Video Rental Store Ideas

[claws]

Our town still has a video rental store  It opened in the late 1980s. We used to have six or seven rental places, but they all closed over the years except for this one. Last time I was in that store was 2012 when my back then brother in law rented DVDs for New Years viewing.

The owner did post on our town's Facebook page the other day asking for support, but he was pretty much laughed at. Apparently his movie selection is outdated. He also still has PS2 games for rent.

This got me thinking. How could a video rental store survive in this day and age where everyone is streaming?

My idea would be a nostalgia themed rental place with only sci-fi and horror movies older than 25 years. I would also include a VHS rental museum filled with ex-rental tapes, posters, vintage video ads, old school TVs, vcrs and Laserdiscs.

I doubt it would do great business but maybe it would attract some sort of niche crowd. Do you have any Ideas?

[Alex]

I would think it would depend on how large your population base is. If you are in a small town, then your chances of success are slim. If it's somewhere larger that would have a large enough population to support more niche interests and you might be onto something. You have to have something though that is going to attract people to come in through the door rather than just streaming something from the comfort of their home. Maybe have a cafe or something?

[claws]

I would think it would depend on how large your population base is. If you are in a small town, then your chances of success are slim. If it's somewhere larger that would have a large enough population to support more niche interests and you might be onto something. You have to have something though that is going to attract people to come in through the door rather than just streaming something from the comfort of their home. Maybe have a cafe or something?

Our town has a population of 13,000. It is surrounded by farm land, lakes and woods. It always had a small town "hick" vibe and some folks here continue to stick with outdated traditions typical to our area, even younger generations. I can somewhat understand this video rental place still going. If they wouldn't do business at all they would have closed a long time ago I assume.
Beside movies and games they offer soft drinks and snacks from their counter. They used to sell gamer and computer magazines, no idea if they still do.

Either way, it's a relic but not really in a good way but still typical for our town.

I do like the Idea of incorporating a cafe  

[Rev. Powell]

http://blog.scarecrow.com/

It's incorporated as a nonprofit. They are moving into rent-by-mail like Netflix.

I think I've heard of an independent theater than also hosts DVD rentals somewhere.

I had an idea for a combination movie-themed bar/screening room/rental place.

[The Burgomaster]

I worked in a video rental store in the 1980s and at that time there was a very small, dedicated group of customers who rented older movies and "obscure" movies. Our bread and butter was new releases . . . most customers were looking for stuff that had been released within the last month or two . . . maybe 6 months at most. They would refer to releases from a year or two ago as "old movies." Unfortunately, I don't think there are enough people who want to see the "nostalgia" titles to keep a store afloat. Especially with streaming options.

Personally, I buy the movies I want to see. I wouldn't rent them and I hardly ever use streaming services (except Netflix, but only sporadically).

I recently found a GREAT store in Salem, NH called BULL MOOSE. It has a HUGE selection of movies, music, books, games (board and video) and other stuff. They sell new and used. I bought 15 blu-rays and would have bought more if I had more time to shop. They had THOUSANDS of movies. I was there for an hour and didn't even have time to see all the blu-rays.

[RCMerchant]

I still have a couple of hundred VHS tapes (and a player!). Mostly horror and exploitation titles.

[pacman000]

I'm more interested in video stores you can buy from than rent from; stores selling videos are going away too. 

I can see a video rental place working in a small, U.S. town, because major IP services leave those places alone. Not enough profit to run new cables capable of providing the bandwidth needed for streaming. Even that market, however, is shrinking.

[RCMerchant]

^ I buy them from the flea market. I love when I find a nice clam shell horror title.

[Trevor]

All the video hire places in my neighborhood have closed: during the 1980s and early 1990s when South African cinemas were not open on Sundays, video stores did a huge trade, somehow being exempt from the law.