TapeandTape Opportunist thief

[A Reel Person]

Flash!

I just checked my Ebay Favorite Sellers, and indeed "tapeandtape" is on my list, which would indicate I've actually bought tape from this seller in the past. With that being said, I still can't remember which particular tape I've gotten from him, eh.. them,... but it was apparently non-eventful and satisfactory.

Speaking of 2",... I have a number of Ebay receipts that would fill a 2" binder!

 

[A Reel Person]

Back in the old days,...

they made a specialized reel/table to accommodate using pancakes of tape. Maybe this is worth looking into, under the circumstances.

Okay,... I just had an idea.

Take your tape deck, and lay it flat so the tape path is horizontal.
Disassemble an empty 1" reel. Take one flange and lay it on the tape deck/reel table assembly. Take your pancake of tape, & lay it on the tape deck, on top of the empy flange. Now take the other single flange and lay it on top of the pancake. Tighten the entire thing with the NAB hub adapters. Play the tape across in horizontal mode, to another reel on the takeup side.

I feel that in horizontal orientation, the NAB hub clamps should keep the stacked sections together enough to get the tape to the other side. It's also reminscent of the "table" type pancake reel I'm describing, above.

You can do it!

 

[A Reel Person]

You're not ready for this:...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stand-Alone-Tap...093801244QQcategoryZ26244QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Stand-Alone Tape Reel Unwinder.

This Tape Reel Unwinder was originally custom engineered for use with a Brackett Utility Taping Machine. However, it can be used for any application which requires a tape supplying mechanism.

It stands 25 1/2 inches tall and holds up to a 24 inch diameter reel of tape and can go up to 2 inches wide.

Buy-It-Now price: US $250.00

 

[A Reel Person]

...

You could spool/unspool tape all day & night on this beauty!

 

[cjacek]

Excellent find Dave!

 

[tapeboy]

nice one! Think the answer sounds like I have to lay my machine down, even though it's a stand-up type. I only got one reel of pancake but if it works I'll have a new tape to work with. Thanks!

 

[Beck]

By the way, I just tried a reel of 'new' 1 inch tape from 'tape tape' and by all other reports in this thread, I think I am lucky. The tape is recording smooth and problem free and seems to be new. So far...

If it is BASF 526 it probably is new, but not the right tape for the purpose you are using it. One of the other problems besides selling old sticky tape is that he regularly misrepresents tape types as suited for purposes they are not.

Recall post 21. Read and heed or you'll be back here down the road asking why your edge-tracks are playing back at half strength.

By the way, the answer to that is the comparatively abrasive loop-bin tape has ground your heads down at an accelerated rate.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showpost.php?p=2503530&postcount=21

 

[A Reel Person]

Here, my friends, is what I was talking about:...

"SPOOLING PLATE 10,5" Revox Studer Tascam Otari AEG USA7"
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=320092959180&rd=1&rd=1
"Starting bid: US $69.90
End time: 21 hours 14 mins (Mar-21-07 11:54:25 PDT)
Shipping costs: US $45.90 (discount available)
Ships to: Worldwide
Item location: NRW, Germany
History: 0 bids"


"You are bidding on one new spooling plate ( reel flange) made by Revox in black colour to use open reels , bobbies . Good luck."

...
This is basically what I was describing as a "table" assembly for pancakes. This one, however, would attach to a small-type spindle, and not the NAB size reels, but perhaps it could be adapted.

With that being said, perhaps my "horizonal workaround" (above) with loose flanges all clamped together would be just as suitable! YMMV!

 

[_DK]

So, I was stupid enough to play the gambling game with this tapeandtape guy (real name - William G. Hallmark)...
I went for the "good deal" of NEW (?) Basf 1/2" SM468 @ $45.
Of course, I haven't got it and after almost a month he tells me he has just shipped it yesterday.
I have strong doubts that I will (ever) get new sealed SM468 made in 2001 (as was described), so... before it arrives, does anyone know of a fast and painless way of closing his online store down? How many negatives does it take before they start acting?


This is such a big pain in the ass... I'm surprised that 468 from RMGI is being advertised so much and you can't buy less than 1 full case at most places online.

