Are Paulsons on eBay priced correctly? (1 Viewer)

[DarrenB]

Having been out of the chips trade for a good 17 years I was recently surprised that Paulsons are a rarity these days. Unfortunately I sold my Pharao set back in the days. 10-20 USD per chip, or is it scammers who try to sell them as collectors items?

Is there a particular line and denomination that sells for more than the others?

Thanks!

 

[Colquhoun]

Having been out of the chips trade for a good 17 years I was recently surprised that Paulsons are a rarity these days. Unfortunately I sold my Pharao set back in the days. 10-20 USD per chip, or is it scammers who try to sell them as collectors items?

Is there a particular line and denomination that sells for more than the others?

Thanks!

There’s a lot of sellers on eBay on “fishing trips”…pricing chips way above what most will pay, hoping to get a bite.

Look at past sold chips for a better indication of the eBay market price.

Note, however, that the eBay crowd is often willing to pay quite a bit more than the chippers here on PCF.

 

[DarrenB]

What would be a more realistic price per chip in that case? Give or take

 

[Colquhoun]

What would be a more realistic price per chip in that case? Give or take

Here's a set that sold about 6 weeks ago, each chip was $5.50...but it sold very quickly, so it was likely a bit underpriced.
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/pharaohs.92201/#post-1901033

And here's another from May, he asked $6.66 per chip for the set...unknown what the split price was, however.:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...-school-pharaoh-plaques-25cents-25-000.90050/

 

[Josh Kifer]

Having been out of the chips trade for a good 17 years I was recently surprised that Paulsons are a rarity these days. Unfortunately I sold my Pharao set back in the days. 10-20 USD per chip, or is it scammers who try to sell them as collectors items?

Is there a particular line and denomination that sells for more than the others?

Thanks!

Lol. No.

 

[Jacks]

Just another data point I recently sold my $5s for $4.50 a chip.

I’m going to be putting them up for sale in a week (when I get my ESST set) and will probably start off at $5 a chip for the set.

 

[FordPickup92]

 

[coolguy101]

You have to remember that eBay fees are effectively 15% (they charge the percentage with the tax added to the sale price). So, sets are always going to run higher than normal on eBay. Then, you also have people who think their stuff is gold.

 

[upNdown]

Most sellers on eBay shoot for the moon. So in short, the answer is no. But sort by completed sales and you can see what stuff actually sells for - that’s pretty much the market price. And you’d probably see lower prices here, but not by an order of magnitude. But the bottom line answer is yes, Paulsons sell for a crazy amount now that what I’ve heard they sold for 17 years ago.

 

[DMack]

The title of this thread might be better named, “Are Paulsons in the Classifieds Priced Correctly?”

 

[LeLe]

Having been out of the chips trade for a good 17 years I was recently surprised that Paulsons are a rarity these days. Unfortunately I sold my Pharao set back in the days. 10-20 USD per chip, or is it scammers who try to sell them as collectors items?

Is there a particular line and denomination that sells for more than the others?

Thanks!

Short Answer : No

Long Answer : Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[greenchip]

People on PCF are not sold like a business.
Pretty much everyone on eBay is and priced like a business, so of course not if we know the PCF price.

Long story short: PCF is like warehouse price, eBay is like retailer price.

Not scammers, but the fees are high so they have to markup plus eBay people are willing to pay more money than here due to much less competition.

 

[Eriks]

Buy your stuff in the classifieds here. 99,99% of sellers here are genuine and you can look at everyone’s feedback stats to make sure you’re dealing with reputable people. There are a shit ton of chips changing hands daily and most are paid for using paypal f&f (i.e. trust). It does make it attractive for scammers but we haven’t had many issues.

In terms of popularity and prices, I would say the Paulson fantasy lines rates something like this:

WTHC
Le Noir
Avalon
Private cardroom
Pharaos
CDI
Classics

I may be forgetting one or two. Prices probably range $3-$8 (per chip on average set prices. Some individual denoms are harder to find and will be more expensive)

 

[davislane]

YES. Correct.

 

[Felt_Lizard]

It's more important to dump your trash sets quickly and cheaply to get your Paulson dream set subsidized as much as possible.

So any garbage made by BCC, ASM or TRK...just PM me and we'll get those all sorted out for ya....

 

[Chiphuntr]

I would say “no” eBay prices are not normal or always reasonable. Although there are some expensive more rare chips for sale there. But $65 for a Paulson “classic “ is ridiculous. Although they aren’t all priced that high. Do your research, there are definitely sellers making lots of money selling chips.

