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What’s the lay of the land now? (1 Viewer)

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elemeno

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I joined a while ago, bought some cards mold chips, stayed a while longer, then thought I successfully rode off into the sunset. Nope, I’m drawn back in like a moth to a flame. The cards mold chips are fine (not slippery like I worried about, but I only play about once a month), yet I have a hankering to get some new chips. It looks like cards mold went from around 33c to 43c, but I’m guessing this is due to tariffs or exchange rates? Hybrids are 47c. Thankfully, this is easy to lookup in the Broken Arrow section.

What about clay chips these days? It’s tough to me to figure out what the going rate is because sale threads look to be sitting longer. Any rule of thumb or pointers on how to navigate the classifieds without getting ripped off?
 
Point Up Channel 9 GIF by Married At First Sight Australia
 
I don’t think there are many scenarios where people are getting “ripped off” in the classifieds. At the end of the day, if you want something, you’ll spend as much as you are comfortable spending for it.

Focus more on finding something that really catches your eye is my advice. It’s a hobby, I don’t really care if I take a small loss on a sale or pay a little above “market” if I’m getting what I really want.
 
elemeno said:
What about clay chips these days? It’s tough to me to figure out what the going rate is because sale threads look to be sitting longer.
Click to expand...
Most of what is sitting is either egregiously priced (easy for you to find out with one search, but generally it's pretty obvious).

The other stuff that sits is all very specific. You'll see the same 3-5 sellers with a plethora of classifieds all sitting. Some of them are just folks who poorly price, some are folks who paid premiums for very specific chips to fit specific sets, and it'll be a minute before someone else has to have them.

There is a certain point where once a classified sits for a certain amount of time, folks on the fence are scared off because the thought of "how much will I lose if I choose to move on from these" hits and suddenly now the chips have sat for 2 months and while the price is fair noone wants to touch them because there might not be another buyer after them.
elemeno said:
Any rule of thumb or pointers on how to navigate the classifieds without getting ripped off?
Click to expand...
PM someone. Find the folks or folk you trust and have a relationship with. Even better than just asking, hey is this a good price, they may get to know your likes/dislikes and point you towards specific chips. I literally have 2 groups of people to keep me from buying dumb sh*t and from selling my sh*t poorly, but sometimes they fail :sneaky:
 
suchj0sh said:
I don’t think there are many scenarios where people are getting “ripped off” in the classifieds. At the end of the day, if you want something, you’ll spend as much as you are comfortable spending for it.

Focus more on finding something that really catches your eye is my advice. It’s a hobby, I don’t really care if I take a small loss on a sale or pay a little above “market” if I’m getting what I really want.
Click to expand...
A man will pay $2 for the exact $1 part he absolutely needs.
As opposed to a woman who will pay $1 for the $2 part she will never, ever use.
 
Quick view, one of the best recent values were this IG sale:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/indiana-grand-ig-primary-set.139619/

Full set, about $2.2 a chip. Since it was such a big set and value was higher was why is sat as long as it did. If it was by the rack the $1s and $5s would’ve sold instantly.

I think for ‘nice’ RHC chips, anywhere in the $1.75-$2.5/$3 ish range top end is what you’re looking at.

For THC, best price for minty I think was this, at $3.75 a chip - aaaaand they’re gone.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/empress-star-es-1-nm-individual-racks.136420/#post-2828154

I’d recommend you think of your budget first, and then depending what stakes you play - see how many workhorse denoms you’ll need. It’s usually the fracs/$1s/$5s that are in the most demand. You should then see how often they come up for sale - if you need to start DMing and hunting, the price goes up. Buying a core playable set is best if you’re not patient.

Recommend you look at Indiana Grands / JACKs / Horseshoe RHC sets as they are fairly recent and more available due to volume.

Might be worth buying a $10-$20 sample of the hybrids from Justin - they are a decent option before paying 4x+ for clay.

If you can afford it, cry once buy once and clay all day baby!
 
