Customer Reviews And Endorsements; Some words regarding Reddit Drama; A bit about who runs this site

This is an extremely day-to-day full time job. It is not a side hustle. A lot of people see "web site" and assume "success," or "easy job." This web site/business is not a sure thing. It might last 2 more months, but I hope it lasts at least 2 more years, if not forever.

I don't do anything with heavy manual labor but this is an extremely time-consuming job. I barely crossed the poverty line this past year. I'm grateful to be doing what I do but I do this for all of you more than I do this for myself or the money and I am incredibly grateful for my customers and especially my regulars. It's challenging to get a second order from people; from there, it becomes more and more challenging to get repeat clients. People have infinite places to shop and don't always realize the huge difference they make in a person's life by shopping here. And support a ton of sellers. They're listed in my FAQ.

(I need to update that part of the FAQ. Lots of cool sellers the last several months. )

I can't tell you how incredibly, insanely difficult it is to start with zero customers and get to a point where you can survive financially selling tapes.

People on Reddit have slandered this business since 2022, because I used the platform for self-promotion. Years ago I created a meme called "3rd Floor Tapes Sucks" in response to this.

This business started as a Covid business in 2020. I was a waiter/bartender and got laid off without access to unemployment assistance (Oh and also had no savings because I was such a dumb alcoholic for so many years). So I was backed into a corner and created this business, selling my giant personal collection of tapes and vinyl. I had the Trump stimulus in 2020 and a $500 investment from a friend and used that to fund a business that ran for almost 3 years.

During that time, I always had the option to tip at checkout, just in case people felt generous. 

At one point in February 2023 a customer went off on me because his tape got crushed in the mail. He told me it looked like I shipped things in Hefty bags. (I have always tried to ship in plastic bags to prevent water damage. I used to ship in green slime colored bags because I had a green slime logo for my first logo and I just stuck with the green bags back then.) He also went off on me for having the tipping option. 

I removed the tipping option. For nearly 3 years I did a sale every day. When I shut off the tipping option, be it coincidence or whatever, the orders stopped that day. And didn't come back. (In all fairness, my inventory sucked and I was out of money to buy more.) So I went out of business.

(I did other jobs for a few years. I did continue selling on eBay and Discogs when I took the site down. I just wasn't doing it full time and a failed payment of $10 to IONOS caused me to lose the domain unexpectedly. I came back to this by choice. I started it back up with a $0 budget in May 2025.)

I tend to/try to run this site from a "personal" perspective, rather than as a "web site," so at times I inject a lot of me into all of this, for better or worse. Some of my marketing emails put people off because I don't do a standard "but these products" email every time- sometimes I update people on the state of the business and where I am at with things. 

I recently went off via email on a guy named Joe Kenney who sent super rude emails demanding I "correct prices" on 2 tapes that I had raised the price on. He has since started a massive smear campaign on Reddit despite having never even placed an order and only wanting to ever spend $19. [Long, lame story. Email me at support @3rdfloortapes.com if you'd like to read the full email exchange. Part of it is posted in the photos here.][*Edit: When Joe posted his "Buyer Beware" post on Reddit, I also said some shitty things to him on there that I regret, but I did respond with my perspective and he deleted *his part* of the post, and refused to post the shitty things that he said, and only posted what I said. Now, if you Google 3rd Floor Tapes, that Reddit post comes up until I have Google and reddit remove it.]

I have dealt with a lot of actual insane people while doing this (reel psychos🤣- takes one to know one✌️) and it's pretty sad and pretty scary. It's actually surprising it has taken this long in the past year for someone to go on a rant regarding this business on Reddit. It's one of those inevitabilities. I should just stay the fuck off Reddit. 

I have responded a few times to things on Reddit recently with the 3rd Floor Tapes Sucks meme, as a self-deprecating reminder to people that if they say I suck, I said it first. Some people don't seem to get that I am the one posting the meme and I am the one who created it (You can see my Instagram account in the photo.). Some people apparently think that someone else created that meme. Reddit is an odd and often humorless echo room. 

Someone else on Reddit said "Steve is strange." Thanks, high school prom king/armchair bully in 2026. If you listen to tapes, and collect tapes in 2026, you might be considered strange by a lot of people but I consider you cool. Calling me strange doesn't fucking hurt. If I wasn't strange, I wouldn't be proud to be my weird, strange self. Another called me an arrogant tool. Those are things that can only be opined via assumptions. LOL. If you read any of this and perceive arrogance, that's an assumption. 

I'd challenge anyone to try and do this full time. Get in the ring. 

I have at times been unnecessarily off or even rude to a few people, unfortunately. That's on me but I have done my best to apologize in most of these situations. Doing this is incredibly isolating and there are studies that show working from home extensively is not good for mental health. That combined with this being day-to-day with no set salary or consistently reliable income, I do lose my fucking mind sometimes. I don't recommend selling tapes as a full time job to anyone. But I have met a ton of great people doing this. (I shouldn't brag but Karly from Wednesday bought VHS tapes from the site back in 2020!)

Shop wherever you want! But I highly recommend you don't listen to rumors from people on Reddit that have nothing better to do than try to run a single-person business into the ground because they Karen'd out over some tapes. I was a bit short with Joe Kenney but as I said, email me if you want my full perspective. I'm happy to send you the whole conversation and explain where I was coming from, from a business perspective.

I've posted screen shots of reviews from eBay and Discogs. I treat my customers great. I'm sorry that negativity is spreading regarding me/this business. I appreciate you reading this and if you have not placed an order before, please do not be afraid to do so. You're in good hands here, I guarantee it. 

I'm proud of the work I have done. It's honest and humbling. I try to vibe on gratitude. Instead of hiding behind a Reddit account, say hello sometime. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Best,

Steve 

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Reel Customer Endorsements

Professor Jim:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

UndigableDigs.com

If you're still here, and are interested, here are some things I did before selling tapes:

Sick Day Morning Show Pilot (Co-Creator/Writer/Producer)

[Starring Megan Gailey (Special 1; Special 2)]

Doing Sick Day lead me to discover and cast hilarious unknown real-estate guy turned actor Tom Krettler in his first comedy project. He went on to do work for The Onion and Clickhole. He passed away a few years ago. [RIP TOM!]

Creator of "Bitch And Purge (Formerly Bitchin' Purge) Live Storytelling Show" (Now run by John Leadley. Shows also have expanded to Denver and Los Angeles. I generally am not credited as creator after giving the show to Leadley in 2017) 

Bitchin' Purge Presents: Therapy, an open mic Storytelling Show for the hospitality industry