Tuesday, April 17, 2018
VHS and Me
Why? Well part of it is while trying to save money I switched for about 6 months from buying say 5 to 10 DVDs/Blu rays a month to buy 10 to 15 bucks of VHS. Locally there is still a good supply of VHS in the thrift stores. And the prices are cheap. I was trying to save money cause my laptop had died and I needed to get another one. Was kinda stuck with a tablet as my only connection to the internet. And it was a bitch typing on it. So switching over to making videos was a good solution to keep the blog active and try my hand at something new.
The first two trips to the 5 places I can get VHS in my town got me hooked. I am always finding either stuff I want on DVD/Blu but never find,stuff that isn't out on DVD/Blu and finally the oddball stuff I never knew existed.
Really I never stopped collecting VHS. I first started in the mid 80s. Buying whatever cheap,back then 20 bucks for a new VHS was cheap LOL,and whatever caught my interest. In the late 90s and early 2000s when DVD started taking over I was buying lots of cheap,which now meant $1 to $5,vhs from video stores and even big box stores.
Then in fall of 2007 I moved. And in the move lost a bunch of VHS.Thankfully about 80% of it was stuff I had rebought on DVD. But sadly some of the VHS was stuff I had had since I was young. And some I still haven't replaced.
So now at least one day a month I make a circuit of the 5 places I can get VHS. Each of the places has their good and bad points. Hell here is a quick rundown of my "secret vhs stashes" LOL. The 3 people that read this and collect vhs and live within driving distance of my town can come scoop those tapes out from under me.Gonna start with the place closest to me and work my way farther away.
84 Mart-Out on Highway 84 heading to Natchez,and only a 5 minute drive from my home. It is a general junkstore. Ran by a retired Marine ,who's nickname is Sarge. You never know what you will find there. I have gotten comics,VHS,magazines,books,action figures and even LASERDISCS from Sarge. His prices are very fair. And he is always willing to haggle. Had a few times he gave me some stuff for free. Now part of that is my family is always donating stuff to him.Like how a few years ago we got new ceiling fans for all the rooms. And gave him 5 still working but 10 year old ceiling fans. But I have seen Sarge give other people stuff for free. You can tell he runs the place to give him something to do and making money isn't his #1 priority.
The only drawback to his place is it is a bit dusty and dark. And he has a bad habit of sometimes leaving stuff outside. So if you are grabbing VHS from here make sure to check them for mold. Sadly one time I found a great looking copy of Friday the 13th part 5 on VHS. Then I get home and see not only is the tape reels crusted with mold,but the inside of the slipcase is too.
Maw Pebs Needful Things-Yep named after the Stephen King book/movie. Ran by a mother and her son. It is the best of the thrift stores in town. Lots of furniture,clothes and other stuff. But Maw Pebs has the best prices and selection on books and DVDs/Blu rays locally. They have the best price on VHS but their selection over the past year has shrunk. I think cause I have bought a lot of VHS from here.
The son always gives you a deal if you buy in bulk. And they price dvds and blu rays the same price. Plus it doesnt matter if it is a single disc or say a tv show set that has 5 discs it will be the same price. One day I got Blacklist Season 1 on DVD,Flintstones season 3 on DVD and Scrubs season 4 on DVD. For the low total of $5.
Another great thing about Maw Pebs is well every VHS collector has heard about or read the articles on how Black Diamond Disney Clamshell VHS are worth huge bucks. We know these articles are bullshit. But sadly lots of mom and pop thrift stores and antique dealers have read it and believe it. The son at Maw Pebs asked me about it,cause as he had told me I was the only person to come in in over 2 years to buy vhs,about the article. I showed him on his phone how to check complete auctions on Ebay. "Fair enough. Does $1 for the clamshells or 7 for $5 sound fair?" I mean sure it isn't 50 cents but he is running a business and a buck is a fair price.
The only drawback to Maw Pebs is they own a huge great dane that stays in the store a lot. He will bark and is loud. He has never came towards me. And since he is a big dog the store has a bit of a doggie smell.
Vender's Emporium-I have done two posts here on my trips to Venders'.Sadly since the last one Venders has went downhill. It is now mostly locally made t-shirts and just stuff I have no interest in. The one booth that usually had comics hasn't had any in a long time. There is never any good dvds. And the last few times I have found VHS it was 5 to 10 bucks a tape. And was dirt common crap. Or stuff I have no interest in.
Lincoln County Public Library-While it doesn't always have VHS. When they do it is 25 cents a tape and usually good stuff.Found lots of BBC and UK TV stuff here. A decent amount of kid's cartoons that I grew up seeing and even a Blockbuster Exclusive Extreme Dinosaurs VHS. Plus they have books,magazines,cds and even DVDs for sale cheap.
