Watch all the videos you want for one low price!  If it sounds like Netflix, that’s because it’s the same business model.  However, Video Mailbox was created by Peter A. Bobley in the late 1980′s!  Rather than DVDs, they used VHS tapes, but the business model was the same:  you pay a monthly subscription fee, you pick a queue of movies, and then you watch them, return them, and repeat the cycle!  Hacking Netflix, one of my favorite new Netflix-related sites, has all the information you need for your 80′s nostalgia trip.  Amazingly, Peter himself shows up in the comment thread to talk about his business venture, which makes for fascinating reading!

Here’s a great site about the history of Video Mailbox, and there’s even a full color brochure the service used to advertise.  There was also a commercial, which you can see below.  Talk about an idea that was years ahead of its time!  Browse and rent from home, massive selection, flat subscription fee, and they even provided the VCR if you didn’t have one!  Crazy how Peter just missed out on the gravy train.