Manufacturer question (1 Viewer)

[TheMadIrishman]

With Paulson being out of the home market, and Classic being out of my price range, it looks like true clay is out.
That leaves my second preference as China clay, no metal insert, old-style spots, old-Vegas feel inlay, chunky deep-impression mold, casino-accurate weight.
I love the look of the Outlaw from VersaGames, but it's plastic over an insert.
I like the construction and spots of the Milano from Claysmith, but not crazy about the inlay. It is, however, the closest I've found to what I like. Does anyone else know of another China clay chip that might fit the description, or are there any being made right now?

 

[GianThaMan]

That leaves my second preference as China clay, no metal insert, old-style spots, old-Vegas feel inlay, chunky deep-impression mold, casino-accurate weight.

There aren't any China clay chips that fit this description. All of them have relatively thin impression molds, and their "inlays" are really just labels. Plus, "China clay" is just injection-molded plastic with a few additives to make it feel closer to clay.

These requirements would really fit perfectly with CPC, though. My recommendation is to save up and then get a nice custom set from CPC for yourself. You could probably do so for just under $2/chip, especially if you stick to simpler, old-school spots. Plus, you have the freedom to personalize your set with any colors, spots, or inlay designs you want, on any of 15 molds.

 

[sbp8984]

Paulson can still be an option. Have a look at the TCR sales, there is one upcoming this Sunday and prices are very reasonable.
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/jack-cincinnati-summer-sale.76695/

 

[Pinesol13]

Buy a small China Clay set now to get by with. Then start putting away X amount of money per week/month to get a custom set of clays.

My personal experience, I never thought I could afford real chips, so I bought China Clays, then sold them and bought custom ceramics. Then bought more custom ceramics......and more and more and more. In the end I spent just as much as I would have for a custom clay set. Granted, I have 8 custom sets of ceramics, where I would only have one set of clay chips for that price.

But my point is, the chips you want might be in your price range, you just don't think they are.

 

[detroitdad]

With Paulson being out of the home market, and Classic being out of my price range, it looks like true clay is out.
That leaves my second preference as China clay, no metal insert, old-style spots, old-Vegas feel inlay, chunky deep-impression mold, casino-accurate weight.
I love the look of the Outlaw from VersaGames, but it's plastic over an insert.
I like the construction and spots of the Milano from Claysmith, but not crazy about the inlay. It is, however, the closest I've found to what I like. Does anyone else know of another China clay chip that might fit the description, or are there any being made right now?

Have you looked at ceramics? Honestly, I'd rather have ceramics over china clays/hybrids/molds chips.

 

[Squakmix]

Cards mold ceramics are a good middle ground, I'd highly recommend getting a hold of some samples to see if they jive with you.

 

[TheMadIrishman]

There aren't any China clay chips that fit this description. All of them have relatively thin impression molds, and their "inlays" are really just labels. Plus, "China clay" is just injection-molded plastic with a few additives to make it feel closer to clay.

These requirements would really fit perfectly with CPC, though. My recommendation is to save up and then get a nice custom set from CPC for yourself. You could probably do so for just under $2/chip, especially if you stick to simpler, old-school spots. Plus, you have the freedom to personalize your set with any colors, spots, or inlay designs you want, on any of 15 molds.

I hear what you're saying about the quality, but even just under $2 a chip is way more than I'd be able to spend on a set. Like I said, I do kind of like the Milano chips, even though I'm not crazy about the inlay/sticker design, but I could live with it for a little over a hundred bucks on a set of 500. This group of collectors may be in much deeper waters than where I can swim.

 

[raynmanas]

Cards mold ceramics are a good middle ground, I'd highly recommend getting a hold of some samples to see if they jive with you.

100% this. Cards mold ceramics >>>>>>>>>> China clays IMHO

 

[upNdown]

This group of collectors may be in much deeper waters than where I can swim.

Smart.
(Many of them are too)

 

[Eloe2000]

The problem with cards mold ceramics is the opaque ordering process. If you have 9 months before you want the chips and you want custom chips then go for it. You could also order directly and pay quite a bit more but still better than CCs IMO.

I would advise against Milanos. If you like CCs get the newer generation ones from Apache like Majestics.

 

[raynmanas]

I hear what you're saying about the quality, but even just under $2 a chip is way more than I'd be able to spend on a set. Like I said, I do kind of like the Milano chips, even though I'm not crazy about the inlay/sticker design, but I could live with it for a little over a hundred bucks on a set of 500. This group of collectors may be in much deeper waters than where I can swim.

don't be intimidated, i promise you absolutely can find a set you love in your price range.

