Antique Stores in Duluth, MN

We took a short weekend trip to Duluth on a whim. Like really short, as in we were back home 26 hours after we started driving. While hanging out ny the lakeshore shops, we did stop in a couple of Antique Stores. Recently I still like going in to Antique Stores, but I find myself buying less and less, mainly because of the markup. Since I'm amateurishly in the same business, there's not always a great chance of turning a profit from something you find in an antique store. That being said, there's always a chance to find something different.

The first find was great, a Bell and Howell Autoload 8mm film projector. 

I'm a huge fan of Super 8 and 8mm films, so it was nice to get a working 8mm projector. (There are lots of differences between 8mm and Super 8mm film, we'll tackle this on a later post. For now, 8mm is the older format, Super 8 became popular in that 60s and 70s) 

The bulbs alone can resell for $15-20, so I'll always ask to plug them in before purchasing.

This one plugged in, powered on, and the mechanics worked. With a $15 price tag, I bought it instantly. The resale value on projectors isn't great, it seems there are more projectors for sale than films. Given the annoying shipping costs, 

The next store I stopped in was brand new, only their second day of business. The store was half set up, but no customers. I quickly found some overpriced NES Nintendo and SEGA Genesis games, but tucked away with them were a couple Atari 2600 games. I've never sold any of my old video game systems, starting with an Atari 7800. Come to think of it, my Atari 2600 was a garage sale find when I was 9 ($15 with 20 games!)

I don't actively buy and sell video games, but it's hard not to grab a couple Atari games when they're $1 apiece! Looking at eBay, Donkey Kong is worth about fifty cents, Joust has sold between $3-$6, and Star Trek, which is never heard of, is a little but rarer, selling for about $15-$20. Still haven't decided if I'll sell any of them. 

That's always the tough choice when finding stuff you like: Keep it for a collection or get the most money outbid it. Since I'm still at the "hobby" stage of reselling items, there are still some things I like to keep, space permitting. The Projector will be a great addition, since I've only been able to view 8mm reels in an editing machine. It'll be a lot nicer to watch them projected to grade them for resale. As for the Atari games, a $3 investment to add 2 classic and one random game to the collection isn't too bad of an a wallet bite.