Analogue tape Repair Supplies and Services
PLEASE READ BEFORE SENDING YOUR TAPES TO ME
In order to help keep repair job times reasonable and to keep up with foam pad orders, I am asking that USA customers send no more than 40 tapes total per repair job at this time. This does not apply to customers outside of the USA. Some of these tapes are requiring a bit more service than usual due to their age to get them back up and running again. So this will help keep things to a more manageable level for me and a faster turn around time for you.
Also, if your tapes are in cardboard sleeves, please remove them from the sleeves before shipping them to me. This will help reduce the shipping weight, reduce the chance of the sleeve being damaged, and save me time.
8 Track Tape Repair Service
Get it done right the first time!!
Services Include:
*Sensing Foil replacement
*All Foam Pressure Pads are automatically replaced
*Felt Pads are replaced on a case by case basis.
*Melted pinch roller replacement if necessary
*Cleaning of the pinch roller
*Cleaning of the interior and exterior of the cartridge
*Clean and lube the spindles for the pinch roller and tape reel
*Tape tension adjustment as needed
*Repair of tapes with broken sense foil splice
*Repair of tapes that are jammed up and will not play
*Repair of tapes that have been eaten by the machine and are either broken off inside the cartridge or a tangled mess protruding from the cartridge.
*Repair or Replacement of broken pinch roller or reel spindles.
*Replacement of reels that are damaged enough to cause playback issues.
In most cases a tune up will take care of most (but NOT all) wow and flutter issues many tapes suffer from. It WILL help to ensure your tape does not self destruct when played after having been shelved for several years (however accidents do happen!). A tune up will NOT fix tape drop nor will it bring back fidelity lost from tape damage (demagnetization, exposure to temperature extremes, damage done from the tape being eaten by the player).
Pricing:
Standard Service (up to 60 days between the time I receive your tapes and ship them back. Depends on the workload and tape condition. May take less time, may take a little more) I appreciate your trust in me to repair your tapes and your patience, as I am dealing with a tape format that is now between 40 and 50 years old in most cases. Time flies!
1-5 tapes: $5.00 per tape + Shipping. *
6-15 tapes: $4.00 per tape + Shipping.*
16+ tapes: $4.00 per tape = Free Media Mail return shipping (USA Only) *
*All AMPEX/FLATPAK tapes with melted pinch rollers = $5 a piece.
Expedited Service: I will now be taking on a small number of Expedited service jobs. These are NOT rush jobs, so there is no difference in quality. Same repair service as listed above, just given priority. These will be ready to ship back out to you within 2 weeks of me receiving them. Limit of 30 tapes per customer for expedited service jobs. Please email me before sending Expedited Service jobs out to me. jon@8trackavenue.com
$5 per tape. Limit 30 tapes per customer.
Shipping and payment information:
I accept Checks and Money Orders (make sure they can be deposited via a mobile device). Or I can email you a Paypal Invoice once I am ready to start your repair job. Paypal Invoices MUST be paid prior to me starting your repair job. Make Checks and Money Orders payable to the name below please.
My Shipping Address:
Jon Costantino
P.O Box 516
Merlin, OR 97532
Please email me and let me know your name, return shipping address, how many tapes you have sent and what form of payment you have included or if you just want a Paypal invoice when the job is complete.
USA Customers, no more than 40 tapes total please. You can ALWAYS send more out once your job is complete :)
How I Handle Return Shipping:
USA Customers Only: 1 to 12 Tapes, Customer pays the shipping both ways. Media Mail is the cheapest and my default way of shipping your tapes back to you. Depending on the amount of tapes and how they are packed, typically between $3 and $8 with insurance. I can ship them back to you Priority Mail if you would prefer.
USA Customers Only: 13+ Tapes and I pay the return shipping via Media Mail. As stated above, I can ship them back to you via Priority Mail but you will incur most of the shipping cost ( will subtract the amount I would have paid shipping them back to you via Media Mail from the total).
I am happy to do repairs for my Canadian and European Customers. However you will have to pay for shipping to me here in the U.S and back to your country. And that can get expensive depending on the amount of tapes.
How To Pack Your Tapes
Please pack your tapes in a box large enough for them to sit FLAT. Put either bubble wrap, clean used paper bags, foam padding, newspaper or Kraft packing paper on the bottom and all sides of the box. Be sure and do the same on the top after the tapes have been packed. Put enough packing material on top of the tapes to fill any void between the top of the tapes and the top flaps of the box. Pack it like it is going to be thrown, dropped, etc because it most likely will be during shipping! Not responsible for tapes that get lost or broken during shipping due to improper packing!
And please make sure to tape the bottom of the box really good at the seam where the flaps meet. Do not rely on the cardboard tape Amazon and other shippers use.
Shipping in a proper sized box that will withstand a round trip journey with plenty of packing materials helps me keep costs down and will enable me to save time when packing your tapes back up for their journey home.