 

[TheMadIrishman]

Cards mold ceramics are a good middle ground, I'd highly recommend getting a hold of some samples to see if they jive with you.

I kind of like that mold design, and kind of not just because it reminds me of the dice design of the cheap chips I used to have that you can find in discount retailers.
The tophat and cane may not be on the market, but I kind of like the spade & sword that's made to resemble it.
And although it's a plastic with metal slug design, I really like the look of the Outlaw chips because it's similar to the old Vegas casinos that had their names around the edge.

 

[Poker Zombie]

My first set were Milanos. Still have them, despite having some of everything else now. Nothing wrong with a good budget-friendly chip.

Although it adds to the cost, you could always get Milanos, and relabel them with Gear labels. It requires some time to pop the old labels off, and you will need to design a label, but you will have something uniquely yours, for 30 cents per chip more.

 

[raynmanas]

another thing i would recommend is throwing up a wanted ad in the classifieds with a rough breakdown of what you are looking for - there are surely people here sitting on budget chips they don't want to keep, but haven't bothered to sell.

 

[TheMadIrishman]

The problem with cards mold ceramics is the opaque ordering process. If you have 9 months before you want the chips and you want custom chips then go for it. You could also order directly and pay quite a bit more but still better than CCs IMO.

I would advise against Milanos. If you like CCs get the newer generation ones from Apache like Majestics.

I'm not really looking for custom, since that adds to the cost, so much as something that just looks like it's from a legit casino. But everything I saw on Apache's site was out of what I could see myself paying.
I guess I should've clarified I could see paying around a hundred to around 150 tops, which I'm seeing is way below what everyone's spending here. Thus, the Milanos. Just seeing if anyone knows of something like that with a different middle.

another thing i would recommend is throwing up a wanted ad in the classifieds with a rough breakdown of what you are looking for - there are surely people here sitting on budget chips they don't want to keep, but haven't bothered to sell.

That may be what I end up doing when I get ready to buy. Right now I'm newly coming back around this stuff, trying to get familiar with what's out there.

Have you looked at ceramics? Honestly, I'd rather have ceramics over china clays/hybrids/molds chips.

The only ceramics I've seen are smooth surfaces with the image printed on it and running almost to the edge. Very modern, as opposed to the look and feel I'd prefer. Are there any that aren't like that?

 

[Squakmix]

The problem with cards mold ceramics is the opaque ordering process. If you have 9 months before you want the chips and you want custom chips then go for it. You could also order directly and pay quite a bit more but still better than CCs IMO.

I would advise against Milanos. If you like CCs get the newer generation ones from Apache like Majestics.

I'm surprised there isn't an Amazon drop shipper out there that resells cards mold chips. I wonder why there isn't someone selling their own cards mold design at 100%+ markup and regularly placing orders. Even at $.50-.60/chip it wouldn't be a bad deal. Maybe the market isn't large enough to support the cost, but they seem like the best midrange option and I feel like there'd be plenty of demand.

 

[raynmanas]

I'm not really looking for custom, since that adds to the cost, so much as something that just looks like it's from a legit casino....I guess I should've clarified I could see paying around a hundred to around 150 tops, which I'm seeing is way below what everyone's spending here.

$150 might be a tad light for 500 chips, but check out the amazing free or low-cost artwork options available for the cards molds chips. all it takes is an email to our girl Tina to get the ball rolling:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...r-consolidated-info-thread.65544/post-1303539

 

[TheMadIrishman]

I'm surprised there isn't an Amazon drop shipper out there that resells cards mold chips. I wonder why there isn't someone selling their own cards mold design at 100%+ markup and regularly placing orders. Even at $.50-.60/chip it wouldn't be a bad deal. Maybe the market isn't large enough to support the cost, but they seem like the best midrange option and I feel like there'd be plenty of demand.

That may be what happens. But do far I haven't seen them on Amazon.

 

[DeeVee8]

With Paulson being out of the home market, and Classic being out of my price range, it looks like true clay is out.
That leaves my second preference as China clay, no metal insert, old-style spots, old-Vegas feel inlay, chunky deep-impression mold, casino-accurate weight.
I love the look of the Outlaw from VersaGames, but it's plastic over an insert.
I like the construction and spots of the Milano from Claysmith, but not crazy about the inlay. It is, however, the closest I've found to what I like. Does anyone else know of another China clay chip that might fit the description, or are there any being made right now?

For CC's, I'd say Dunes, Pharaoh's and 43mm Royals are tops (all from Apache). Based on your preference for old-Vegas feel, Dunes would probably fit best. $150 will be a tough get, unless you find them used. New? More like $200.

