FAQ

6/25/25 Latest Version

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

Feedback, criticisms, compliments, all of that in general is more than welcome! Email me at support@3rdfloortapes.com please! I want you to have a great time here.

*ALL ITEMS GUARANTEED FOR 30 DAYS, NO QUESTIONS ASKED, JUST EMAIL ME AND LET ME KNOW IF SOMETHING SUCKS! I'LL FIX IT! I'm coming from the hospitality industry and will not take it personally or be offended. Sometimes you have to send back an over cooked or under cooked steak. It sucks to have to complain but it's a necessary bandaid to rip off and I don't want you to feel ripped off! 😎

When considering my prices, please remember: There is no sales tax through this site, which is essentially an instant discount. 

Update: I posted a picture of a recent receipt from Reckless Records. I've never been the lucky guy that finds tapes or CDs at a thrift store. I paid over $9 per item! If you're paying less than $9 per item here, you're doing pretty solid and are a better shopper than me! Haha.

Photos: Why are some tinted blue, others tinted tan?

I don't know. I'm using a Motorola phone and something is just not right with the white balance. Hopefully you can still get a good read on the quality and condition of the tapes. Sorry my photography skills suck!🤣

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.

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.

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.

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!

Re: Stocking New/Indie Tapes Like I Used To

I don't really have a budget at the moment to buy and stock new indie tapes. Let's see how things go and if there is a demand down the line I will consider getting back into buying indie stuff. 

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.

Finally:

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. 

I cannot say enough about how excited I am to have this web site back. It is a ton of work for not a ton of money but overall I am doing this for you! 

My work background is Hospitality and I want to bring hospitality to you via great, honest customer service with transparency and always fair prices.

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I'll post info about tapes down here too. Enjoy! 

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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