St Andrew's Thrift Store-For VHS this place has the largest selection. And I have found lots of great stuff here. But the drawbacks almost out weigh the positives.
First off the area of the store the VHS are in is hard to get to. If you want to look at the lower shelves you pretty much have to sit on the floor. The last time I went someone had put a small ottoman in the area so I sat on it. Plus they put the VHS two deep on the shelf. So lots of moving tapes around to see what is in the back.
Secondly I am not sure if they just dont have a good A/c unit or maybe the room the vhs are in doesn't get lots of the air. But it is always warm back there.
Thirdly and what I considered the biggest drawback until a month ago,I will explain,is the prices. The prices change depending on the whim of the older lady who runs the place. She is always pleasant to me. But I have talked to others that have had not so nice encounters with her. Normally it is $1 for slipcase VHS.And $2 to $3 for anything that isn't in a slipcase. With Disney being $3 and sometimes even $5.
And the fourth and final drawback. I need to set this up. I have been going to this thrift store for almost 10 years. For years I would go dig thru their CDs and DVDs and sometimes finding good deals. They want 50 cents for CDs and $1 to $4 for dvds. Usually when I go I spend 20 to 30 bucks. I am always nice and polite to the workers.And I try to straighten up the VHS,CD and DVD areas once I am done digging thru them. Well 3 months ago I go on a Friday grab a few tapes and the older lady tells me that the next day everything is half off. And that she was gonna fill the VHS,CD and DVD/Blu Ray area to capacity. Of course this meant I was going back the next day.
I go back the next day. Grab a buggy for the first time and spent an hour digging thru not only the vhs,cds and blu rays/dvds but also the books.Go about 40 bucks worth of stuff. I found a bunch of good deals on Blu Rays.
Take them to the front. Get rung up and the owner lady tells me "I see you came back and got more VHS. We got hundreds of tapes in the back. One day this week I am gonna go refill the tape shelves." I quickly asked her "is there any way I could go see what is in the back. I understand yall are super busy today. But if you would let me I would come whatever day would work for you." I get told I am not allowed in the back room and that some day the following week she would refill the VHS shelves.
So every 2 days for 3 weeks I go check and the shelves aren't refilled. I stopped going to St Andrews for almost 2 months. Went back 3 weeks ago and she had finally refilled the shelves. And they weren't even totally full.
But anyways. You never know what you are going to find at St Andrews. I found some uncommon VHS of the 2 different early 80s Spider Man cartoon. A really cool holiday themed VHS of the old Colgate Comedy Show with Abbott and Costello. And even though they charge more I have found lots of fun clamshell VHS. Like the never released to DVD or Blu ray,at least in region 1,Freddie the Frog AKA Freddie as FR07. An early 80s UK made animated film about a prince that gets turned into a frog and becomes a James Bond like secret agent.
As to why I love VHS.... well yea lots of it is nostalgia. I grew up with tape as the home media format. My family got our first VCR in the late 70s,it was a BetaMAX. And by 83 or 84 had gotten a VHS vcr. Which meant the Betamax got moved to my bedroom. So at a young age I had a vcr in my room. And quickly started recording my favorite shows. For decades I had stacks of BetaMAX tapes with stuff like Spider man and his amazing friends,Voltron and lots of mid 80s wrestling.
Another part of it is I never really owned or felt the need to have a DVR. From when I got that BetaMAX in the early 80s until 2010 I always had a VCR hooked up to my antenna/cable/satellite. And always had a stack of blank tapes to either time shift shows/events or record them to keep. In 2010 I got a set top DVD recorder and use that.
As I have been typing this I have been going thru all the "blank" vhs I have in the cabinet under my old TV stand.There has to be at least 60 tapes down there. Most of them unlabeled. Usually at least one night a week I toss in one of these mystery tapes and see what is on it. Lots of movies recorded off channels like IFC,Sundance,Documentary channel and even Turner Classic Movies. And lots of wrestling. But my favorite find so far is an 8 hour tape of when SyFy channel was doing a marathon of the 70s version of Land of the Lost. Sure I own the first and third season of that show on DVD. But there is something comforting about putting in that tape and watching it with the commercials. Seeing it in not so picture perfect quality,just like it looked when I was a kid watching it thanks to the rabbit ears I had on my TV.
I hope this kinda explained not only why the blog changed in format,but also why in 2018 I am still buying,using and enjoying a dead format like VHS. Sure the picture quality is kinda crap. And the sound can be ass. And they are bulky and take up lots of space. And your VCR can eat the tape. Plus all the other drawbacks to the analog tape format. But I don't care I love VHS and BetaMAX. And as long as I have a working VCR I will watch them.