I've had Milanos, not a fan. The colors faded and I personally didn't like the feel. Majestics are a good feel, but I didn't like the duplicate spot patterns. For me, these are the ones I'd consider (in order).

1- 43mm Royals
2- Dunes
3- Pharaohs
4- Majestics

 

[TheMadIrishman]

For CC's, I'd say Dunes, Pharaoh's and 43mm Royals are tops (all from Apache). Based on your preference for old-Vegas feel, Dunes would probably fit best.

I absolutely love their Dunes chips. It's just way more than I could see myself spending.

 

[DeeVee8]

I absolutely love their Dunes chips. It's just way more than I could see myself spending.

K. I'd say anything under .30/each is probably slugged plastic, so you might want to go with the Outlaws you liked. How many players & how big of starting stacks are you looking for?

 

[Jasap47]

What stakes/games do you plan on playing? That is a key factor in trying to narrow down a set that might work for you.

 

[Bluegrass Poker]

I absolutely love their Dunes chips. It's just way more than I could see myself spending.

So tell us what kind of game you are playing? Cash or tournament? Stakes? Number of players?

Some great resources on here to let you know how many and what denoms you need. You may not need as many as you think and be able to afford higher quality chips than you think.

 

[CrazyEddie]

I love the look of the Outlaw from VersaGames, but it's plastic over an insert.

If you like the look, get samples! No one but you will know or care that it's plastic over an insert, and after you get some sample chips in your hands you might decide that you don't care either.

I like the construction and spots of the Milano from Claysmith, but not crazy about the inlay. It is, however, the closest I've found to what I like.

Inlays on plastic chips - including both slugged plastic and china clays - are eeeeeeasy to replace. You can even get Milano blanks, so you don't have to remove the original label! Top-quality custom labels from @Gear cost $0.20 to $0.30 per chip, and if that's out of your budget there are a variety of other places to get custom printed labels that are still perfectly satisfactory but at much lower prices (there's been several threads discussing this, including this recent thread).

 

[warma]

The problem with cards mold ceramics is the opaque ordering process. If you have 9 months before you want the chips and you want custom chips then go for it. You could also order directly and pay quite a bit more but still better than CCs IMO.

I would advise against Milanos. If you like CCs get the newer generation ones from Apache like Majestics.

The only reason I don’t order cards mold directly is because of the community joy from the frustration in waiting and my simple curiosity on how many poker chip boxes are needed to fill a living room.

 

[Eloe2000]

I'm surprised there isn't an Amazon drop shipper out there that resells cards mold chips. I wonder why there isn't someone selling their own cards mold design at 100%+ markup and regularly placing orders. Even at $.50-.60/chip it wouldn't be a bad deal. Maybe the market isn't large enough to support the cost, but they seem like the best midrange option and I feel like there'd be plenty of demand.

Well, that’s how this all started with Bosco’s Aces. That’s what he wanted to do.

The Poker Store sells Tina’s chips and other stuff like cards and accessories from her.

 

[CrazyEddie]

The Poker Store sells Tina’s chips

 

[surfik]

Look at older versions of Nexgen

 

[Squakmix]

Well, that’s how this all started with Bosco’s Aces. That’s what he wanted to do.

The Poker Store sells Tina’s chips and other stuff like cards and accessories from her.

Ah, I didn't realize they sold Tina's ceramics. I wonder how they can promise a 14-28 day delivery for custom ceramics... That's really interesting.

I have heard bits and pieces of the Bosco story but never have seen it laid out in its entirety. It's related to a Kickstarter that went sideways, right?

 

[Eloe2000]

Ah, I didn't realize they sold Tina's ceramics. I wonder how they can promise a 14-28 day delivery for custom ceramics... That's really interesting.

I have heard bits and pieces of the Bosco story but never have seen it laid out in its entirety. It's related to a Kickstarter that went sideways, right?

The reason why I know is because they are selling my Casa Mango design.

I forget the Kickstarter part. He was selling some sets through a Kickstarter and some directly. He had the house “Aces” design but could also accommodate semi-customs. He had a lot of interest and purchase right up front. I think if I recall correctly he started this while he was out of work and then he got overwhelmed and got a new job and maybe had some personal issues. He ghosted everyone for a while then a swarm of people tracked him down. He started to make people whole and return money or chips. I don’t recall if he ultimately made everyone whole.

He eventually gave over all of his artwork files and the Tina contact to PCF for anyone to use. That’s what kicked off Sean’s initial GB.