Maybe someday I'll find that case of caution yellow Lifeguards !!  (HIGHLY DOUBT IT !!) 

Yeah, I have that fantasy too!

Yeah, I've been buying more lamps I plan to use than lamps I plan to collect at the Restores now. Some of the Restores here have branched out into selling other goods too. One now has a clothing section and almost all of them have furniture too. Another tried making a separate section of more collectible stuff such as antiques.

Restores here are exempt from collecting sales taxes here and typically price things to around 50-75% of retail so if you have a use for it, the ones here are still a good deal.

Independent thrift stores are pretty nice too, they tend to price things cheaper than SA, GW, or VV and sometime have neat stuff there. 

 All I'll say regarding ReStore is that like any other store , they are there to make money , not cater to collectors . Plus , you also need to factor what they pay to rent the space they're in . The building we moved into in 2005 cost us $3.76 per square foot per month back then !!  Then add in insurance , employee saleries and it adds up quickly . They need to stock popular stuff that'll sell quickly , not niche stuff that'll sit for awhile and take up valuable floor space . Also , if they accept cases of fluorescent tubes for example (hazardous waste) the cost to disposes of them if no one buys them just destroys any profit margins !

 All in all , I don't go into ReStore expecting to find rare items but it DOES occasionally happen and I do occasionally find some really good deals and cool items !

 Maybe someday I'll find that case of caution yellow Lifeguards !!  (HIGHLY DOUBT IT !!) 

Medved tend to demonize the ignitor circuit it certainly will not strike an uncontrollable arc through a fuse, energy/voltage is too low. BUT it can flash over some poorly made input circuits and kill the multimeter. That's real, fuse won't help.

Anyway, if the ignitor is open circuit board, it is rather trivial to verify the components. If it is potted type, the easiest way is to check it is by replacement.

You  may try to start the lamp the old school way, by connecting a low voltage (single tube) fluorescent starter in series with say, 100W incandescent bulb, parallel to HPS lamp. Incandescent lamp works for current limiting, so a short circuit current of the choke (about 2A) won't stuck the starter.
 

Thank you for the responses! But the video seems to be now deleted...

Well, here in Romania if you don't like anything other than cars, sports and other ,,normal'' hobbyes you are called crazy.
I once told a friend that i like lights and he started hysterically laughing and told the whole class and they laughed at me
My dad and my grandparents think that my hobby is stupid but my mom is very supportive of me and lets me bring home any fixture or lamp.

@coolbeans: We've corresponded, but it's been long time.
@Bulbman256: Guess I could leave a tag with 'LG-BT25'in them...but then someone else will buy it.

You should leave a cryptic message inside a luminaire next time you donate one.

That funny and pretty cool to see. Have you reached out to him before?

I have avoided the restores in my area. One focuses on furniture, and no mercury or non-specalty incandescent lamps at any locations. I did find some interesting things at the restore up north in McHenry, but selection is not great. My biggest gripe with resore are their prices in general are at or just below retail price. There is a massive independent thrift store by me that I like to frequent and they sell anything you could imagine.