Yeah, I ran probably 75-100 "other" brand tapes through my Panasonics before I was told to stick to only one kind of tape. I got them cleaned and have only run the Panasonics through them since.
Thanks for the feedback, looks like I'm pretty much on track with what everyone else is paying. If I buy them local it's a crapshoot as to what's available and I have to pay taxes. If I buy them online I only have to pay shipping, which was just about what the taxes were.