I was a not in the market for Jack chips although I think they look spectacular. I had spent my chip funds elsewhere (cough, Matsui GB).
I've heard nothing but good things about Jim and I'm glad he sold through PCF. My assumption is that he thought long and hard about how to market them in a way that balanced making a reasonable profit and recouping his investment quickly. On top of this, he wanted to make sure the system was as fair as possible. The system he came up with encouraged folks to buy large numbers of chips. I am guessing he anticipated that some folks would buy extra of certain denominations and then trade / resell / etc. That seems like the obvious move. The price increase for the second sale indicates he probably underestimated demand a bit and sold chips faster than he expected in round 1.
If Jim wanted to optimize for profit, he could have set prices very high and sold the chips more slowly over time. Harvard Economists call this the "ChipsDealer
eBay Strategy". Clearly, he wanted to move inventory and that's why there is a little room left for resellers.
I can understand the disappointment of folks who wanted Jack Chips and did not get them because of technical challenges. But I also do not fault folks who are reselling their Jack chips. Market forces indicate that chips will go to those that want them the most and are willing to pay for them. This is the purpose of prices. We are talking about a hobby here, so we can't claim a need or measure in an objective way how much individuals "really" want them. What council of elders would decide that?
I'd put the whole Jack's thing in a bucket of commercial activity which is a lot different from some of the friendly deals that happen when folks are filling out sets or doing favors for friends. Folks who take advantage of those kinds of friendly deals are guaranteeing they will not receive future friendly treatment. That hurts themselves more than anything else.
Regardless of price, I'm happy to see chips come to market. I'm glad some
BTP sets have drifted out. They will circulate just like the boat chips have. Hell, lots of people here who were not part of the original boat chips purchase have owned and sold boat chips at this point. It's almost like a rite of passage. The same will happen with jacks, and soon enough at discounted prices.
@David O - If you ever decide to auction those spotted birds, I am confident it will be the most epic auction that has ever happened on PCF. But in the meantime keep collecting them until every bird is safely in captivity.