I'm 65 and had no interest in 8 tracks when they were a going concern. I bought albums and recorded stuff onto R2R then later, onto cassettes. I gave 8 track a complete miss. Six or seven years ago, I saw an Akai 8 track machine in a used furniture store, tagged at $40 which I though was outrageous.
I had been in the HiFi business a long time including some stints with Akai dealers, but until I saw that deck, it never crossed my mind that Akai offered anything in that format. I soon realized that since they were a significant producer of tape machines in general that why wouldn't they be involved in 8 track? So when I got home, I had to go online and suss it out.
What I discovered was that 8 track had somewhat of a following and that the Akai I saw was considered desirable. Being as I have something of a fascination with electro-mechanical audio equipment, I returned to that shop the next day but it was gone.
However, the die was cast and I immediately started actively looking for an 8 track deck. First one was from e-bay, a Realistic. Then I seemed to be encountering them everywhere in including one of those Akai's. The count topped out around 10.
Since I haunt thrift stores incessantly, it was a no brainer to then start looking for tapes there and elsewhere. Found a few "big hauls" but mostly just one or a few at a time. My focus was rock music so that's all I bought unless there were largish lots and I could not cherry pick. Any I did not want, I gave away.
What I ended up with with was the photo below. There are about 1,000 all together and each and every one was reconditioned. And that was done before even attempting a first play. I don't buy them just to have them, I want them to be able to play.
The way I look at it is, 8 track was a huge deal for a quarter century so why not have a bunch and be able to play them? And some recordings, or versions thereof, exist nowhere else but on 8 track.
The most most I've spent on an 8 track tape was $35 and I know that some of those I've acquired for a few cents to two dollars apiece are worth a lot more than what I paid for them.
I don't own any cylinder recordings or machines that play those, but I do have 78's. I maintained an interest in R2R and cassettes so still have that hardware/software and after the 8 track bug bit, I decided to get into Elcaset. But without question, I've found more 8 track tapes out there than recordings in other "obsolete" formats.