 

[CrazyEddie]

Depends on how long you want to wait to get something you really want. Stuff on eBay is overpriced but you can buy it right now. Stuff in the PCF classifieds is much cheaper but good luck getting it; first you have to wait until it comes up for sale, and then you have to be the lucky first person to respond to the ad, which happens literally in less than one minute.

If you want to see what "real prices" are, then check out the PCF auctions. Less opportunistically predatory than eBay, but unlike the classifieds you have a realistic chance of actually buying it if you're willing to outspend the other people who also want it.

 

[Colquhoun]

If you want to see what "real prices" are, then check out the PCF auctions. Less opportunistically predatory than eBay, but unlike the classifieds you have a realistic chance of actually buying it if you're willing to outspend the other people who also want it.

Or make a bid and hope everyone else forgets the time of the auctions’ end.

 

[DMack]

The classifieds aren’t a whole lot different than eBay. There are eBay sellers that are ridiculous, but there are sellers here that are ridiculous too. The irony is that some of the more ridiculous sellers here are the ones who have got deals on eBay, then they flip them here and demand extortion prices. They sit and sit and occasionally the price gets lowered.

There is one vendor here, most know of his cancerous ways, but I won’t mention any usernames, that preys on what others are looking for. He bids the chips to high heaven, only to then turn around and list them on here for stupid prices and they sit untouched. Some think he does it to try to extract every last penny from members of the community, while others think he does it to just rub feces in the faces of those that actually would use the chips. Kind of like a weird sort of a flex one has to use because they weren’t blessed with a large…so they try to be a big…on here to compensate for what they’re lacking.

All that to say, there are some fleecers on eBay, and there are some fleecers here. There are some great sellers on eBay, and there are some great sellers here too. It doesn’t take long to figure out who is who on both places.

 

[DarrenB]

Thanks yall!
Let’s see if I will part with my leftover samples of Paulsons here then.
Even a couple of hundred USD will help to fund a custom set from CPC.

 

[Johnblue]

There are some collectables I’ve listed on eBay at inflated prices, happy for them to “sit in the store window” with a giant price tag. You get lookiloo’s and the potential audience knows there’s a guy, in L.A. that has XXXXX… they ask questions, maybe we make a deal, etc.

Or on rare occasions, the item sells for that inflated price out of nowhere, presumably to someone who to whom money is no object.

I think some chippers do that, list their chips on eBay that way, like a Hail Mary, happy to have done the work of taking the pictures and cataloging, but with no real intention of them actually selling at THAT price. but if they do sell, they are very surprised and very happy. And if they ever need quick cash, all they gotta do is a few clicks of the mouse, lower the price and instant liquidity. I’ve even pre-packaged items and done it this way. ( I also collect vintage stereo equipment)

 

[coolguy101]

99% sure that 99% of eBay fleecers are PCF members.

 

[RainmanTrail]

Not if they're still sitting there

 

[Budha]

There are some collectables I’ve listed on eBay at inflated prices, happy for them to “sit in the store window” with a giant price tag. You get lookiloo’s and the potential audience knows there’s a guy, in L.A. that has XXXXX… they ask questions, maybe we make a deal, etc.

Or on rare occasions, the item sells for that inflated price out of nowhere, presumably to someone who to whom money is no object.

I think some chippers do that, list their chips on eBay that way, like a Hail Mary, happy to have done the work of taking the pictures and cataloging, but with no real intention of them actually selling at THAT price. but if they do sell, they are very surprised and very happy. And if they ever need quick cash, all they gotta do is a few clicks of the mouse, lower the price and instant liquidity. I’ve even pre-packaged items and done it this way. ( I also collect vintage stereo equipment)

I’ll never understand this sales mentality, ever. In other words, your basically just trying to screw someone and hoping to get lucky?When you really get down to it, that’s the strategy- hope for that one-off desperate or uninformed buyer.

Why not just sell for the mkt price without all the “tricky” (that’s not really that tricky) strategy BS? Lot less wasted time for everyone.

I’ve collected vintage tube gear for 30 years as well. eBay is the last place on earth I would buy gear. Waaay too many other options without the clueless “super rare” golden barn find sellers - lol.

“Super Rare” is always my queue to keep scrolling

 

[TheWhat]

The eBay prices can't be right, otherwise chipfinder would have already scooped my Paulson Nationals at $3 per, and turned them into $9K there lol.

I did actually sign up for eBay and was surprised at not only the high fee charged, but also the selling limits before triggering even higher charges. And the amount of dishonest sellers is crazy.

