[dugarner]

A good friend of mine and I were planning to go into this service a few years ago, when I wasn't teaching as much and had free time. She has the scanner and the attachments, I had the time and tech knowledge. We just never got it started, but I bet there is a serious market for it, if people just know you do it. I bet I could have a full-time scanning business here in my small town. People don't trust the big stores that do it, and now that our local camera store is gone, you'd have to go to CVS, Rite Aid . . . and the people that work there, well, let's just say they aren't the sharpest tools in the shed.

I would be very, very nervous about shipping anything irreplaceable, so I'd rather just do it myself. A scanner with a negative/slide attachment isn't too much anymore, and depending on how many you have, it would probably pay for itself in just a couple batches.

This same friend of mine found some Super 8 films from when she was young---her mother and father were both deceased before she was 16---showing her playing with her mom. She wanted it on DVD and shipped it to just8mm.com, a small place in Longview, Texas, just a couple hours from here. She was a nervous wreck until the movie came back, packed in a box with the DVD and a bag of popcorn with a hand-written note that said, "Enjoy your movie!" She cried and cried, it was so special to her. It was the only video she had of her mom before she got so sick and she didn't even know she had it.

All that to say, it's up to you, the risk vs. reward. I would, without a doubt, try to keep something that precious in the States (or in your country, wherever you are.) And I would for sure ship UPS, FedEx, or another carrier whose business depends on satisfying and keeping repeat customers.