There is some serious value to be had for previous Chip Room clay for denoms lower than $100. NAGB had slipped slightly but overall holding their value. The high end leaded THC, TRK, and BCC still commands a premium.
 
suchj0sh said:
I think this is a good deal at $2/chip too, and it’s been chilling forever.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/cpc-north-star-hot-stamp-set.136122/
Click to expand...
You're not going to lose a ton on these, but you will lose. If it's a chipper like me, who loves to rent and buys whenever you see something you want for list price, sure nab it!

But if it's a chipper like OP who literally wrote in wondering how to figure out prices and deals and chips.....
  • What they should see is likely an unusable for breakdown for pretty much any game.
  • Priced at $2 a chip for non paulson chips on someone else's custom design.
  • Which they can fix and add to later on if or when CPC opens, and just pray and hope that all the colors and and everything turn out the same and they don't have 2 versions of chips mixed into their set.
(not to mention that level 1 blanks on horsehead ran this year at $1.78 a chip and customs always sell at a huge loss)

1768586499617.webp


Great set, just showcasing how easy it is for someone to come in off the street, see a listing, and search out some basic information on whether or not it's a good buy.

To me, the IGs at just over $2 a chip are almost literally twice the value a listing like this at $2 a chip is. Unless you WANT these chips, it is not a good purchase for renting imo. YMMV.

This has been another episode of "Chipping with Barrie!"

huh.gif
 
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BarrieJ3 said:
You're not going to lose a ton on these, but you will lose. If it's a chipper like me, who loves to rent and buys whenever you see something you want for list price, sure nab it!

But if it's a chipper like OP who literally wrote in wondering how to figure out prices and deals and chips.....
  • What they should see is likely an unusable for breakdown for pretty much any game.
  • Priced at $2 a chip for non paulson chips on someone else's custom design.
  • Which they can fix and add to later on if or when CPC opens, and just pray and hope that all the colors and and everything turn out the same and they don't have 2 versions of chips mixed into their set.
(not to mention that level 1 blanks on horsehead ran this year at $1.78 a chip and customs always sell at a huge loss)

View attachment 1621910

Great set, just showcasing how easy it is for someone to come in off the street, see a listing, and search out some basic information on whether or not it's a good buy.

To me, the IGs at just over $2 a chip are almost literally twice the value a listing like this at $2 a chip is. Unless you WANT these chips, it is not a good purchase for renting imo. YMMV.

This has been another episode of "Chipping with Barrie!"

View attachment 1621912
Click to expand...
My only quip is that I think it’s certainly a useable breakdown. I don’t think it’s ideal or anything, but you could run a .25/.50 game with that rig. My .25/.50 game would probably benefit from having less 25¢’s and $1’s on the table tbh.
 
IMHO, wait till CPC re-opens.
If that doesn't happen (God forbid), be prepared for some serious financial mauling by Paulson THC sellers.
 
BarrieJ3 said:
(not to mention that level 1 blanks on horsehead ran this year at $1.78 a chip and customs always sell at a huge loss)
Click to expand...
You also “not to mention” the cost of stamping a blank chip (~$0.40) and the cost of buying the stamp.
But why would you change?
You just blast in with half assed truths like usual.
So now the “guy off the street” you seem to be so concerned about has halfassed information courtesy of your sloppy posts. You should be proud.
 
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ekricket said:
You also “not to mention” the cost of stamping a blank chip (~$0.40) and the cost of buying the stamp.
But why would you change?
You just blast in with half assed truths like usual.
So now the “guy off the street” you seem to be so concerned about has halfassed information courtesy of your sloppy posts. You should be proud.
Click to expand...
Didn’t include stamp because it’s diff whether it’s CPC, Josh, or home folks doing it. It’s an additional cost to be sure!

So is shipping.

So is insurance.

There was no slight towards you, there was no slights towards your chips, there was no slight towards your classified post.

It was a well intentioned, meaningful post to provide some (potential) insights.

