Customer profile
What was the name of your video store?
Koala-T Video
Where was the store located?
Scottsdale, Arizona (United States)
When did you start shopping at this store?
1984
Describe your video store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features?
Typical small video store of the time. A fairly standard sized strip mall unit. The front windows would be covered in the new release posters of the day. The walls were covered with racks of the empty movie boxes and the shelves of tapes behind the counter. And, of course, the mandatory porn section in the back sectioned off by wood wall panneling and saloon-like swinging doors. I loved the box of movie posters that we could buy once the release had run its course. That would become the main source of wall decoration formy room.
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?
I never really got to know the owners, but there were two employees who were film students at the local CC who were very nice and fun to chat about movies with. We'd discuss Hitchcock and Speilberg and the like. After a while, he would always try to bump my family's name to the top of waiting lists for the hot new releases and would give me first crack at buying the cheaper used copies.
What other services/products did the store offer besides the rental or sale
of videos? Did this change over time?
The usual candy type of things. I don't ever recall if they rented video games or not. The movie posters were huge.
What video formats did the store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
Mostly VHS. I think they phased Beta out just about when we started renting from them. I do remember a very light attempt at the first laserdiscs that were encased in plastic sleeves, but it didn't amount to much of anything.
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?
The store had tapes broken into the usual sections: New releases, Drama, Action/Adventure, Horror, Sci-fi, Comedy, Family/Childrens, Other, and the forementioned Adult scetion. New Releases were on a rack right at the front of the store. The porn was in the very back. I do believe that the horror section rack was right in front of the porn corral and foreign was around the corner. Family/Children's was a small section in a back corner. We primarily rented from the new release section but would get from the drama, comedy, action, sci-fi sections as well. We rented about a movie a week, more in the summers. Purchases were few and far between, but I did buy a used copy of Ferris Bueller from them and thought it was gold!
Did you tend to rent or buy videos? Why?
We would always rent. Purchase prices were so high back then and it just never seemed to make sense to buy. Besides, we could tape movies from cable is we wanted to own them, or so we thought.
During the period that you shopped at this store, what changes did you see?
not much until the store was bought out by the Video+ chain. We had moved by that time anyway and changed our rental location to the closer Warehouse Records. Not nearly as much charm or selection, but it was close, big and glitzy.
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?
Closed. It was bought by Video+ around '86 and then they closed a few years later. The whole wing of that strip mall has since been demolished and replaced by a larger grocery store, but a Blockbuster sits very near that old location.
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 bought as a present for when I completed 8th grade and was about to enter high school. My folks suprised me along with a rented copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I watched it about 4 times that night and next day.
Did you ever rent a VCR or other hardware (a camera, for instance)? If so,
how often and why?
nope.