Building a "Chip Empire" (1 Viewer)

CHIP EMPIRES: What do you do with your smaller chip quantity purchases?

  • STORE/DISPLAY -just store them as beautiful chips on a shelf

  • RELABEL -relabel them to match my set(s)

  • MATCHING -throw them into my set since they are identical

  • $$$ -resell (and possibly combine with like chips as a larger amount)

  • NEW STARTER -start a new set

  • None of the Above.

  • OTHER?


Results are only viewable after voting.

davethesave

3 of a Kind
Joined
Apr 12, 2020
Messages
653
Reaction score
536
Location
Toronto, Canada
I love all these sales threads, the chip pron is amazing and as a newbie I want to buy every sample set and shard of wonderful chips from now defunct casinos, or unique builds that are rare and coveted. With all that said... as a newbie.. I am still trying to understand what buyers do here with these small amounts of chips... I am in no way trying to be tongue in cheeky here, I am honestly curious... to me I think the chips are beautiful, and I would be tempted to buy them ALL. Obviously cost plays a role here, so does space, and practicality, I mean if I had thousands of unmatched chips... they can be organized by colour or style, but if the labels don't match - the perfectionist in me goes crazy...

Lets say I do decide to dump my bank account and purchase chips. I can get a few hundred or thousand from the seller/store and have a matching set. THE END...… OR I could take the road less travelled and do one of these options:
STORE/DISPLAY -just store them as beautiful chips on a shelf
RELABEL -relabel them to match my set(s)
MATCHING -throw them into my set since they are identical (I had matching chips so its a seamless matching process)
$$$ -resell (and possibly combine with like chips as a larger amount)
NEW STARTER -start a new set (how patient must one be to acquire a few hundred chips in such small amounts at a time?)
- None of these?
- OTHER?

I would like to know what people do with their CHIP EMPIRES!
 
I think you're going to get a lot of different answers.

For me, I buy in small quantities all the time to see if I like them... I'll often hang on to them for a bit and then peddle them if I decide I want something different. About a year ago I was shopping for a rack fo $25s... I bought 4 or 5 different racks as part of the process. I eventually kept the rack I wanted and sold the rest for pretty much what I'd paid for them.

Over time I've bought and sold in dozens of transactions and have pieced together pretty much exactly what I wanted although my sets are still 'incomplete'. I'm not a big collector nor am I a fan of owning things I won't use, so I'm not the type to accumulate set after set like some people around here are.
 
As a relative newbie (hey, I've really only been here 2.5 years!), my thoughts about set building:

It is usually faster to build a mixed casino set than to wait for one to be available purchased whole.
The quickest way to purchase a whole playable set is to buy one off the Classifieds, from a Vendor sale, or a Group Buy. It seems the latter have been increasing in frequency, lately.
If you have a target set, you will need to watch and hunt like a hawk to obtain the pieces bit by bit. And you likely have lots of competition.
A custom set of CPC is worth every penny you put into it, but should not be pursued lightly. Have a solid design before making the plunge.
There will be chip envy, but try not to let that turn into actual poverty. Spend only what you feel comfortable spending.
You can save money on customization costs if you can do the work yourself. Graphic design, inlay removal, hot stamp milling, and the time taken. Otherwise, it will cost you to have others do it for you (though, much of the time, the cost is worth it). But at the end of the day, customization is for your FOREVER sets.
High quality, excellent condition, and highly sought-after chips will retain their purchase value and can be used to trade up.
 
I think you're going to get a lot of different answers.

For me, I buy in small quantities all the time to see if I like them... I'll often hang on to them for a bit and then peddle them if I decide I want something different. About a year ago I was shopping for a rack fo $25s... I bought 4 or 5 different racks as part of the process. I eventually kept the rack I wanted and sold the rest for pretty much what I'd paid for them.

Over time I've bought and sold in dozens of transactions and have pieced together pretty much exactly what I wanted although my sets are still 'incomplete'. I'm not a big collector nor am I a fan of owning things I won't use, so I'm not the type to accumulate set after set like some people around here are.

Definitely agree with the part you said about owning things that you don't use... I am trying my best to be efficient... but I understand it is a long an arduous task as you have stated.

Is there a rhyme or reason to the matching of chips? I mean I notice some sets have matching designs (obviously different colours for denoms) or do people just try to get the CHIP matched to its "cousin" for a like feel and look, but then relabel even if the outer edge colouring is different?
 
As a relative newbie (hey, I've really only been here 2.5 years!), my thoughts about set building:

It is usually faster to build a mixed casino set than to wait for one to be available purchased whole.
The quickest way to purchase a whole playable set is to buy one off the Classifieds, from a Vendor sale, or a Group Buy. It seems the latter have been increasing in frequency, lately.
If you have a target set, you will need to watch and hunt like a hawk to obtain the pieces bit by bit. And you likely have lots of competition.
A custom set of CPC is worth every penny you put into it, but should not be pursued lightly. Have a solid design before making the plunge.
There will be chip envy, but try not to let that turn into actual poverty. Spend only what you feel comfortable spending.
You can save money on customization costs if you can do the work yourself. Graphic design, inlay removal, hot stamp milling, and the time taken. Otherwise, it will cost you to have others do it for you (though, much of the time, the cost is worth it). But at the end of the day, customization is for your FOREVER sets.
High quality, excellent condition, and highly sought-after chips will retain their purchase value and can be used to trade up.