Bless your angry little heart. Have a good weekend Kevin.
 
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elemeno said:
What about clay chips these days? It’s tough to me to figure out what the going rate is because sale threads look to be sitting longer. Any rule of thumb or pointers on how to navigate the classifieds without getting ripped off?
Click to expand...

One other thought, just because something sits doesn’t mean it’s not good value.

Like this sale:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...-chip-set-price-improved.137450/#post-2836546

At just over $3 a chip it’s a little higher than some other RHCs, but it’s a turnkey set and chips look in good condition, great colors etc. When I was building my RHC set I think I paid way over $3 a chip for some of the harder to get denoms, and it can take months + to get matching inlays/casinos. I ended up having to buy an entire set just to get one rack (them sold off the excess).

I think most folk here already have playable sets and are more interested in specific racks to complement an existing set vs whole new set.

Anyways - good luck!
 
Kam said:
One other thought, just because something sits doesn’t mean it’s not good value.

Like this sale:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...-chip-set-price-improved.137450/#post-2836546

At just over $3 a chip it’s a little higher than some other RHCs, but it’s a turnkey set and chips look in good condition, great colors etc. When I was building my RHC set I think I paid way over $3 a chip for some of the harder to get denoms, and it can take months + to get matching inlays/casinos. I ended up having to buy an entire set just to get one rack (them sold off the excess).

I think most folk here already have playable sets and are more interested in specific racks to complement an existing set vs whole new set.

Anyways - good luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the shout out! Terribles are still available at that $2750. Yes.. it is technically just over $3 a chip but that would value the extra inclusions at zero. I haven't seen much rack pricing for Terribles recently but what I have seen seems to be at or well over this $3 number. I'll gladly keep the cards, dealer buttons and case and get it under $3. $2699 :ROFL: :ROFLMAO: Just kidding. I really like this set and it's currently the only .50/1 set up I have ready to play and the condition is very good. I'd be happy to get 'stuck' with this set. Also the frac can easily be over-labeled into a .25 for any buyer.

There are a few Faro Dunes cash sets left on my site that are hot stamped MINT around $5 per chip. thechipvault.com. I also have some Rancho Agave cash sets but those are 43mm around $8/per. And then the upcoming Lucky's release later this month.
 
TheChipVault said:
Thanks for the shout out! Terribles are still available at that $2750. Yes.. it is technically just over $3 a chip but that would value the extra inclusions at zero. I haven't seen much rack pricing for Terribles recently but what I have seen seems to be at or well over this $3 number. I'll gladly keep the cards, dealer buttons and case and get it under $3. $2699 :ROFL: :ROFLMAO: Just kidding. I really like this set and it's currently the only .50/1 set up I have ready to play and the condition is very good. I'd be happy to get 'stuck' with this set. Also the frac can easily be over-labeled into a .25 for any buyer.

There are a few Faro Dunes cash sets left on my site that are hot stamped MINT around $5 per chip. thechipvault.com. I also have some Rancho Agave cash sets but those are 43mm around $8/per. And then the upcoming Lucky's release later this month.
Click to expand...
Since you love the set and it’s a happy keep/happy sell, one option maybe is cut price in half and sell with forever fror to trusted members only.

Just a potential solution you may like!
 
Kam said:
One other thought, just because something sits doesn’t mean it’s not good value.

Like this sale:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...-chip-set-price-improved.137450/#post-2836546

At just over $3 a chip it’s a little higher than some other RHCs, but it’s a turnkey set and chips look in good condition, great colors etc. When I was building my RHC set I think I paid way over $3 a chip for some of the harder to get denoms, and it can take months + to get matching inlays/casinos. I ended up having to buy an entire set just to get one rack (them sold off the excess).

I think most folk here already have playable sets and are more interested in specific racks to complement an existing set vs whole new set.

Anyways - good luck!
Click to expand...
Love that damn set. Have considered trying to sell my HSI’s for it several times, but I’m a coward.
 

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