Remember the good ol' days when you'd pop down to the corner video store, browsing through shelves of video tapes, DVDs, trading cards, and those oh-so-cool pop culture comics? Yeah, those were the times.
But hey, just like all good things, even our beloved United Video stores must come to an end.
The last standing United Video store in the South Island has closed up shop after an incredible run of almost forty years. Yep, it’s some terrible news that's hitting us right in our nostalgic hearts.
SOURCE: whatsoninvers.nz
Daryle and Kim Blackler, who've been dishing out flicks for years, decided to press that eject button for good at their Invercargill shop.
"We suffered from not just the technology change but we suffered through Covid,” Daryle told 1News.
“WE WOULD HAVE LOST AROUND 50% OF OUR CUSTOMERS IN THE FIRST LOCKDOWN IN 2020."
See, while we were all getting lost in the magic of streaming services, these video havens were fighting to keep up. And it wasn't just that! Those big media giants decided DVDs were a thing of the past.
Oh, how I’ll miss rewinding the tape back to the start before returning it to the drop box and carefully checking each DVD disk for scratches before renting.
Now, there's only two United Video shops holding strong and they’re both up in the North Island's Masterton and Morrinsville.
Since the Blacklers announced their final closure over six weeks ago, roughly 30,000 DVDs found new homes.
SOURCE: United Video Morrinsville on Facebook
As the final credits roll on this chapter for the Blacklers, they’ve decided to take a breather before diving into their next adventure.
So, while it’s incredibly sad to see yet another store shut up shop, let’s appreciate the couple we have left and support them while we still can.
Is anyone interested in a movie night, this weekend? I’ll grab the popcorn!
