When it’s possible to order products with next, or even the same-day delivery, we take the speedy arrival of our latest tech purchases for granted.

Having to wait 16 years between placing an order and its eventual arrival would certainly dampen the dopamine hit that comes with the anticipation, but that’s how long one retailer had to wait for a collection of phones to arrive.

Yes, 16 years

The backstory to this is one that seems scarcely believable. In 2010, a phone dealer in Tripoli, Libya ordered a collection of mobile phones, likely expecting them to arrive in a timely manner ready to be resold.

The order eventually arrived at the beginning of 2026, according to a post made on social network X, where a video shows a man unwrapping the extensively delayed collection of Nokia and other old phones, and laughing about how mobile technology has changed.

Eagle-eyed viewers will recognize a variety of classic analog phones, including a Nokia 5300, and the famed Nokia N95, which was first released around 2007.

Each phone has been carefully wrapped in plastic, helping to keep them safe when first shipped, but unfortunately, also away from our eager eyes in the video.

Why so long?

What happened? The long-awaited phone order wasn’t subject to a logistical error or from being lost in the system, and the circumstances around its delay are far more serious.

At the beginning of 2011, an uprising saw the start of the Libyan Revolt, followed by years of civil war until a cease-fire in 2020, and the region is still divided today. Understandably, the order was apparently forgotten in a warehouse, according to a local report, until making its way to the recipient in 2026.

Reports also state the order was not coming from outside Libya, and the sender was just a few miles away in the same city, making the lengthy delivery time even more ironic. Commenters on the social media post remarked on how surprising it is for the package to be kept for that long, and for it to remain intact.

Others add that some of the phones may be worth more today than they were in 2011, given the rarity and relative collectability of classic mobile tech. The video itself has caught attention due to the wholesome reaction and infectious laughter of the people opening a package of phones they likely never expected to ever see.