Two local retailers have bucked the business trendsDate: 6/27/2018 SPRINGFIELD – They are the last retailers standing.
In two merchandise categories that used to be common in the city, there is now just one full-time store that sells DVDs and one that is a general interest bookstore.
Red Brick Books at 789 Page Blvd. and Movie Town Home Video Center at 534 Main St. in Indian Orchard both sell used items and both boast large inventories.
Jennie Stebbins of Movie Town and Marcia Fuller of Red Brick both told Reminder Publications the same thing: if you see something you like and can afford it, buy it now as it may not be there when you come back.
Stebbins has been in the home video business since 1984 when she and her late husband opened a video shop in Wilbraham. Originally the business was centered on rental, but Stebbins explained that when they moved the shop to Indian Orchard in 2000 they made the transition from renting to selling used VHS tapes and DVDs.
Today, Stebbins’s shop is a movie lover’s paradise. Nearly one half of the shop has DVDs while the other has VHS. There are also racks of music CDs and cassettes. She also carries games.
The prices are very affordable: DVDs are three for $10, seven for $20; VHS are $1; CDs are $1; and cassettes are four for $1. Games have varying prices.
Stebbins said she enjoys her regular customers, some of who were children renting tapes more than 20 years ago.
When asked if she had a system to how her inventory is displayed, she said she tried to keep the DVDs in alphabetical order but customers putting a DVD back on the shelf in the wrong order eventually defeated her.
“I can’t keep it going anymore, “ she said. “People spend hours in here.”
Customers have to be willing to look for their treasures. This writer came away from a recent trip with a VHS of the 1947 movie serial “Jack Armstrong,” and a DVD of a European horror film starring Spanish star Paul Naschy.
During the interview two customers came up to the counter with a pile of DVDs.
The media offerings are literally almost to the ceiling. “Every little space is utilized,” she said.
If you’re interested in a title, Stebbins said she has a pretty good idea whether or not it’s in the shop. She readily admitted she has no idea of the number of items she has for sale and added she has stopped buying VHS tapes for the shops as her basement
Since half the shop is VHS tapes, one wonders if there is much call for them today. Stebbins said people are still buying VHS. Many films released on the medium never made it to DVD or Blu-ray, she noted. People also come into her shop looking for VCRs, but she does not sell hardware.
“It’s like walking through a time machine,” she said of the shop and its collection.
Some VHS and DVDs that are collectible are sold through eBay, she added.
Stebbins recalled how she and her husband would spend their Sundays watching VHS screeners to determine which tapes to buy for the store. Initially, VHS tapes were not priced for the consumer and would cost store owners as much as $80 or $90, she explained. It would take a while for many titles to earn back the initial investment, she added. So selecting the right titles was important.
The shop is closed Tuesdays and Sundays, but open every other day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Stebbins said she has no interest in retiring.
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Fuller has been running her bookstore for 38 years and made the decision to get into the business when two events took place: she was laid off from a job with the town of Ludlow and she saw the bookstore a friend was operating in Chicopee.
Her husband Dick was running Fuller Auto Body on Page Blvd. and asked her what she wanted to do.
Her answer was a bookstore and she originally took part of the space in the auto body shop for it. In 1986 the couple bought the building next to their other business.
That building is stocked almost floor to ceiling with hardcover and paperbacks organized by genre. There are also several racks of DVDs and boxes of old magazines. Looking for a Popular Science form the 1950s or ‘60s? Fuller may have it.
She admits that over the years the business “hasn’t been too bad” with some “ups and downs.”
Today she sells books not only through the shop but online as well. She said she has a separate collection of collectible editions that she retails through AbeBooks.com and Amazon.
She has many loyal local customers, but also sees people regularly from out of the area who have found her shop online and come to check it out for themselves.
As someone who has shopped at the store, despite her organization, shoppers should prepare for an intense retail experience. Like Stebbins, Fuller has no idea of the number of books she has in stock.
Although she used to build her inventory through tag sales and auctions, she said people now bring in their books to sell.
Her shop is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
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