Do get how a personal might feel safe purchasing from eBay vs a site like this, but can't see the chips holding that inflated value.

 

[Colquhoun]

I’ll never understand this sales mentality, ever. In other words, your basically just trying to screw someone and hoping to get lucky?When you really get down to it, that’s the strategy- hope for that one-off desperate or uninformed buyer.

Why not just sell for the mkt price without all the “tricky” (that’s not really that tricky) strategy BS? Lot less wasted time for everyone.

I’ve collected vintage tube gear for 30 years as well. eBay is the last place on earth I would buy gear. Waaay too many other options without the clueless “super rare” golden barn find sellers - lol.

“Super Rare” is always my queue to keep scrolling

I see it as pricing it at the high end of the spectrum, and are willing to wait for the person that really wants it and is willing to pay it.
I don’t see that as sneaky or tricky.

 

[Budha]

I see it as pricing it at the high end of the spectrum, and are willing to wait for the person that really wants it and is willing to pay it.
I don’t see that as sneaky or tricky.

Yeah - I think we are talking about stuff listed outside the spectrum. Setting new water marks. Which is what “inflated” generally translates too.

I also don’t think it’s sneaky or tricky, that was part of the joke. That “strategy” is pretty transparent (ie - so it’s not really much of a strategy) - lol.

 

[Johnblue]

I’ll never understand this sales mentality, ever. In other words, your basically just trying to screw someone and hoping to get lucky?When you really get down to it, that’s the strategy- hope for that one-off desperate or uninformed buyer.

Why not just sell for the mkt price without all the “tricky” (that’s not really that tricky) strategy BS? Lot less wasted time for everyone.

I’ve collected vintage tube gear for 30 years as well. eBay is the last place on earth I would buy gear. Waaay too many other options without the clueless “super rare” golden barn find sellers - lol.

“Super Rare” is always my queue to keep scrolling

That's not it at all, If you have tube gear and you have chips, i like you alot!

There's just an honest number I would let my Mcintosh sell for, or a set of Vineyards, and yes, that may be more money than others would sell them for.

I know my gear, I know my chips, i know exactly how hard any of these things are to replace, i know that it is likely irreplaceable. Both of these collectables are very rare, collectors like us know exactly how rare each specimen is.

I am not a flipper by any sense of the word, and i haven't sold anything on eBay for a very long time, but there are times where i have used this method, and like i said, its not to get lucky and fool someone, its to advertise that there's a dead mint, fully recapped pair of ST-70 in Los Angeles, and if anyone is truly serious about buying something like that, we can start a conversation about it and make a deal.

My suggestion is try messaging these people if you seriously want to buy items advertised like this, if they are like me, they will probably be reasonable.

Imagine complaining about some guy selling his Camaro he spent his life restoring at "inflated" prices, picking up a kelly blue book and telling him he's crazy for asking 10k above blue book... why do we applaud those guys, who push up the prices on classic cars, based on meticulous knowledge and detail work, but when we do the same thing with our tube gear or chips, we laugh at them?

 

[Budha]

That's not it at all, If you have tube gear and you have chips, i like you alot!

There's just an honest number I would let my Mcintosh sell for, or a set of Vineyards, and yes, that may be more money than others would sell them for.

I know my gear, I know my chips, i know exactly how hard any of these things are to replace, i know that it is likely irreplaceable. Both of these collectables are very rare, collectors like us know exactly how rare each specimen is.

I am not a flipper by any sense of the word, and i haven't sold anything on eBay for a very long time, but there are times where i have used this method, and like i said, its not to get lucky and fool someone, its to advertise that there's a dead mint, fully recapped pair of ST-70 in Los Angeles, and if anyone is truly serious about buying something like that, we can start a conversation about it and make a deal.

My suggestion is try messaging these people if you seriously want to buy items advertised like this, if they are like me, they will probably be reasonable.

Imagine complaining about some guy selling his Camaro he spent his life restoring at "inflated" prices, picking up a kelly blue book and telling him he's crazy for asking 10k above blue book... why do we applaud those guys, who push up the prices on classic cars, based on meticulous knowledge and detail work, but when we do the same thing with our tube gear or chips, we laugh at them?

Nice to meet another tube guy!! I hear ya and can appreciate your perspective.

I have a different perspective, but that’s OK too

 

[GUnit]

Just another data point I recently sold my $5s for $4.50 a chip.

I’m going to be putting them up for sale in a week (when I get my ESST set) and will probably start off at $5 a chip for the set.

What set? I’m looking to add to my Good Luck Clubs.