Customer profile
What was the name of your video store?
Premiere Video
Where was the store located?
jonesboro, Arkansas (United States)
When did you start shopping at this store?
1985
Describe your video store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features?
It looked like any other video store, rows of tapes divided by genre with additional videos on the walls. The one thing that did stick out in my mind was that was where I first saw adult movies (I was 10-11). In our little Christian town of 35,000 the idea that adult movies would be on the shelf floored me. And as near as I can remember they stayed out there for several years before being moved to the back room behind the swinging doors.
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 can remember when my dad went in to get us a membership to Premiere Video. The cost to get a membership was $150.00, which is not a small amount of money even today. My dad almost had a fit when he found out but he paid anyway.
What other services/products did the store offer besides the rental or sale
of videos? Did this change over time?
The only other thing the store offered were video games for rent.
What video formats did the store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
When I first started going all they had were BEta tapes for the first 6 months or so. When VHS came out the store was divided into two sections, the left hand side were all VHS and the right hand sid was all Beta. Eventually the beta section got smaller and smaller until it disappeared altogether.
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 X-rated were in the back left hand corner for a long time then they were mvoed into the back right hadn behind swinging doors. The children's movies were ironically enough in the back right hand corner as well but they only surrounded the door to the video room. I assume this was to shame theose who went for adult videos.
Did you tend to rent or buy videos? Why?
I do both, some movies are special to me and have meaning so I want them around while others are just to pass the time.
During the period that you shopped at this store, what changes did you see?
The video store went from being a status symbol and an expensive thing to get into to 8 years later anyone could walk in with $2.00 and get a membership.
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?
It is still open although it has moved locations to a couple of blocks south.
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?
My father came home with our beta player one day and we were thrilled. We still have ti somewhere. The thing I remember was the basic control it came with. But ours had a cord that connected it to the vcr so you had to untangle the cord every time you wanted to use it. Of course it was only 6 months or so before VHS came out and made our little unit completely useless.
Did you ever rent a VCR or other hardware (a camera, for instance)? If so,
how often and why?
Nope, never rented.