Customer profile
What was the name of your video store?
i can't remember
Where was the store located?
plymouth, Indiana (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?
It changed locations, moving from downtown to just out of town, where it moved into a location previously occupied by a small neighborhood grocery store. No distinguishing features in either case. Since movies were catalogued and numbered based on the order they arrived at the store, the shelves were very disorganized, and it got worse as time went on, and there was no alphabetical order, though films were divided by genre. The second store had separate, small rooms for each genre of films, with the adult section at the back. The store also had a few film reference books to help renters. I'm sorry I can't remember the name of the store but it's been almost twenty years now.
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 remember the owner of the store seemed to have gotten into the business so he could meet porn stars at trade shows. He had a fairly large porno section and I remember seeing our high school phys. ed teacher renting a fistful of cheerleader porn films one afternoon--I thought of him years later when I saw Election. The one porn film the owner refused to stoock ws Behind the Green Door because he thought it glorified rape. I'm not sure how much of an interest he took in mainstream films but I got the impression he watched most of the films that came in and accused me of lying when I told him I managed to watch all of Ciao! Manhattan. He hired young girls to work with him and at the time, 1984 onwards, he wasn't using a computerized rental system so any rentals were processed by hand. 3 dollars per movie, or five dollars for two. You had the movies for two nights.
What other services/products did the store offer besides the rental or sale
of videos? Did this change over time?
At the time, nothing but videos, but as the years went on (and I moved away so I wasn't using the store at this point) he branched out into cell phones, and audio equipment for cars.
What video formats did the store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
When I joined, VHS and Beta, but it was only a matter of months before the Beta was phased out. This was 84-85. I really can't remember where the Betas were stored but theywere kept seperate from the VHS. I doubt the store ever rented laserdiscs.
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 every kind of video. And as I said, a fairly large porn section, which was in the back. I rented the pornos, most of them were "Golden Age" porn so they were more watchable than porn films are now. I rented one or twice a week, maybe 4 or 5 movies, mostly movies but on occasion the porn.
Did you tend to rent or buy videos? Why?
I never bought videos. They were never for sale at this point, at least not from this particular store. It didn't sell used tapes like stores do now. So I alwas rented.
During the period that you shopped at this store, what changes did you see?
Only that the selection got larger and more disorganized. The only big change was the change in location, from downtown to just out of town.
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?
No. It closed. It went out of business. Since I don't live in the town where it was located anymore, I can't be sure when it went out of business, probably some time in the late nineties or a bit after.
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?
I think it was a Sanyo. In 1984. Mostly so I could see movies from the video store I described. I can't remember where I bought it. Some electronics store at the mall. I remember after buying it reading a lot of bad consumer write-ups about this particular brand, butI never had any problems with it and it's still running today (though I haven't used it for years).
Did you ever rent a VCR or other hardware (a camera, for instance)? If so,
how often and why?
I've rented a VCR a few times, never a camera, and that was to dupe movies by connecting that VCR with my own. After awhile I just bought a second VCR. Previous to buying a VCR, it was possible to check one out of the library though there was a waiting list.