A: A: The advertising market has been an experience to say the least. I have chosen to advertise in areas that none of the local stores have tried before, so we will see if the risks pay off or not. We advertise at the Scotts Valley theater, cross-market with the Boulder Creek Country Club restaurant (Ironwoods), place ads in the Valley Post, this website and local theater plays.

The 2nd part of the question has been very frustrating. Customers would love to get coupons via that mailer, but Video 9 managed to negotiate a deal with ValPak when I opened that allowed only that store to advertise with them - so other video stores in the Valley cannot place ads now. I obviously do not agree with that philosophy and welcome competition.

A: We have already been embracing that philosophy for the past year. Almost one-third of our customers are buy-only shoppers now. We carry video games, new release DVDs, catalog titles and discount titles on a daily basis. Almost ½ of those customers order directly through me for titles they cannot find elsewhere or are just looking for a good deal.

I am able to accomplish that through using multiple distributors and wholesalers. Price matching has not been an issue because most large etailers and local retailers charge too much, so I love giving local DVD shoppers a great deal. Also, I can give a customer what the price will be on the spot. As soon as we get enough retail space, our displays will be 50% dedicated to sales.

A: Criterions are an excellent sampling of movies from acclaimed worldwide directors and talented cinematic pioneers. SLV Video has the largest publicly available collection in the area, which is unfortunate because these movies are excellent and should be carried en masse, but due to their inherent costs, they are not displayed very much in most stores.

Steve felt it was important enough to make these films the centerpiece of the store, look for them as you walk in the main door to your left.

A: Quite a few things. I have an entirely different philosophy of how to make DVD a part of one's home entertainment. The best feedback though has been from the people that no longer shop at certain stores, which have helped shape how I want to present the technology of DVD.

A: Primarily, how the product is displayed. I do not believe in the "library storage" of movies (stored like a bookend). I display all of the DVDs with the front cover facing the customer. Second, and most importantly, is the experience of how easy it can be to actually do sales in a local video store (I'll talk about that later). I also wished to make hard-to-find titles obtainable to the Valley population, i.e. the Criterion Collection, Superbits, and out-of-print (OOP) titles.

A: One of the best services I have been able to provide is immediate sales quotes and time tables for delivery of custom orders and basic title sales. Now that my customers have picked up on this, sales have actually matched rentals this quarter. Some of my customers are purchase-only shoppers now. It has been an obvious trend (to me) in the home entertainment market. There will always be a rental market, but there are a great many reasons this billion-dollar industry is being led with sales. It makes it all worthwhile to see a customer's face when I say what price I can purchase their movie for them. I feel people should have a GOOD opinion of what a video "rental" store should be and what they can do for the customer, not be just a rental store. Sometimes people do not categorize one store as the problem, they sometimes get the feeling that all video stores are like that.

A: I have done this as an off-the-record kind of service where I go to people's homes who are having difficulty in making their DVD players work. I truly wish for people to have a good experience with DVDs, and I am willing to take that needed time to help people adjust to this awesome technology.

A: I am not sure yet, but I know how free services can go in this Valley, and typically only the people that really need the help will ask for it - just seeing the surprise on someone's face when they see me fix their problem (me being an owner of a video store making a house call) is worth that in itself.

A: As with any store in this Valley - if you run a good shop with a good word of mouth reputation - you can succeed; especially in principle. This is not a business where I will ever get rich or retire young - I choose to do this because I enjoy it and I have made an impression in how a movie store should be run and maintained. Being the best store in this area took a great deal of work - and it can be just as hard to keep that title, but I love providing the services that I do. The Internet presence of Netflix does nothing except motivate me to provide the service I would have had Reed Hastings never been born. We carry titles they do not and provide services to our local community that Reed cares nothing about. As long as people shop locally – we will be able to give the support we do to the local schools and non-profit groups.

A: "Exclusive" questions.. Lately, customers have been asking about this onslaught of advertising from a chain store about "exclusives" that are allegedly only available through their front...untrue! (Truth in advertising right?..wrong.). All of these titles of late, including 1408, Planet Terror, You Kill Me, Miss Potter can be found any any retail or rental outlet. We carry all of the Weinstein/Genius (corporate sellouts now) titles for customers to enjoy.

