While on assignment for another class, I wandered into T&T video in Scottsburg, Indiana. The store is an independently owned and operated business--unlike those capatilist pigs: Blockbusters and Movie Gallery! (What can I say? I always favor the "little" guys.)
At any rate, The business is owned by Tony Solo; hence the first “T” in T&T. The second “T” represents Tony’s now deceased wife Tina. Tony has been in business in this location for twenty-five years.
The exterior of the structure the business is housed in is quite unassuming, but it gets much worse on the interior. Not only is it a bit ugly (the walls are painted a very unattractive lime green and the shelving appears to have been constructed out of barn siding), but even more shocking is the fact that most of the “collection” is on VHS format! After entering the building I was convinced that I had taken a wrong turn and ended up in 1984.
Like most Rental stores, T&T has a Drama, Action, Comedy, and Adult section (Ooh-la-la). However, most of the collection is outdated. While I was in the store I spoke to Tony about his collection and he told me that he was not really making any money these days; therefore, he could not always afford to buy the latest releases, and when he could, he could not afford multiple copies. He told me that he still has some customers who have not purchased DVD players or those who are looking for an older movie to rent, but that it was just too difficult for him to compete with the aforementioned conglomerates who also have stores in the rather small town.
As I stated at the beginning, I always favor the “little” guys; However, as I left Tony’s establishment I asked myself, “Is there really a need for a place like T&T video?” Well, there is if I want to rent Rambo: First Blood. However, I think I just seen a copy of that in the $5.00 DVD bin at Wal-Mart!
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3 comments:
Wow, I thought this small town of Pendleton that I moved to a couple years ago was in the dark ages! I have not seen VHS for a while. When I started reading your blog, it reminded me of Bloomington. That is where I am from originally. I remember going into the rather unique stores around the Kirkwood areas as a child. I think Tony needs to invest in looking for a new career.
I was reading something about the now finished battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD recently. The writer made the point that Blu-ray's victory may be shortlived since downloading videos from the Internet is much more convenient. It's hard to believe that a video store would just stock VHS. So long Tony!
Dr. Ball,
But for some reson, I just can't help feeling sorry for Tony....
Michael
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