Digital cameras, GameBoys and other gadgets from the 1990s and early 2000s are climbing in both demand and price on the second-hand market as Gen Z consumers leading the revival.
Camera House staff in Lower Hutt say compact digital cameras are moving quickly, with some models priced higher to deter resellers and keep stock available.
"Our most popular ones we have to put them up to probably like $400 just to make sure we don't get resellers and to make sure the stock doesn't immediately disappear," said Andrew Morris.
Morris said the main buyers were teenagers and young adults.
Gadgets from the '90s are making a comeback and fetching record prices in the second-hand market. (Source: 1News)
"We get people coming in with all their high school mates… wanting to take a DigiCam out to the beach or a party or a festival," he told 1News.
"It's all really younger people — high school to university sort of thing."
In Wellington, shopper Paul Husbands said he had been looking for a digital camera for his teenage daughter in the hope it would reduce the time she spent on her phone.
"The really good thing about it is that she doesn't want to use her phone all the time, so if she's using her digital camera more than her phone hopefully, she will be looking more at the things around her and less at her phone."
The resurgence was also showing up online. Trade Me's Lisa Stewart said demand for retro tech from the 1990s and early 2000s was "absolutely skyrocketing", with gaming among the strongest categories.
"Retro gaming is leading the charge and so things like Nintendo 3DS, we've seen seven times the searches this year versus last year," she said, adding cassette tapes were also "having a real moment".
Collector Reon Nicholls, who purchased a rotary dial telephone at 12, said older technology appealed because it felt more hands-on than modern devices.
"If I wanted to do 0800 I would go 8, drag it along and then you have to wait, then 0 again and then 0 again," he said.
Nicholls said his collection has grown to as many as 60 retro items, including cameras and tapes.
"A lot of it is a lot more tactile than current day experiences," he said.
"A lot of stuff now is very screen based… but especially with something like the camera it takes so much more thought and it's a longer process."
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