Almost skipped over this one, at a glance I thought it was some kind of chunky transistor radio of the "Columbus" brand, but then I saw the buttons and the HITACHI, the Columbus is just some sticker.
This is a cool little mono tapecorder thingy. Very clean "leather" (?, I think it might be real) case, no smells. Who knows what I can do with this, I don't feel like powering it up, but as a tchotchke? Wonderful!
Oh and it was 8$. I think this thing is worth maybe 20-25$ + shipping, considering I got no accessories and the battery cover is missing, it's fair. You can't notice it's missing with the case on.
8-tracks are 1/4 in, reel-to-reel existed in several sizes.