Classic poker chips is selling their company?? (1 Viewer)

[mooncereal]

Received an email from CPC today around 6pm that they’re selling their company. Unless I missed something, I haven’t seen any posts about this yet.

Maybe someone from PCF will bid on it!

 

[pocketJs]

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/important-cpc-bulletin.125622/

 

[BarrieJ3]

I’m a tad confused though due to lack of market/product/etc. knowledge.

Why would a public person or group make an offer/purchase CPC? From the outside looking in, i don’t see untapped markets, product differentiators, existing client base/recurring revenue, etc. that make this more than a passion project. Without any of that, purchasing for parts/infrastructure/processes doesn’t seem to make sense either.

Will be interesting to see what it looks like if/when the public offering occurs.

 

[ekricket]

People said the same things about eBay and PayPal when they launched……

 

[doublebooyah85]

I’m a tad confused though due to lack of market/product/etc. knowledge.

Why would a public person or group make an offer/purchase CPC? From the outside looking in, i don’t see untapped markets, product differentiators, existing client base/recurring revenue, etc. that make this more than a passion project. Without any of that, purchasing for parts/infrastructure/processes doesn’t seem to make sense either.

Will be interesting to see what it looks like if/when the public offering occurs.

Well they finally learned how to email market for one lol so think the entire advertising sector is untapped

 

[merkong]

Any chance that “something will come up” and D&D will have a “change of heart?”

 

[Cratty]

Sad to see. And now I need to figure out my set/order.

 

[MeridianFC]

product differentiators,

I'd say being the only producer of compression molded clay chips that sells to the public is a strong differentiator.

 

[Taghkanic]

I'd say being the only producer of compression molded clay chips that sells to the public is a strong differentiator.

Exactly.

There’s go to be someone out there would look at the company and say, “This is a totally unique opportunity, and I can see a way to expand it / market it differently / make it more profitable.”

In fact I have one person in mind, who manufactures a totally different product, but one which has some similarities in terms of the precision needed. PM’d David.

 

[BarrieJ3]

I'd say being the only producer of compression molded clay chips that sells to the public is a strong differentiator.

I spose I meant to a lay person.

IMO the most difficult thing in any B2C is customer education.

Extraordinarily niche market, extraordinarily expensive product, extraordinarily involved manufacturing process.

I don’t see any opportunity for scalability. Which is fine as a passion project, and which should make us all the more thankful for someone keeping the doors open this long.

 

[Rieguy]

Tina chips completely demolished the demand.

Behind the scenes, we've been saying this would happen for the past year or so. CPC may say it's unrelated, but it's quite obvious this was going to happen eventually. Good luck to any buyer, I seriously hope the company and their product pulls through, but to say I'm skeptical is an understatement. Sucks. Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

[Colquhoun]

Tina chips completely demolished the demand.

I'm not convinced. Those are two completely different customer bases...40c-50c vs. $2.50-$3.50+ per chip.
When the Kia dealership opens next to Ferarri, I'm not seeing much crossover there.

Sure, I bet there was a small number of people that considered CPC then settled for Tina chips, but I dont see how it's possible that came anywhere close to demolishing CPC demand.

 

[doublebooyah85]

I'm not convinced. Those are two completely different customer bases...40c-50c vs. $2.50-$3.50+ per chip.
When the Kia dealership opens next to Ferarri, I'm not seeing much crossover there.

Sure, I bet there was a small number of people that settled for Tina chips, but I dont see how it's possible that came anywhere close to demolishing CPC demand.

CPC demand is so minimal he’s closing operations lol for the last year he has stressed he needs orders

These last orders (1 year or so) will be extremely inflated (last time ever add ons and final set sales) no one should consider it for valuations.

The car comparisons isn’t fair. There just wasn’t many custom solutions available before. People came here w here w beer budgets and were forced to pay champagne. Bc that’s all that was available. And for every 1 person that did commit to CPC, 10 others gave up and bought dice chips or settled with cheap RHC. Now they can buy really nice Tina hybrids.

 

[extreme517]

Tina chips suck in my opinion. That said, I have no problem with people buying/liking/using them. To me, there is simply no comparison. I know that won't be everyone's opinion and that's okay if others don't care about or value the differences between Tina and CPC chips the same way I do.

 

[Colquhoun]

CPC demand is so minimal he’s closing operations lol

These last orders (1 year or so) will be extremely inflated (last time ever add ons and final set sales) and now what anyone should consider for valuations

I get it, if demand were higher for CPCs and it was really booming, it wouldnt be an issue.
I just dont see the "boom" coming from people considering Tina chips.

 

[doublebooyah85]

Tina chips suck in my opinion. That said, I have no problem with people buying/liking/using them. To me, there is simply no comparison. I know that won't be everyone's opinion and that's okay if others don't care about or value the differences between Tina and CPC chips the same way I do.

Most people buying poker chips care about the looks. Us hobbyists are different. We care about feel and sound. But 90% are gonna be happy with some cool looking chips.

 

[Cratty]

Most people buying poker chips care about the looks. Us hobbyists are different. We care about feel and sound. But 90% are gonna be happy with some cool looking chips.

Yep, my best comparison is Seiko vs Grand Seiko.

98% of the world assumes the two are the same thing, and Seiko's still scratch the itch for many watch enthusiasts even.. but still don't come close to the finishing/otherwise of a Grand Seiko (hence the 10x price).

 

[elemeno]

I'm not convinced. Those are two completely different customer bases...40c-50c vs. $2.50-$3.50+ per chip.
When the Kia dealership opens next to Ferarri, I'm not seeing much crossover there.

