VHS - the comeback kid

[mcmarc]

I opened my first store seven years ago with no vhs in stock.  People grumbled but eventually bought dvd players.  Three years ago I bought a store that was mostly vhs, liquidated as much as I could, then moved the location.  We always had a small stock around to sell, but never thought anything of it.  As soon as we thought we sold off what we had, people would give us more.  Last year, we started paying people for tapes, and these people had some amazing collections.  Now looking at my March figures, I am selling as much vhs tapes in a week as I did a month a year ago.  That number has now eclipsed my used and new dvd sales.

I don't know if vhs would work for everybody.  The clientele are horror fans, hipster kids and retirees.  We are pushing them as the "new LP" in ads, and that seems to be working.  We rotate stock in and out so the selection looks fresh.  I am always checking craigslist and yard sales.  I am buying used vcrs, cleaning them and selling them for about $10.  I am able to cull through collections and always find tapes that are worth more online (ALOT more).  It takes some work, but it looks like the effort is paying off.

Later this month, I am going to try something else stupid.  I have been collecting classic video games over the past few months and will begin to rent them out, or sell them if the customer wants.

[moviecritic202]

Keep us posted on the video game thing Marc, as I've been giving thought to that too!  There is a store the next town over to me who I've been getting a ton of great catalog titles from and they have the old systems and games as well.  The owner, mainly in an attempt to sell his product more than help my store, suggested that there may still be a rental market for Nintendo, Super Nintendo & Sega.  He suggested I buy a few of each system and a bunch of games and rent them out as a package deal.

At first I thought he was just trying to get rid of his invintory (he was) but after dealing with him a couple of times I realized he was also trying to help my business.  He told me he'd sell me a couple of systems and a bunch of games for $300 (I don't remember all the details).  This is something I may be interested in eventually but not until after I'm satisfied with my catalog section.  By the way, I've been able to get DVD's for $2 on average and he sends people to my store who want to rent (he just B,S,T) and anyone who needs a disc repaired are referred to me also.

Sorry for the long post.  Let me know how the retro gaming works for you.

Nick

[moviesgamesetc]

We buy vhs for .25 and resell them for 1.00. People bring in bag loads of great looking tapes to sell, kids movies are especially popular. About the time I think I'm going to be all sold out, like the next day I get more in and the buyers start again!