FAQ

10/16/25 Latest Version

Thoughts on questions you may have regarding the store; a FAQ of sorts, if you will.

Please understand that this is probably the smallest business you will ever deal with! We want your money to go a long way and will do our best to help with that!

*ALL ITEMS ARE GUARANTEED FOR 30 DAYS, we do have some trouble shooting questions but JUST EMAIL US AND LET US KNOW IF SOMETHING SUCKS! WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO FIX IT!

*This is a TINY BUSINESS. Orders of 1 item have proven over and over again that people who order 1 item 1) 99% do not order again; 2) Become problematic and demanding after ordering 1 item. Due to this now having happened 10+ times, single-item orders are subject to cancelation. (Another indicator you have no interest in supporting the business is when you place an order and don't sign up for the email list. Hit up eBay and discogs- I give my regulars the VIP treatment here.) 

Occasional Site Errors

Occasionally there there may be an inconsistency or pricing error on the site. (For instance, I just found a heading that said "free shipping on $99+" which was supposed to say $75+) In these instances if you see something, please email me at support@3rdfloortapes.com and I will reward you for your help!

Shipping Times

I try to ship as fast as possible. At the moment it's a 2 mile roundtrip walk to the post office, which is fine. Generally we would rather go to the post office carrying a bag of orders. Sometimes it works out that somebody orders one tape and we have no other orders, and will wait a couple days until more orders are in before we go. Other times, things have happened where we had too many orders to take in one trip, so had to postpone orders until the next day. 

All in all if you need something shippednEXTRA fast, please me know via support@3rdfloortapes.com and I will be happy to get it to you ASAP. 

Re: Cases/jewel cases

Yes the tapes and CDs all come with cases! I take pictures without the case because I am bad at photography and this seems to minimize glare. You can also see the j card more clearly.

I will do my best to send tapes out in nice looking cases. I cannot guarantee that every case will arrive without cracking but I pack things well and I will never send you packing peanuts or excess trash. I recycle all my shipping and try to leave as little waste as possible.

On Grading

I grade tapes pretty harshly; CDs a bit more loose because they'll still play flawless with visible damage in many cases.

I've thrown out a lot of recently purchased tape inventory because the tapes were irreparable. You won't see me calling something mint if it isn't sealed, as I've seen another online cassette store do.

I only grade the jewel case when considering a sealed tape. I traveled so much for 4 years that some of my sealed tapes have cracked cases. It happens. Otherwise I will be shipping everything, CDs and tapes, with uncracked cases whenever possible.

Of course, these are all just my opinions regarding these grades you are more than welcome to apply your own grade based on the photos. If you need me to play test something specific please just let me know! I listen to as many of them as possible but it is a lot of tapes to keep up with.

Anyway. Here's my version of a grading system:

Mint (M) is sealed or never played. PERFECT.

Near Mint (NM) is generally only given to something owned by me originally. However there are times, looking at the item, that based on the lack of wear to the felt pad and to the tape in general, that it can be considered NM.

Very Good Plus (VG+) To me, a VG+ is a perfect tape. It isn't mint but it will play nearly perfect and look very nice. It will have a certain sheen that a VG will not have.

Very Good (VG) will look good but may have some lettering rubbing off on the shell or some bend to the j card. The audio may drop at moments but nothing major.

Good Plus (G+) will look worn but will still sound great, unless noted. J cards may show wear and tear but the cover should look nice. The inner card may have damage. The cassette shell may have slight grime or faded print.

CDs: CDs will show heavy marks but will play FLAWLESS.

Good (G) will still play through, sound mostly great, may have slight scattered audio issues, but I haven't personally deemed it unlistenable and it might look ugly. I generally note if something sounds spectacular but looks ugly and the other way around.

CDs: CDs will look near disastrous but the disc will play perfect. Generally I will only list something like this if the case/booklet/art etc are in really nice shape. 