 

[cjacek]

usrecordingmedia.com has new SM468 1/2" for just over 15 bucks more than that "opportunist thief", tapeandtape guy, and you can just buy one.

One way to shut down Mr. Hallmark's "operation", or at least slow it down, is to continually discourage people, by way of this board for example, from dealing with him.

I'm not sure if what he does can be proven as strictly illegal though.

 

[Beck]

You never know with Bill. He does a lot of screwy things. It might get there eventually. Don’t let your time to file a complaint with eBay pass you by though. He may be stalling so it will be too late. I think Bill bought out the 468 stock from Tape Works Texas, which is where I bought mine. The tape did exist at one time. I’m not sure if this is what he’s still selling. The current $40.00 per reel would be a great deal if it was someone else selling it. I can’t afford the time and trouble of dealing with him.

Unfortunately, eBay has a conflict of interest in policing themselves. It’s in their best interest for everything to sell and sell high. They respond best to outside legal action, and it’s gotten worse in the last year as far as engaging them in any dialogue over these issues, unless you’re a lawyer.

I don’t know what it takes to get eBay to ban members. One would hope there would be a certain number of complaints that would trigger some sort of action, but I don’t know what that number would be.

If you paid with paypal his shipping time is way overdue according to their rules. Paypal is better at getting something done fast. They may even suspend his account until he refunds your money.

If you paid by credit card either through paypal or directly you have options there as well to get your money back. Speaking of which, if you did pay using a credit card directly, be on the lookout for double or even triple charges by tapeandtape. Examine your statement carefully.

That’s what happened to me with Bill… the tape took several weeks to get here, it was the wrong tape, he double charged my credit card, and then charged it a third time instead of refunding. The whole thing cost me hours of frustration on the phone (mostly on hold) with him and my credit card company. From the time I placed my order to the time I got all my charges taken off was nearly two months.

You should mentally factor in long distance phone charges and lots of time and angst to the total cost of doing business with tapeandtape. His prices aren’t so good in the long run.

 

[_DK]

He's also a story teller!

Bill:
The first box we shipped you our famous us.postal service said it has become lost in their system and that they would issuer tracer on box, and contact when found. So you could be getting two boxes eventually. If you do not want the latter reel at a discounted price, we will redirect back to us. Bill from TapeTape

Me:
Can I have the tracking numbers for both shipments?
Thanks

Bill: US. Mail air parcel post cannot track the packages they ship, that is why so many are lost. Like mine when I use their service especially when shipping to Canada from CA. So again please excuse the shipping delay. Thanks Bill from TapeTape

 

[_DK]

usrecordingmedia.com has new SM468 1/2" for just over 15 bucks more than that "opportunist thief", tapeandtape guy, and you can just buy one.

True, but usrecordingmedia ship by UPS, and those guys charge customs+some other customs+somethingsomething fee, that's why I went the wrong road I'm not really a person who saves every penny, it's just that tape is not the only thing I keep buying for my studio.

One way to shut down Mr. Hallmark's "operation", or at least slow it down, is to continually discourage people, by way of this board for example, from dealing with him.
I'm not sure if what he does can be proven as strictly illegal though.

Yeah, I'm think of leaving a link to this thread as my auction feedback

 

[_DK]

You never know with Bill. He does a lot of screwy things. It might get there eventually. Don’t let your time to file a complaint with eBay pass you by though. He may be stalling so it will be too late. I think Bill bought out the 468 stock from Tape Works Texas, which is where I bought mine. The tape did exist at one time. I’m not sure if this is what he’s still selling. The current $40.00 per reel would be a great deal if it was someone else selling it. I can’t afford the time and trouble of dealing with him.

Unfortunately, eBay has a conflict of interest in policing themselves. It’s in their best interest for everything to sell and sell high. They respond best to outside legal action, and it’s gotten worse in the last year as far as engaging them in any dialogue over these issues, unless you’re a lawyer.

I don’t know what it takes to get eBay to ban members. One would hope there would be a certain number of complaints that would trigger some sort of action, but I don’t know what that number would be.

If you paid with paypal his shipping time is way overdue according to their rules. Paypal is better at getting something done fast. They may even suspend his account until he refunds your money.