So the sentimentalist in me (or maybe just mentalist) cringes at the fact that lets say a set of chips from a now defunct casino could quite possibly go extinct if the chips fall into the hands of someone who wants to relabel..... I guess I am to assume that the owner of these chips knows they have a valuable set of chip relics that would never or should never be touched (I am thinking like putting a 2020 spoiler on any vintage muscle car- YOU JUST DON'T DO IT!)…. however with that said, if I am the owner of these chips (as rare as they may be), I can do what I please.... and if I want to relabel.. I will... I am assuming this is a unwritten NO NO here?
 
The chips are yours, do what you like. But in general rare chips are expensive and chip murder destroys the value of the chip greatly, most people would avoid doing that if alternatives are available.

That said, nobody will or can stop you from murdering expensive chips for your personal use.

Most chips generally stop trading hands after awhile (e.g. if the sale was 10 years back), when some leak out to non PCFers or more and more new sales happen (then those get traded). Those who'd kept them for so long are unlikely to sell, and those who wanted to sell would have done so. They'd probably be kept in a chip vault and sales of them become few and far between that it becomes "extinct"
 
So the sentimentalist in me (or maybe just mentalist) cringes at the fact that lets say a set of chips from a now defunct casino could quite possibly go extinct if the chips fall into the hands of someone who wants to relabel..... I guess I am to assume that the owner of these chips knows they have a valuable set of chip relics that would never or should never be touched (I am thinking like putting a 2020 spoiler on any vintage muscle car- YOU JUST DON'T DO IT!)…. however with that said, if I am the owner of these chips (as rare as they may be), I can do what I please.... and if I want to relabel.. I will... I am assuming this is a unwritten NO NO here?

Unwritten rules are not rules - you may do whatever you want with your property (including destroying it, should you so choose). However, there is less likely to be a public outcry if permanent modification were done on chips that are not from a casino that was once in business and/or has historical/high collectible value. For example, a lot of modifications are done on miscellaneous initalled/home game hot stamps, or live low-denom chips which are available for harvest (and, therefore, easily replaced by the casino in question), or are done on fantasy chips which were at one time available for public purchase (so there were possibly high tens of thousands or many hundreds of thousands made).

Sometimes impermanent modifications, such as an unlaminated sticker placed over an original inlay, is done so that the original chip is preserved as much as possible, and the modification can be removed in the future hopefully without damaging the chip.
 
I love everyone's obsession here. I mean the detail in everyone's replies is so satisfying to read I will say it is a pleasure to be part of this community.

I apologize for asking questions, but I am still trying to figure out my comfort levels with all the choices up in the poll. I personally am leaning towards relabeling (once I decide on chips to purchase), but I do have some favorites that I would love to leave intact. At the top of my list I cannot get my mind off of Dunes. Maybe because I have taken up golf not long ago... maybe the idea of open greenspace and serenity now... they are prob at the top of my list and I do think they cost a ton IF found... but I am still looking. (I obviously would not relabel them!)

I do like the china plastics but I have to accumulate samples and decide!
 
So here is a pic of some of the abs chips I have and I have pretty big quantity’s right now.

thinking of relabeling @Gear and biding my time on here til I can grab some paulsons or whatnot.

please be kind- are all these chips trash?

(and yes those are caesars that I was given by my dad as a young kid)
 

Attachments

  • 85EAC264-7467-48D6-A1F9-441D620F6282.jpeg
    85EAC264-7467-48D6-A1F9-441D620F6282.jpeg
    269.4 KB · Views: 110
  • A0920355-995D-487E-96D5-63B26460765A.jpeg
    A0920355-995D-487E-96D5-63B26460765A.jpeg
    253.4 KB · Views: 98
Yes.

Oh shit. Hahaha @davethesave , I was answering the main question. Everything on the list is yes.

I wouldn't call someones chips trash, and I noticed you asked another question... Sorry dude!
 
Last edited:
It's obviously a tough question, because each of my smaller chip purchases have been for different reasons...
  • Most singles have been for displays.
  • Whenever there was a new option on the market, I would order a sample set. That need has calmed down though as I now have more sets than I have games in a year - though even saying that, I have ordered even more chips. But when a local considers buying chips, I always have a sizable collection of samples for them to try out. The same rule applies for cards.
  • I have a odd few racks and barrels on a shelf. I don't actively cruise the classifieds, but if I happen to know that someone is desperately looking for something to complete a set, I would happily let almost any of them go for the price of shipping. I'm not taking pics though, so dont ask.
  • I have also bought chips that I could "label over" for an existing set. Although I won't participate in "chip murder", a removable label is fine.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top Bottom