A: The answer to this has been clear from the beginning - but competition in this case has helped bring the prices down much quicker than without. Nothing against Toshiba and the doomed HD camp, but it served a legitimate purpose in getting Sony to make it affordable faster. The reasons of quality, selection, hardware, gaming, and construction make formidable arguments - especially depending on who is paying that particular expert’s bills, but please be patient and know that any investment you will make in High Definition is worth the weight in pixels.

If you want to talk about all of the reasons regarding which selection to make - please call or come in and see me. I am a Blu-Ray store that carries HD products also. They will both be around for some time - but BD is the choice, and anyone that desperately tries to convince you otherwise is being paid blindly by Toshiba and HD camp. I enjoy a 1080 picture as much as anyone - and I hope you enjoy your time watching these stunning pictures. The arguments are fun though and I hope your research is fruitful.

A: Keeping Movie Nights Personal: SLV Video

Steve Kuehl felt like a success from the moment he opened the kind of movie rental store he had envisioned.

As soon as he saw the new building on the curve of Highway 9 through Ben Lomond, he knew he had found the necessary location. And this in an era when most video chains are scaling back or going bust.

A movie aficionado who hosts a radio movie review program, Keuhl designed the store he wanted to patronize but couldn``t find in the valley. The success of his business shows that he wasn``t the only person looking for a vast choice of titles and personal assistance with the technology to enjoy them.

As demanding as keeping on top of a retail location is, he believes it is an essential element for success.

"Each store that``s doing well in the valley has an involved owner," he said. He doesn``t see his competition as the video store in the next town as much as the growing online services.

"What sends people online is if they``ve had a bad store experience," he said. "Individual stores fighting it out will only kill us all."

He claims he carries the most titles in the county and has 300 not available through Netflix.

"Customers prefer to walk in on a Friday night and get their movie," he said.

And he believes in synergy. Teaming with Tony & Alba``s for a pizza and movie package provides another bonus that keeps customers coming back, and he enjoys working with another area business, he said.

In an industry that shifted from tapes to DVDs in a decade, he knows that eventually his business model could be outdated when downloading movies hits the mainstream.

"We``ll see where it takes us next. By 2018, our industry will have become something else," he said.

A: Local scenery

Steve Kuehl has gathered more than 35 movies with scenes shot in Santa Cruz County and has them available at his store, SLV Video, 9573 Highway 9, in Ben Lomond. The latest ones are “The Tripper” and “Graves End,” which had lots of local extras but was hardly shown in the U.S., except at festivals.

He gets help dusting and organizing from his two children, 8-year-old Blake and 5-year-old Tianna. His customers order Tony and Alba’s Pizza and other items from his Web site or by calling in, and they are delivered at 1 p.m. each Friday. Popular items to go with movies are Marianne’s ice cream bars and five kinds of ice cream pie.

A: I just helped a household get set up for wireless gaming...also did some simple reconnects and standard Hi Def runs for several other homes.

I also consulted on several installs and display recommendations - also assisted a couple customers with TV shopping and selections...

A: Excellent. We have been testing two stand alone players, but the results still sway universally towards the 60GB and 80GB PS3s as being the answer.

A: I do not sink a great deal of money into advertising. I have been relying on word of mouth and the store speaking for itself.

The four SV accounts that signed up this weekend were all impressed with what we do that Blockbuster does not. Especially the TV selection and game hardware rentals. Yes, gas is expensive, but I take good care of those that make the drive.

As far as the BC accounts go, the look of relief when they walk into the store for the first time makes it all worthwhile.

A: Customers were asking for a simpler way to read lengthier reviews. The database I had set up for my website is not as user friendly for finding my reviews by category or week. If I had an endless budget I would make another dbase for our site. A great deal of our customers use Amazon for their shopping and it had the least amount of trolls amongst review eligible sites.

You still get flamed like crazy if you pan some geek``s favorite film or game hardware, but I can take it.

A: Absolutely. The SLV Video trucks can be used anytime. Typically you will see the bigger Toyota in Scotts Valley, Capitola and Santa Cruz. The smaller one is in Mountain View daily. Call for locations or meet spots and we will get whatever you have for us.

A: Gaming, hardware sales, and services. The services include DVD player maintenance, our usual disc repair, assisting customers with their home theater issues, and helping with movie choices when times are tough.

A: I have invested serious time and money into providing honest reviews of films and gaming hardware. Between the radio show, online reviews, and in-store archives, I believe customers appreciate and show loyalty to someone that has forthright reviews of the inventory.