If you paid by credit card either through paypal or directly you have options there as well to get your money back. Speaking of which, if you did pay using a credit card directly, be on the lookout for double or even triple charges by tapeandtape. Examine your statement carefully.

That’s what happened to me with Bill… the tape took several weeks to get here, it was the wrong tape, he double charged my credit card, and then charged it a third time instead of refunding. The whole thing cost me hours of frustration on the phone (mostly on hold) with him and my credit card company. From the time I placed my order to the time I got all my charges taken off was nearly two months.

You should mentally factor in long distance phone charges and lots of time and angst to the total cost of doing business with tapeandtape. His prices aren’t so good in the long run.

Thank God I payed through Paypal!
I didn't request it to be sent insured. That's wasn't very accurate, so I don't know if I can prove anything if contact Paypal about it.

 

[cjacek]

True, but usrecordingmedia ship by UPS, and those guys charge customs+some other customs+somethingsomething fee, that's why I went the wrong road I'm not really a person who saves every penny, it's just that tape is not the only thing I keep buying for my studio.

Oh, yeah, that's right, I forgot about the UPS thing. As if the United Postal Smashers aren't bad enough, they have to charge extraordinary broker's fees. Yeah, I've been through that but didn't know US Recording only ships via UPS. Bad.

Yeah, I'm think of leaving a link to this thread as my auction feedback

That's actually a brilliant idea!

 

[Beck]

He's also a story teller!

Bill:
The first box we shipped you our famous us.postal service said it has become lost in their system and that they would issuer tracer on box, and contact when found. So you could be getting two boxes eventually. If you do not want the latter reel at a discounted price, we will redirect back to us. Bill from TapeTape

Me:
Can I have the tracking numbers for both shipments?
Thanks

Bill: US. Mail air parcel post cannot track the packages they ship, that is why so many are lost. Like mine when I use their service especially when shipping to Canada from CA. So again please excuse the shipping delay. Thanks Bill from TapeTape

USPS Air Parcel Post to Canada (Not necessarily to anywhere else) is insured automatically as part of the cost. There is a number and it doesn't always do a great job of tracking, but it will tell you that the package was scanned at the local Post Office within a day or two of shipping. He should be able to give you the number. I've had a few things move slowly to and from Canada, and I would give him the benefit of the doubt if only he wasn’t obviously talking around it and didn't have a reputation for this silliness.

Paypal will demand that he prove he shipped by providing them the tracking number. If he didn’t use paypal shipping tools or he can’t give them a tacking number they may freeze his account until he issues a refund. It depends on their record of his account… if there are other complaints, etc.

As for me, I would file a complaint with eBay ASAP if he won’t provide a tracking number, because your complaint time after purchase is limited. Just open a dispute “Item not received”. You can always cancel the dispute if he comes through.

 

[A Reel Person]

I'd say just chill a bit.

This guy's always been on the fair & square with me. Things happen in shipping, sometimes. I don't think that all tape prone to sticky shed by categories would necessarily be a case of sticky shed on an individual basis. A lot has to do with humidity and environmental conditions.

I have a box of new 1" 3M 250, & it looks fine. I've not thrown it up on the set yet, though, but if there's a problem I'll let you know. tapetapecom sent it to me. I got a styling deal, too.

I'd say chill for a bit.

 

[Beck]

This guy's always been on the fair & square with me. Things happen in shipping, sometimes. I don't think that all tape prone to sticky shed by categories would necessarily be a case of sticky shed on an individual basis. A lot has to do with humidity and environmental conditions.

I have a box of new 1" 3M 250, & it looks fine. I've not thrown it up on the set yet, though, but if there's a problem I'll let you know. tapetapecom sent it to me. I got a styling deal, too.

I'd say chill for a bit.

This where it gets tricky.

True, not every tape that was made with the binder problem has sticky shed at the moment… but nearly all will eventually. This is the key point that is often not completely appreciated. It's worth repeating, so pretend I just said it again.

Most tapes aren’t stored in ideal environmental conditions. If you track or master on a tape that is not sticky at that moment, but was made with the defective binder you’re building a house on sand… to put it in biblical terms. Or if you like, you’re putting new wine into old wineskins (more biblical terms… they seem to work).

