Well, I broke down and decided that I was NOT leaving Goodwill without a VCR today. I ended up getting a Sanyo VHR 2250. It's a little beaten up, and it's missing the channel selection buttons and flip-down bar at the bottom, but I loaded up a copy of Silence of the Lambs and it played great.

What kind of performance should I expect from this deck? Also, when was it produced?

It must be too new for Sams 2001 listing. I picked up, like new Sanyos at the various thrifts for less than $5.00. One of them came with the remote. I don't buy beaters, unless I need a part for a better one.

Well, I haven't had the chance to hook it up to a TV yet, but playing, reversing, fast-forwarding, and ejecting work without a hitch. The only problem is the grinding noise when I press Stop, which I've been told is a drive motor gear issue.

Might be helpful to post a picture of the mechanism possibly someone will recognize it. The model number sounds familiar to me. I worked on many Sanyo-Fisher VCRs in and out of warranty in the VCR heydays.

Yes a picture or two would help. Had a look at your youtube video of it, sounds like a gear yes, but which one i can only hazard a guess on.

Might be helpful to post a picture of the mechanism possibly someone will recognize it. The model number sounds familiar to me. I worked on many Sanyo-Fisher VCRs in and out of warranty in the VCR heydays.
The Sanyo VHR-2250 was a 1987 model and used a MBK-58 chassis as shown on Studio Sound Electronics

http://www.studiosoundelectronics.com/mbk-58.htm

I have two Sanyo units using this chassis. Was this more reliable than Fisher that I originally guessed? Consumer Reports even rated Sanyo the most reliable VHS VCR brand with a linear power supply inside, after Panasonic, according to charts. Fisher, despite being made by Sanyo, was rated the least reliable.

I bet the reason that fisher was so junky was 'cause Sanyo dumped their marginal parts off on the fisher line.

I remember replacing a bunch of idlers on Fisher VCRs, among the relatively small number of VCRs I ever repaired. A lot of people I met seemed to own Fishers for some reason.

I remember replacing a bunch of idlers on Fisher VCRs, among the relatively small number of VCRs I ever repaired. A lot of people I met seemed to own Fishers for some reason. Many Fisher VCRs were part of a whole Fisher system sold by places like Rent A Center. Musta been millions of 'em. Idlers and loading belts were very common repairs.