more than a device—it’s a connection to a time when they first fell in love with portable music. There is no doubt that today’s iPhone is a much better music player than the iPod, but there is a simplicity in using a dedicated music player. No, it doesn’t support Apple Music or Spotify, but it’s still a fantastic device for your local audio files, and even the latest version of macOS can easily sync content to it through the Finder.

Challenges in keeping the dream alive

Running a business focused on discontinued products has its hurdles. Lucas often buys iPods from places like eBay, where quality is unpredictable. “It’s a roll of the dice,” he admitted. But it’s a gamble worth taking for the company’s growing customer base. Around 90% of Elite Obsolete Electronics’s sales come from classic iPod models, with the rest being a mix of Nanos, Minis, Shuffles, and Touches. Most units are built to order depending on the customization the new iPod owner wants.

Why the iPod still matters

The iPod may seem like a relic to younger generations, but it represents more than a piece of tech history for Lucas and his customers. It’s about an era of digital rights when owning your music was standard practice. “The iPod is like the mascot for those who want to support artists and control their music libraries,” Lucas explained.

Despite his youth, Lucas understands why many want to preserve this part of their past. “I barely remember the iPod,” he said, “but I get why people want to relive that experience.” The iPod was, after all, the coolest gadget you could own at the time. For those who couldn’t afford one back then, companies like Elite Obsolete Electronics offer a second chance to capture that feeling.

Apple’s decision to end the iPod line was met with mixed emotions from fans. Austin expressed his frustration with how Apple ended the brand. While many acknowledge it was a natural progression, he argues the company should have celebrated its legacy more. After all, the iPod didn’t just improve Apple’s revenue—it set the stage for what came next. There is no iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Apple Vision Pro without the iPod. As I wrote earlier this year, the iPod allows you to get lost in the music in a very noisy world. An entire project is underway to preserve the old iPod Classic games.

Check out Elite Obsolete Electronics to order your own iPod with virtually any combination of upgrades, colors, and accessories.