With other tapes like AGFA 469, you would easier win the lottery than find one that is not sticky no matter where the tape has been, unless it has been baked recently.

As for tapeandtape, he sells a lot of known sticky tape of various brands. The statistical probability that he could deal in so much of it undetected unless he bakes it is virtually zero. Thus, it appears he is committing a fraud by not disclosing the true condition of these tapes. If by some remote chance he really doesn’t know the potential problems with these tapes (just for grins), then he shouldn’t be selling tape.

Add to that things like describing Capitol Music Tape as similar to 456 and made in 1995 (it was made in the 70’s to early 80’s).

Or pitching 3M 8207 logging tape as similar to Quantegy 407 when they share nothing in common, and 8207 is not at all suitable for music recording.

Or saying AGFA 469 is the same as 468, or 986 is the same as 996.

His listings are full of these inaccuracies that you won’t find anywhere else on the web… because he’s making it up himself.

Although no single isolated instance of any of the above would be enough to judge his intent, a pattern of deception is established by the sheer amount and variety of instances over time. This includes a pattern of shipping delays and excuses.

The people that he harms the most don’t even know what happened. They don’t know anything about sticky-shed, have never run across this forum or one like it, and have no concept of what tapes were designed for what use.

You can bet there are plenty that had a bad experience with analog; maybe even dumping their analog deck because they thought it was defective. They don’t trace it to bad tape from tapeandtape – they have no idea.

 

[Nail89]

Thanks!

Hello to all, especially the BBS "regulars",

I'm a N O V I C E...or at least a "budding" novice to tape recording. Always fascinated with it as a kid, life's many twists and turns never really offered an opportunity for me to get into the pastime with any serious application. However, I'm FINALLY going to get a Crown SX824 which Ive wanted since back in '74 (having it built for me), and now I'm on a "tape hunt". Which brought me to this forum via a link provided in "Beck - Analog Partisan Ranger"s negative comments posted to eBay's Feedback on "Tapeandtape". (A BRILLIANT method of really hammering charlatans outside eBay's oversight and posting limitations.) Needless to say, am I SOOOOO glad I followed that link and read the commentary you folks have amassed on Mr. Hallmark's piss poor business...I was JUST about to buy several cases from him!

Which brings me to a couple of questions: has anybody had bad experiences with "Xiat" at "SPLICIT"? After two other "high-end electronics" transactions (which fortunately didn't cost me a LOT of money) that turned out to be bogus scams, I'm becoming paranoid about eBay in general.

And secondly: While my recording will be very limited relative to you true aficionados, I want to use good quality equipment and materials. EMTEC/RMGI 911 has been recommended as a very good "standard", universally applicable, tape. Keep in mind I'm NOT the guy that will have two turntables because one cartridge sounds better on female vocalists! ONE good system...that's all, and I'd like to avoid adjusting bias to accommodate a wide selection of tape requirements. Any comments? If so, thanks in advance, I'm grateful for the chance to review qualified expertise.

Rhino

 

[themaddog]

Hi there, and welcome to our forum.

The standard for analog tape decks is generally Quantegy 456. However, Quantegy 456 is no longer being produced, as of February of this year.

The good news is, SM 911, which is now produced by RMGI, is nearly identical to Quantegy 456. Their characteristics are very similar to each other, and many people favor 911 over 456.

Some people claim they like the sound of 456 over 911, but it really is a small difference of opinion; not a night and day difference in either case. I'm sure for your purposes, buying RMGI SM 911 new would be your best bet, as buying used Quantegy 456, or even new old stock of 456 can be a risk.

I know many will claim that there are ways you can be sure certain batches of 456 will be OK, and that there may be but I believe for a novice to analog, starting with new reels of RMGI SM 911 will be your safest and best bet.

As for the Crown machine, I'm not familiar with it, and a +6 tape like 456 or 911 may not be the correct tape for it. As I said, 911 and 456 are standards, but that may not be the case for a '70s era machine. In the meantime, wait until someone more experienced with that machine responds before buying any tape!

Good luck with your new purchase,
-MD