Storeowner profile
What is/was the name of your video store?
Idle Times
Where was the store located?
Spur, Texas (United States)
When did you open/buy this store?
1987
In your own words, please tell the story of how you got involved in the video retail
industry. When did you open your first video store? Why did you decide to do so?
It was really my sister's idea, she purchased a VCR and was renting movies from every place in town. After about a year she had gone thru all of the movies worth seeing. The local rental places were racks in grocery stores and never got updated very often. Being a "movie nut" , she got mad because no one would get more newer movies. She complained to me about it, and we decided we would open up a real video store. The store acually started as a used book store, we added 20 movies (yep, no typo that's twenty videotapes). We poured all of our spare money into the store and soon had a real video store. Yhe current store has more than 6000 VHS tapes and 400 DVDs. Not bad for a town that only has 1200 people in it. We are the only videostore in town, but the interest in renting movies has waned and is causing us to lose money, but we're sutbborn and will hang on as long as we can.
Describe your video store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features, and why did you choose to design it this way?
The original store was a little 11' x 20' rundown building on main street. It was used because it only cost $1500, try that in a big town.;-) We used what ever we could find or build ourselves. Shelving was all built bu\y my sister and myself. It wasn't pretty , but it was functional. The current building was built by us because the old one was just too small. We moves into the new building with about 3000 VHS tapes. It's 40' x 90' with a kitchen so we can make take-out pizza on the weekends. The interior is sorta "Western" style, with exposed roof beams. Most of the shelving is painted in a blue color we pickes out for the original store.
What were your customers like? What particularly memorable customers
or events do you remember?
Heh, no comment. ;-) Memorable events... like maybe the time someone urinated on a standee. (didn't like the movie I guess) The police returning a bunch of movies and a VCR after they found them during a drug bust. A bunch of kids drove a car thru the wall in our new building, destroying a shelf and throwing movies nearly 40' to the other side of the building.
What were your employees like? What qualifications or expertise did
you look for in an employee?
Tried a few but ended up just working the store ourselves.
What video formats did your store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store? How did this selection change over time?
Mostly VHS, the format war was pretty much over with by the time we started our store. Until 2001 we started getting DVD.
In addition to mainstream Hollywood movies, what other kinds of videotapes
(for example children's, exercise, or X-rated) did your store rent/sell? Where were
these videos found in the store, and how important were they to your business?
We had Adult for a while, but my sister was running the store mostly alone and she didn't like the people so we quit. We kept them behind the counter and had a "Blue" book for the customer to look at. They made money , but not enough to mess with.
What other services/products did you offer besides the rental or sale of
programs? Did this change over time?
I did VCR repair and now I repair compters. We have pizza on the weekend, and sell comics and a few collectable toys. I have always been an Anime fan so I have a well stocked ( and money losing) Anime section.
Did you ever rent VCRs or other hardware to your customers? If so,
how important were hardware rentals to your business?
Yes, VCRs and Videogame systems. Regreted every minute of it. In the beginning it was important, but every one quickly started getting their own. I was glad when I threw the last rental VCR in the dumpster. Never made any money on hardware because of repair costs.
During the period that you worked in video retail, what changes did you see
taking place in the industry as a whole?
I guess the biggest change was the reliance on "New Releases". That sucked up lots of our spare cash just keeping up with the $80 new releases.I can remember when people would have a second or third choice for a movie. Now it's "I want
now or I'll go home with out a movie"
Are you still in the video retail business? If so, please describe your current
involvement in the video industry.
Yep, same as before... just don't make any money any more. Too damn stubborn to quit. I guess I need to get a real job. ;-)