A few days ago, I went to an estate sale and bought some NES games, most for only .50 cents each. The sale also had a non-working pac-man cocktail arcade machine and a non-working 45 jukebox, but they wanted a bit too much for them. They claimed the jukebox just needed something minor, but you know how that goes. Even if it was working correctly, the most I would have went on it would have been $600, because it was in pretty good physical condition. They, however, wanted $800 for it. The pac-man arcade had both a cpu board problem as well as a monitor issue. I would have paid $75 for it, but they wanted $200.

A couple weeks ago, I found an Optoma HD (720p, DLP, presentation) projector at a yard sale for only $10, which included a $59 case! The bulb had gone out, which is the reason most people sell their projectors. The bulb tested bad. So, I went ahead and ordered another one for it. The projector was bought at best buy sometime in 2010 (has a bestbuy sticker on it) and other than the bulb being bad, it appears to be in like new condition. Projector bulbs are coming down in price, averaging about $80-$100 per bulb. In most cases, if you are confident in replacing the bulb without the housing, it can save 10-30% off the price of the lamp.

I also ordered a 30' HDMI to DVI cable, a 30' 3.5mm stereo to RCA cable, and ceiling mount for it. I was also given a huge projector screen and have to pick it up sometime this week. Most likely, the screen is too big and will have to be cut and re-framed, but if it saves $50-$100 or more for materials, it's a good deal. This projector isn't going to go into my home theater room but will be setup most likely at my mother's house, for her. I'm still going to go with a 3D projector.