Fraud or something else

[Skywavebe]

Hello fellow tape persons;
There is a guy on E bay selling tape calling it Tascam tape- item number
400170786177.
I sent him a question how he can claim it is Tascam tape when they never produced any tape of any kind that I know of. The reels look like Ampex.
Have any of you sampled this tape?
Some people will do any thing to sell cheap tape. Only it is not Cheap.

[jdurbin1]

His listing mentions it's Ampex 641. The thrust of his "marketing" is that this tape was made to work on Tascam decks, which is pretty nebulous but probably falls under the misleading category as opposed to fraud. If I recall correctly, same guy has done this with "Tandberg" tape and it is also not tape that Tandberg produced, just tape that you can use with a Tandberg RTR.

John

Hello fellow tape persons;
There is a guy on E bay selling tape calling it Tascam tape- item number
400170786177.
I sent him a question how he can claim it is Tascam tape when they never produced any tape of any kind that I know of. The reels look like Ampex.
Have any of you sampled this tape?
Some people will do any thing to sell cheap tape. Only it is not Cheap.

[Big Kelv]

Just a ploy to maximise search results although, I think they are a bit expensive. I've had 2 lots of 20 Quantegy 478 for a bit less - with proper sealed boxes not (what look like) jiffy bags.

The description pretty much covers everything and for 40, it doesn't seem too bad.

Regards, Kelv

[Skywavebe]

Hi Kelv and John,
Still if his intention was to use Tascam to help sell his product, this show still a degree of inaccurate information as NO Tascam unit that I am aware of being a Studio type product was ever made to use the low grade of tape he is selling especially that of 641. Tascam used at a minimum 406 and on up. I guess this is just another example of a misleading seller on the E bay.
I would not buy his junk tape anyway.
Thanks for your thoughts on this seller.

[Lance Lawson]

Take a look at the condition of the reel. It's loaded with fingerprints and surface scratches. Typical of reels that have been used. If its 641 who wants it at any price? I'm suspect of the offering.

[ti-triodes]

If you read his auctions carefully, he is listing the same tape for all his 7" auctions. He just changes the headings for different manufacturers. He also varies the prices of the auctions so you could pay $169 or $250 for the exact same Ampex tape. His prices have also shot up considerably, so he must be selling a lot of them. They listed for $79 a few months ago.

[El Monte Slim]

If this is the same seller I am thinking about, he also lists his tapes for Crown Tape Decks.

He probably wouldn't know a Crown RTR if it fell on him!

Caveat emptor

[Jonny Ramone]

I actually bought a 40 reel lot from him , last summer. $103, shipped - $2.50 apiece. They work very well in my Akai 4000D, and TEAC a-4010 SL, (see my avatar) as they are similar to Scotch 150. They are apparently some government stock, as they come in paper sleeves. They were as low as $60, plus shipping, but apparently I promoted them too much, as they've tripled in prices, and aren't worth it for that much.

[Mark J]

He has listings for a few different deck manufacturers for this tape.

[oskimo]

I do not believe any fraud is intended.

This is using a brand specific "hook" to grab peoples attention, solely to move tape along.

The way it appears to be packaged, to my mind, indicates it is of government/institutional surplus origin.