[net.audio] Counterfeit Blank Cassette Tape???

follmer@hplabs.UUCP (08/15/85)

By the way, those of you in the San Francisco BayArea can get
Maxell UD-XL-II-S tapes for $2.25 at East-West Appliances,
located in Berkeley and Santa Clara.  This is their everyday, Quantity
one price.  The non-S maxell UDXL-II's were $1.90 I believe.
Pretty much as good as New York prices, and alot closer.
They also have VCR's and Walkmans etc.

hplabs!follmer

prophet@umcp-cs.UUCP (Dennis Gibbs) (08/23/85)

Today I purchased several Maxell XL-II-S 90 minute cassettes.  I have noticed
a difference in the labeling used on these Maxells  than  on  ones  I already
own.  The older Maxell XL-II-S had the following  printed  on  the   cassette
shell:

                         POSITION-HIGH

Whereas the new ones say:

                         POSITION-HIGH(CrO2)

Also, I have noticed other differences; the wrapper on the new ones say:

                         POSITION
                       -------------
                       IEC TYPE II
                        HIGH[CrO2]

The older Maxells I own merely said POSITION HIGH on the wrapper.  I also have
noticed that the new ones have a Universal Product Code (UPC) on the back  of
the wrapper instead of the graph of the frequency response on the older ones.

My question is: could these new ones be counterfeits?  The price I paid was
a little on the low side, only $2.79 each at Saxitone Tapes, a local blank
tape/accessories dealer.  Or could this be a change in labeling by Maxell?
Both the new ones and the old ones I have show the address of Maxell Corporation
of America in Moonachie, New Jersey on them....
                        
-- 
Call-Me:   Dennis Gibbs, Univ. of Md. Comp. Sci. Center.
UUCP:	   {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!prophet
CSNet:	   prophet@umcp-cs
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ARPA:	   prophet@Maryland

saltiel@cdstar.UUCP (Jack Saltiel) (08/24/85)

In article <1361@umcp-cs.UUCP>, prophet@umcp-cs.UUCP (Dennis Gibbs) writes:
> Today I purchased several Maxell XL-II-S 90 minute cassettes.  I have noticed
> a difference in the labeling used on these Maxells  than  on  ones  I already
> own.
> 
> My question is: could these new ones be counterfeits?  The price I paid was
> a little on the low side, only $2.79 each at Saxitone Tapes, a local blank
> tape/accessories dealer.  Or could this be a change in labeling by Maxell?

Exactly. Maxell has changed labels many times in the past
two-three years. The price you paid is nothing special (sorry.)
I have been buying XLIIS-90 in New York, at various places, for
consistently under $2.00.  One trip I managed to get some for
~1.69. The competition in blank quality tape has gotten fierce!
-- 
					Jack Saltiel
					Cambridge Digital Systems
					{wjh12,talcott}!cdstar!saltiel

	"Nailed retreads to my feet and prayed for better weather."

ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) (08/25/85)

Well, there ARE people out there who make counterfeit cassette tapes.
Often you can tell by looking closely at quality of manufacture
(or lack thereof). If you're still suspicious, send one to the
(real) manufacturer and ask them.  They like to hear about this
kind of thing; and I would expect them to either tell you it's
genuine or say it's not and offer to exchange it for a real one
if you help them track down the source.

This hasn't happened to me -- just speculation.

daw1@rduxb.UUCP (WILLIAMS) (08/26/85)

> 
> The older Maxells I own merely said POSITION HIGH on the wrapper.  I also have
> noticed that the new ones have a Universal Product Code (UPC) on the back  of
> the wrapper instead of the graph of the frequency response on the older ones.
> 
> My question is: could these new ones be counterfeits?  The price I paid was
> a little on the low side, only $2.79 each at Saxitone Tapes, a local blank
> tape/accessories dealer.  Or could this be a change in labeling by Maxell?
> Both the new ones and the old ones I have show the address of Maxell Corporation
> of America in Moonachie, New Jersey on them....
>                         
	Actually I wondered if the older ones were counterfeit! There
is a spelling error on all the UD-XLII's I have: Maxell spelled it
Corproation. I always wondered about the knuckleheads that allow
typos to get into production, especially for years. (But then again,
if you've ever read a shop manual for a Japanese bike the word typo
would take on new meaning!)


					Doug Williams
					AT&T Bell Labs
					Reading, PA
					mhuxt!rduxb!daw1