Used Tape Being Sold as New?

[Beck]

I’m seeing a lot more open tape being passed off as new, especially Maxell UD 35-90 and XL 35-90B.

I’ve never seen a new reel of Maxell from any era that wasn’t sealed with plastic on the outside of the box. There is a lot of this stuff on eBay right now where the listing says, “Still wrapped in plastic inside box.” Maxell was never sealed with an inner plastic. It is in a plastic bag, but is not sealed… you can simply unfold it and remove it from the bag.

I suppose it’s possible that someone opened all these reels, and then never used them, but you have to take their word for it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=120099076286

[bloomboy]

I recently bought a 'new' reel of 1/2 inch 456 that had about 6 seconds of someone playing a green day guitar part at the beginning on track 8 that they'd evidently forgotten to erase

[The Ghost of FM]

Originally Posted by Beck

I suppose it’s possible that someone opened all these reels, and then never used them, but you have to take their word for it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=120099076286

Indeed you do have to take their word for it. The reputation of this seller seems to be decently satisfactory. 1900 plus transactions tells us he's not a dishonest man.

He may not be the best example of the worst thieves out there. a couple of the tape boxes did appear to be shrink wrapped under some magnification of the suppled photograph. I have memories of selling smaller reels of that tape as a retailer back in the 1980's and they did appear that way, direct from our authorized suppliers of the day. The photograph is also not conclusively clear and large. We can poke at him for that.

Cheers!

[Beck]

Originally Posted by The Ghost of FM

Indeed you do have to take their word for it. The reputation of this seller seems to be decently satisfactory. 1900 plus transactions tells us he's not a dishonest man.

He may not be the best example of the worst thieves out there. a couple of the tape boxes did appear to be shrink wrapped under some magnification of the suppled photograph. I have memories of selling smaller reels of that tape as a retailer back in the 1980's and they did appear that way, direct from our authorized suppliers of the day. The photograph is also not conclusively clear and large. We can poke at him for that.

Cheers!

Yeah, I wouldn’t necessarily characterize this seller and some of the others I saw (whose auctions have ended) as dishonest, but rather another problem with eBay... sellers without in-depth product knowledge. With an open box we not only have to trust the seller, but also trust whoever they trust… as in the person that told them this was new tape. And we not only have to trust their character, but also their judgment.

I asked the seller if any of the tapes were sealed on the outside, thinking perhaps one was opened for the picture. The answer was no, none were sealed on the outside. I do know that Maxell never sold any of this most recent blue-box 35-90 without an outer seal. It is possible it was removed, but the tape was never used. Also, all of my Maxell 35-90 going back to the late 70’s in various box designs was always sealed on the outside. I’ve never seen a new box without it.

The real problem I see is that the further from the analog days we get the fewer people there will be that can make informed purchases. Many buyers, including myself, will pass on this one, but many others are willing to snap it up. Some may have no idea that new 7-inch Maxell tape was always sealed on the outside. No negative feedback will be left because no foul was committed from the buyer’s perspective, since they don’t know what new tape is supposed to look like.

And as always with this type of thread, I’m passing on information for the benefit of the members here. There is a sucker born every minute, and if we don’t buy questionable tape you can be sure someone else will. If my friends here on HR.com can avoid being taken, that’s enough for me.

[The Ghost of FM]

Well said, Tim.

Continuing education is a must for our good membership here.

Cheers!