Fair (F) will not be great. I try not to sell Fair. Sometimes I may sell ugly tapes that play good. To me, Fair does not play. A fair J Card will look not great.

CDs: I won't sell a CD in Fair condition because it will likely skip.

Poor (P) These I already threw in the trash. 

Do you test tapes on good equipment?

I play test my tapes on a vintage Sony Sports Boom box. My backup is a modern Sony cassette boom box, and my backup backup is another 90s Sony boom box. I used to have fancy decks but had to lose them a few years back.

I love 90s plastic Aiwa cassette players. I have one of those too.

Who does the site logo?

Alex Borrego is a Las Vegas artist who was a tape customer of mine in 2020 and now designs the logos for my site. I can brag to you that I discovered him. He's fucking incredible. You can follow him on Instagram at @brownyuio and support all his endeavors!

Note: PRICES ARE ALWAYS SUBJECT TO CHANGE! :)

Yesterday's price is not always today's price. Please don't get upset with me if a price goes up or down.

Welcome back? 

If we talked between 2020-2022 when the site was up full time please say hello! I do not have any of my customer or order info from the old site. I am in touch with some of you via email and Instagram but this is a completely new store that I built without any of the old info. 

 

Background

 

My work background is in Hospitality - bartending, serving, managing. I'm also a long time comedy writer and former standup comedian. 

 

Because of my background in restaurants and bars, nothing makes me happier than having "regulars." In the few months I have been doing this, several of you have already placed 7-12 orders! That's incredible to me. 

 

I try to take care of every customer and will often send free extras. I will often send discount codes for followup orders, especially if you have paid full price for an order. I am happy to get you a referral code, too, if you are someone who is able to send business this way.

 

"Do you have a brick and mortar?"

 

No

 

"Where do you get your tapes from?"

 

A variety of places but for specifics, here is exactly where everything is coming from:

 

Chicago Record Stores:

 

Reckless Records 

 

Laurie's Planet Of Sound

 

Wholesale Distribution:

 

Cobraside Distribution 

 

Online Store:

 

Undigabledigs.com

 

Discogs Sellers:

 

Redscroll Records 

 

GenerationRecords 

 

Magnolia.Mtn 

 

FreeRangeDJ 

 

MaxDraco

 

eBay: 

 

Marensfolks 

 

Repus-627 

 

Jabe-N-Shan 

 

Shel_3597 

 

Midwestlibrary 

 

Secretlakellc2 

 

Timflore_0 

 

quest1977 

 

bigwesj 

 

jececollectibles 

 

oldnevernew 

 

swoley_mammoth 

 

ftcbay 

 

tragr_6640 

 

retroxpressthrift 

 

mikmichfari 

 

rheishman1 

 

attictreasuresestates 

 

metalpartsmaker 

 

sowardsc 

 

dollys*fleamarket 

 

Stach Family Reclaimed Treasures 

 

rigasa 

 

midnightskull 

 

vintage9tee 

 

jordaramire-56 

 

hellcatacescollectibles 

 

8831brad 

 

krinklebine237 

 

sheepmansheep

 

eurekaevan

 

Artists I Support Directly Through Bandcamp 

 

The Moon Goons

 

Moritat

 

Chelsea Bridge

 

Names Divine

 

Moses Rockwell and Plain Old Mike 

 

Impulsive Hearts

 

Las Nubes

 

Dermabrasion 

 

Dusty Turrets 

---

I'll post info about tapes down here too. I AM GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR GAVING READ THIS FAR!!!

_--------

TAPE INFO:

AR: Indicates the cassette was manufactured by Allied Record Company. 

SR: Indicates the cassette was manufactured by Specialty Records Corporation. 

Not related to tape type: Neither "AR" nor "SR" refers to the tape's formulation (e.g., Normal, Chrome, Metal). 

Not related to noise reduction: Neither code indicates the use of Dolby SR noise reduction, a professional audio system. 

Plant codes: These codes are simply identifiers for different production facilities, similar to how different pressing plants for vinyl records might leave their mark