Customer profile
What was the name of your video store?
Box Office Video
Where was the store located?
Hammond, Indiana (United States)
When did you start shopping at this store?
1983
Describe your video store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features?
It was small with only a few windows and a yellow and black sign. All the videos were behind the counter and there were shelves with shrink wrapped boxes of the videos maybe a few hundred or so.
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 only employees I ever saw was the owner and a really cute girl who worked a lot. She was always very friendly and would constantly hit on my older brother. I remember the first time we rented there, we had to rent a VCR and put a 100 dollar security deposit on it. We rented I spit on your grave and Faces of Death, ah high quality entertainment for 2 teenage boys.
What other services/products did the store offer besides the rental or sale
of videos? Did this change over time?
They later began to rent video games and systems and offered home movie transfer to video.
What video formats did the store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
VHS and Beta, they were kept together but after a few years they dropped Beta and got Laserdisc for a few years.
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?
They had a small anime section, which I had never seen except for Star Blazers.
Did you tend to rent or buy videos? Why?
Rent, we rented the player until we bought a VCR. We just didn't want to buy at the time.
During the period that you shopped at this store, what changes did you see?
Quantity of movies, went from hundreds to thousands. Beta gone, Laserdisc came.
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?
No, it moved and later became a Blockbuster.
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 a Fisher 2 head VCR, it was 400+ bucks, bought it in 84/85. We were tired of having to hook up and unhook the rented player and to put a 100 dollar deposit.
Did you ever rent a VCR or other hardware (a camera, for instance)? If so,
how often and why?
Rented a VCR a lot for a couple of years and rented a camera a couple of times to just goof off.