DECATUR — Chris and Jennifer Bean recently opened Bulldog Video and Consignment Shop on Main Street in Decatur.

The new store will have a lot to offer, from consignment sales of everything from clothing to vehicles, to movie rental, video equipment repair and even flower arranging.

Chris is a network engineer by trade, but when the construction business in northwest Arkansas started to slow down, he began to look for a business in which his whole family, including his six children, could be involved.

Chris said he had heard a lot of complaints that Decatur didn’t have a movie rental store and decided to open a new business. Although remodeling of the building is still underway, the new Bulldog Video and Consignment Shop has already been open for several weeks.

The store will offer three-day rentals for Digital Video Disc’s and Video Home System tapes and oneday rental for new releases. Chris also cleans and does repairs on VCRs and DVD players, and gaming systems like Wii, Nintendo and some Sony Playstations.

Regularly cleaning VCRs and DVD players can add years to the life of the machine, according to Chris. Home cleaning kits destroy the machine’s heads. The rough surfaces have the same effect as running sandpaper over the machine’s “eye,” causing tiny scratches that translate into a fuzzy picture, he said.

Wii gaming systems need to be cleaned every threeto four months as well, Chris said. Even though they are sealed, dirt builds up inside them and causes them to overheat.

Chris advises customers against trying to take systems apart to clean them.

“They’ll never go back together if you take them apart and the warranty won’t be good either,” he said.

Chris is a licensed technician for Sony, Nintendoand Microsoft, so his work won’t effect the product’s warranty, he said.

The store’s consignment shop accepts everything, according to Chris. Right now, Chris said he prefers to focus on smaller items like clothing and toys until he can find a larger facility. He does accept vehicles and, in the future, plans to accept bulkier items like furniture.

“Anybody can bring anything,” he said.

Chris asks that clothing and other items be freshly cleaned and gently used - no stained or excessivelyworn items.

The store also provides flower arrangements by a professional decorator. Silk flowers and plants are sold by the stem at prices much lower than hobby and craft stores. An additional fee is charged for arranging the flowers, Chris said.

In the future, Chris will be adding an Internet cafe to his business. He will have several computers online, and customers will be able to download music and other items to a CD, to their personal computers, or print them off.

News, Pages 1 on 11/25/2009