Video Shops, Rewinding Tapes And Late Fees
Walking to the video shop was the event. Choosing was the event. Watching the film was almost incidental.
Here's the whole thing.
Cards drawn and printed by us
Funny, rude and warm greeting cards for every occasion, blank inside, printed in the UK with kraft envelopes. Order on a working day and it usually goes out the same day.
Happy Birthday Papa (Happy Birthday Card) (Multiple designs)
£3.87
Happy Birthday Bab (Happy Birthday Card) (Multiple designs)
£3.87
Yoda Best Multi-Occasion Greeting Card
£3.87
Happy Birthday Handsome (Happy Birthday Card) (Multiple designs)
£3.87
You Old Bastard (Funny Birthday Card)
£3.87
Happy Birthday Card For The World's Best Sister-in-Law
£3.87
The shop itself
- Empty display boxes on the shelves, with the actual tape behind the counter on a numbered rack.
- The new releases wall, with three copies of the big film and all of them out.
- The independent shop with a bloke who had opinions, and later Blockbuster with its blue and yellow shelving.
- The membership card, with your household details on a paper form.
- The curtained-off section at the back, which every child knew about and nobody mentioned.
- The sweets and popcorn by the till, sold at a mark-up nobody questioned.
- Two for one on a Tuesday, or whichever night your shop did it.
- Renting a console and two games for the weekend, which was a whole separate thrill.
The rules
- Be kind, rewind. Printed on a sticker on every tape, obeyed by roughly half the population.
- Late fees, charged per day, which were the actual business model rather than an inconvenience.
- Back by noon, or by six, depending on the shop.
- Overnight rentals versus weeklies, at different prices.
- The film you wanted always being out, and having to choose a second or third option in front of everyone.
- Family arguments conducted entirely in the middle of a shop.
- The tape being worn out from three hundred rentals, with tracking lines across the picture.
The tapes
- Tracking, and the button you pressed to fix the wobbling line.
- Trailers at the start you couldn't skip, and the piracy warning with the flickering white text.
- Recording off the television, and the tape with your cousin's wedding on one side.
- Long play mode, grainy, so you could get three films on one tape.
- The tab you snapped off to stop something being taped over, and the sticky tape you used to undo that.
- Sitting through the whole thing because there was no pausing without the picture shaking.
Why it ended
- DVD from the late nineties, which was better in every measurable way and needed no rewinding.
- Supermarkets selling DVDs cheaply enough that renting stopped making sense.
- Postal rental, then streaming, which removed the journey entirely.
- Blockbuster's UK stores closed in 2013 after the company went into administration.
- What actually went was not the films. It was leaving the house on a Friday with your family to choose one together.
How to write it so it lands
- Late fees were the business model, not a penalty.
- The film you wanted was always out.
- What disappeared was the journey, not the films.
Where to shop next
- Sweets that disappeared
- School dinners we all remember
- Toys of the 80s and 90s
- Christmas presents every child got
- Computers and consoles we grew up with
- Phones before mobiles
- Dial-up, MSN and MySpace
- Cassette tapes and taping the charts
- The Argos catalogue and the wishbook
- School stuff we all had
- Cars, caravans and the British seaside
- Things kids today will never understand
- Out until the streetlights came on
- What childhood cost then vs now
- Sweets quiz
- Guess the year quiz
- Growing up in the 80s and 90s
- Free feel good tools
- Shop cards
- Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
- How to make a balloon arch
- Photo booth prop ideas
- Birthday cards for kids
- Wedding cards
- Wedding cards guide
- Pin badges
- All guides
Frequently asked questions
Why did video tapes say 'be kind, rewind'?
Because the next customer would otherwise have to rewind it themselves before watching. Many shops charged a small fee for returning a tape unwound.
When did Blockbuster close in the UK?
The UK stores closed in 2013 after the company went into administration. DVD sales in supermarkets and then streaming had already removed most of the business.
What was tracking on a VHS?
An adjustment that aligned the playback heads with the recorded tape. If the picture had wobbling lines across it, you pressed the tracking button until they cleared.
Do you sell anything to do with this?
No - we make greeting cards, prints and pin badges. This one is purely for the memory.