Sure, I bet there was a small number of people that considered CPC then settled for Tina chips, but I dont see how it's possible that came anywhere close to demolishing CPC demand.

If not Tina chips, how would you explain CPC’s low order flow in the past year or so?

 

[cpac54]

Have some people settled for Tina chips? Probably. I’d suspect though that the majority of people ordering Tinas trend toward being pretty price sensitive and were probably unlikely to ever drop large amounts of money on custom CPC sets.

If anything, Tina killed the market for China Clays, other cheap mass-produced ceramics and low-end casino used RHCs.

 

[Rieguy]

I'm not convinced. Those are two completely different customer bases...40c-50c vs. $2.50-$3.50+ per chip.
When the Kia dealership opens next to Ferarri, I'm not seeing much crossover there.

Sure, I bet there was a small number of people that considered CPC then settled for Tina chips, but I dont see how it's possible that came anywhere close to demolishing CPC demand.

I get it, if demand were higher for CPCs and it was really booming, it wouldnt be an issue.
I just dont see the "boom" coming from people considering Tina chips.

The crossover is in the customization. Almost no one was going custom ceramics, preferring to opt for CPC once they built up the funds. Then Tina chips entered the market and they had their avenue for customs for even cheaper. Or nostalgia chips. Or NAGB ripoffs (Jesus). The clay quality appeared secondary for most of these people, especially when the price-points were compared.

The relabel market has been similarly affected, especially for RHCs, but not to the same extent. Our hobby is so niche that even a relatively small group going one way over the other makes a decent sized impact. Not to mention, newbies aren't getting past Tina as an entry-point, whereas they used to progress to CPC sometime towards the end of the China Clay -> RHC -> THC cycle.

Tina chips suck in my opinion. That said, I have no problem with people buying/liking/using them. To me, there is simply no comparison. I know that won't be everyone's opinion and that's okay if others don't care about or value the differences between Tina and CPC chips the same way I do.

 

[doublebooyah85]

Have some people settled for Tina chips? Probably. I’d suspect though that the majority of people ordering Tinas trend toward being pretty price sensitive and were probably unlikely to ever drop large amounts of money on custom CPC sets.

Agree. CPC had such a small market share if Tina only takes a little it crippled them.

I’d rather have THC > RHC > Tina Hybrid > CPC > card mold Tina.

 

[EastCoastCali]

Tina chips suck in my opinion. That said, I have no problem with people buying/liking/using them. To me, there is simply no comparison. I know that won't be everyone's opinion and that's okay if others don't care about or value the differences between Tina and CPC chips the same way I do.

I think very few if any would argue they’re comparable, but the simple fact that they cost an arm and a leg to the average joe puts them in two very different categories. It’s all relative.

 

[Rhodeman77]

Also the long lead time. Consumers want what they want now. When looking at the spending thousands potentially then being told it could be 6 months to year before you get it will push away even more people.

When I was buying my limit set I originally planned for it to be a CPC set, but a 6+ month lead time depressed me. I had it from BR Pro in less than 3 weeks.

Perhaps more in stock premade sets/racks will be something for the potential new owner to look into. Impulse buys are hard to make when you can’t get it the next day. In the world of same day delivery from Amazon and other online retailers long lead times are a sales killer.

 

[EastCoastCali]

Perhaps more in stock premade sets/racks will be something for the potential new owner to look into.

That’s what I was thinking, and maybe it’s not financially viable to keep the doors open, but any downtime from lack of orders could be spent making a variety of shelf stock prepped for customers to just add a label or stamp and get in the short term. Monthly/quarterly color/spot changes produced at volumes to appease the crazy impulse wants. Interesting thought at the very least.

 

[cpac54]

Agree. CPC had such a small market share if Tina only takes a little it crippled them.

I’d rather have THC > RHC > Tina Hybrid > CPC > card mold Tina.

That honestly surprises me and makes me wonder, all things being equal, what the general preference would be between these options.

Personally, someone could give me a free set of Tina hybrids and I still wouldn’t put them into play over any of the chips I own, incl. CPC.

 

[Colquhoun]

Agree. CPC had such a small market share if Tina only takes a little it crippled them.

I dont see CPC having a small market share...rather, they have the ENTIRE premium custom chip market for consumers.
If a small number customers go to Tina and that cripples CPC, that says to me the demand for CPCs was already declining.

 

[upNdown]

If anything, Tina killed the market for China Clays

So Tina is not ALL bad. Hmm.

 

[extreme517]

Agree. CPC had such a small market share if Tina only takes a little it crippled them.

I’d rather have THC > RHC > Tina Hybrid > CPC > card mold Tina.

Tina hybrid over CPC? Can you explain why that is your preference? To me, there is no comparison on materials/quality. But, maybe variety of colors/edge spots and shorter leadtime is what sways you?

 

[extreme517]

Also the long lead time. Consumers want what they want now. When looking at the spending thousands potentially then being told it could be 6 months to year before you get it will push away even more people.

When I was buying my limit set I originally planned for it to be a CPC set, but a 6+ month lead time depressed me. I had it from BR Pro in less than 3 weeks.

Perhaps more in stock premade sets/racks will be something for the potential new owner to look into. Impulse buys are hard to make when you can’t get it the next day. In the world of same day delivery from Amazon and other online retailers long lead times are a sales killer.

Key West chips are on the shelf and available and a truly killer CPC chips set. Anyone could have by the end of the week if ordering right now.

 

[Highli99]

I have so many feelings, all at the same time.