Customer profile
What was the name of your video store?
Fotomat
Where was the store located?
Batavia, New York (United States)
When did you start shopping at this store?
1977
Describe your video store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features?
I rented my first video in (I think) 1977. Fotomat was a chain of Photo Processing booths set up in Plaza parking lots. It was a drive through operation. They did not actually have an inventory of movies in the booth. You called a toll free number and ordered the movie and then one or two days later you would pick it up at the booth. The first movie I got was MASH. In Betamax, of course. There was also a electronics store in Rochester that sold VCR's and kept an inventory of movies taped off of HBO for their customers use. They got busted in 1979 for movie priacy. They also had a very, very bad copy of STAR WARS, which was the holy grail of bootlegs at the time. My friends and I sat any watch probably the worst quality picture I ever saw and enjoyed it.
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?
What other services/products did the store offer besides the rental or sale
of videos? Did this change over time?
What video formats did the store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
(Mostly BETA in upstate NY. A few VHS later.
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?
Did you tend to rent or buy videos? Why?
Rent and copy. Too expensive to buy.
During the period that you shopped at this store, what changes did you see?
Most local stores started out great but could not compete with the big chains. People was the new release today.
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?
No
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?
Did you ever rent a VCR or other hardware (a camera, for instance)? If so,
how often and why?