Customer profile
What was the name of your video store?
Midwest Drugs
Where was the store located?
Hays, Kansas (United States)
When did you start shopping at this store?
1981
Describe your video store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features?
They handled Sony products, and rented Beta movies, too. If you bought a Beta VCR, you got 75 free movie rentals. They displayed most of the current Sony audio-video products. It was in a mall, and the video counter was the first thing you saw when you entered the store.
What were the employees and/or owners like, and what kinds of interactions
did you have with them? What particularly memorable exchanges or events
do you remember?
The young manager is still there today. I have continued to buy Sony products there for nearly 20 years. VCRs, audo receivers, and TV sets have been recent purchases.
What other services/products did the store offer besides the rental or sale
of videos? Did this change over time?
When the Beta format gave way to VHS, they quit renting movies due to lack of room to carry a competitive list of titles.
What video formats did the store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
They carried Beta only at first, then added VHS when Sony entered that market. I don't think they ever carried Laserdiscs, since no one in the area sold or rented them.
In addition to mainstream Hollywood movies, what other kinds of videotapes
(for example children's, exercise, or X-rated) did the store rent/sell? Where were these
videos found in the store, and how often did you rent or purchase them?
There were children's titles, but no X-rated or self-help titles available. After our 75 free rentals, we continued to rent Beta movies until they dropped them.
Did you tend to rent or buy videos? Why?
Both. We usually rent first, and then buy movies that we want to watch again. We have favorites that we tend to watch many times. We have about 250 Beta titles, 100+ VHS titles, and about 50 DVD's.
During the period that you shopped at this store, what changes did you see?
We saw the death of Betamax in the market, as people chose the VHS format. I still don't understand why. Beta is a far better product [better picture], and takes less room. I suppose the fact that the Macrovision copy guard wouldn't work with Beta led the movie industry to push VHS to protect itself.
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?
It is still open, carrying a nice line of Sony products at a reasonable price. The manager knows his products, which isn't the case at many discount stores.
In your own words, tell the story of your first VCR/video player. Where
and when did you buy it, and why did you decide to make the purchase?
It was 1985. We had a complete Sony component audio system, and wanted to rent movies. The Beta machines sold for over $500 [our SL-HF600 was nearly $700]. We were tired of renting a VCR at our local video store. We wanted a permanent addition to our system.
Did you ever rent a VCR or other hardware (a camera, for instance)? If so,
how often and why?
We rented a VCR before we bought one. BTW, we still use the Beta machine [I just bought a backup machine last week] as well as a VHS machine. I never wanted a camera. Home videos are a pain; I hate watching them.