Previously had bought Amazon Basics invisible tape but wasn't happy with the quality. However, my current batch of Scotch magic tape was running out so I figured I'd try this "new" variant (read on to find out why it isn't "new" at all). TL;DR: This is a vastly inferior tape, which I struggle to believe is possible, particularly from Amazon Basics which is usually such a solid private label brand. For starters, the tape literally stinks. The adhesive (?) smell is ridiculous, to the point where if this is sat on your desk you WILL smell it. When using it, the smell is impossible to ignore. I've never used tape that stank this badly. If you have sensory issues like I do, this tape is practically too stinky to use for crafting or other uses where it or the cut tape will be near you for an extended period of time. Secondly, the dispenser is flimsy and awful. To be honest, I didn't even realize I'd ordered the variant with the dispenser and was at first pleasantly surprised that it was included "for free" — note that it isn't! If it were, it'd be harder to complain, but you pay extra for it and it just isn't worth it at all. It was hard to tell if the problem was the tape or the dispenser, but even when subbing in a roll of my Scotch branded tape, the dispenser still cut the tape unevenly and overall felt uselessly heavy for having no actual sturdiness to the build of the dispenser itself. Using it one-handed causes it to wobble. I didn't even know a tape dispenser could vary so wildly in quality, but comparing it to my Scotch one, the felt padding on the bottom of the Amazon Basics dispenser seems to do much less than the Scotch's two separate felt pads, and the weight feels more evenly distributed and useful, for lack of a better word, in the Scotch dispenser. The Amazon Basics dispenser is squat and quite tiny in comparison, which makes the added weight give the dispenser a very dense, unpleasant quality to lift/hold/etc. The only upsides for the AB dispenser over the Scotch dispenser are that the AB's footprint is smaller, which might be convenient for someone with a smaller desk, and that the AB dispenser is almost cute because of how stunted it looks. Still, a cute dispenser that doesn't work well is useless for someone who actually needs to *use* it. Lastly, the tape itself sucks. I mentioned that the dispenser cut the tape unevenly, but the tape still cannot seem to be cut cleanly even on my better Scotch dispenser. Disappointing to say the least, because I could have at least used the tape then! As you can see in the pictures, while the Scotch tape's edges are nice and clean (something that, again, I didn't think you could even take for granted about tape) the Amazon Basics tape is jagged and warped on both edges. It makes for a very unprofessional and frankly janky look to the tape. Both Scotch and AB seem to have somewhat equal holding power. What confused me most when trying to figure out what went so horribly wrong was finding out that the previously ordered tape, "Amazon Basics Invisible Tape with Dispenser, Clear, .75 x 1296 Inches, 16 Rolls", which I followed the link from in my order history leads to this exact listing. It appears that this tape has been renamed/relabeled to "matte-finish tap [sic]" that's "engineered for repairing" as opposed to the invisible tape name — maybe Scotch gave Amazon grief about using that specific term? Hard to say. Some review photos show a box with the label "Invisible Tape" but mine came with the more expected "Clear" label instead. Mind you that this tape is not at all invisible, so perhaps that's why Amazon changed the name from invisible to matte finish. I can say that at least this tape IS matte, even if it isn't and could never be considered invisible tape. Ultimately, this tape and the dispenser flat out suck and although I'd love to spend less for an equal quality generic/private label branded product...this just isn't it. I'm honestly flabbergasted at the positive reviews. Did I receive a bad batch? Am I ridiculously picky about tape? It's difficult to believe that I managed to get an abnormally poor quality batch twice though and I've gone through almost an entire roll of the AB tape trying to figure out if maybe the roll started badly, or maybe I'm pulling at the wrong angle to cut it cleanly on the included dispenser, etc and have had no luck getting a decent cut out of this thing. Paying $10 for 16 rolls of bad tape is infinitely more useless than paying $20 for 12 rolls of decent tape at Costco even if initially the AB buy seems like a better deal. Maybe they'll fix this tape somehow? I guess I'll pay a bit extra for Scotch until then.
