Need advice from storage wizards
I know this has probably been asked to death, but I could really use some help. I've been getting into hoarding game installers this past year. I really enjoy building up my own version of steam and it's nice to have something to work on in the background.
But now I'm realizing 8TB is weenie-hut junior storage, and I'm also realizing I missed the cheap $/TB era. What am I even supposed to do? I don't know where to buy reliable hard drives that isnt amazon, bestbuy, walmart, or the sellers websites.
I think I can squeeze out another year of this hobby if I get anywhere from 16-28TBs, but the max I can afford for a while is $400-500. Is there a strategy that you more experienced data hoarders use to keep prices low? Is the fact that I need reasonable read/write for downloading and using the installers going to make it harder? Is the second hand market risky?
Any advice helps, sorry if this comes across as a struggle session, I've just been financially locked out of a small hobby of mine and I miss it. Thanks!