CPC disappointment (2 Viewers)

T

TheADMIRAL

Sitting Out
Joined
Aug 25, 2022
Messages
27
Reaction score
60
Location
U.K.
So I ordered a sample of CPC rounders chips, not so much because I lived the rounders design, but more to see what "premium" poler chips feel like. I'm in the UK so it's harder over here.

I was expecting little discs of happiness, and what I got was little discs of disappointment.

Almost every chip had imperfections, the injection moulding was off centre or misaligned between front and back, there were marks where the colours had stained each other. Am I being unrealistic? Did I get a bad batch?

For $2.5k for a decent sized set or more for a custom one, I expected much more.

The 500 "label" is off centre, the $5 bear is not North/South aligned, the others have chip spot paint in places they should not.

I have what I know are considered inferior chips, the metal slug 2006 cartamundi Casino royale ones (not the newer ones Josh sells). These just don't have imperfections and cost a tiny fraction of CPC.

Help me, I dreamed of these chips, the fantasy "one day" purchase. And the samples were way worse (in all respects, weight, shuffleability, durability, feel) than the cheap shizzle I already had. Tell me I got unlucky?!
 

Attachments

  • 20230617_111726.jpg
    20230617_111726.jpg
    168.5 KB · Views: 495
My samples have similar issues, though they seem less severe- no inlay misrotation, inlay only slightly off center on $1/$25, and a bit of color transfer.

6F661997-9B2A-4520-A9A7-95676D7E4481.jpeg


I am curious how sample quality compares to that of full sets.
 
Compression molded clay chips are not for consistency nits. The small differences are part of the charm. That said, you’ll see far less imperfections on an actual set. In fact, you’ll usually receive a number of extras.
 
TheADMIRAL said:
The 500 "label" is off centre, the $5 bear is not North/South aligned, the others have chip spot paint in places they should not.
Click to expand...
CPC is known for meticulously aligning every single inlay. There are sets that have gone so far as to make the inlay orientation part of the design.

I think in my custom set I had one inlay that was way off center (bonus error chip!) and maybe a handful that were not what I would consider within the range of handmade tolerances.

As @Eriks said, part of the charm of a handmade real clay set are the slight imperfections that the human introduces. If you're looking for perfect edge spots, look elsewhere. But frankly, the imperfections absolutely add to the charm.

I think that if there was an option where you could have CPC make chips that look like they came off an injection molding assembly line for the exact same price, I wouldn't go for it. Not in a million years.
 
It would seem like a terrible business model to send your worst chips out as samples to people thinking of buying the product...?

I know that CPC are well regarded, great rep etc. It's interesting to me that imperfections are expected with CPC, I didn't know that. I can handle a little bit of "rugged charm" but some of these just grabbed the eye as wrongly made. Perhaps they just aren't for me.
 
TheADMIRAL said:
Am I being unrealistic?
Click to expand...
Yes.
You lack the vocabulary to accurately describe these chips, so I’m guessing you lack experience with chips in general. I think clay chips are an acquired taste in a lot of ways - there are a lot of subtleties.
If you don’t appreciate the subtle but huge differences between clay and plastic chips, that’s fine; you can save yourself a lot of money. And if you value perfection and uniformity, then you might always have a hard time with clay chips.
 
I think these samples are so you can feel them and judge colors and mold looks. I don’t think they are showcasing their label alignment or their color QC. If you want samples that demonstrate that you should ask specifically for them if that is a deal killer.

List your specific details you are going to judge these chips on and they can probably work with you better.

But honestly you might want to stick to machine made chips if you are this picky. Nothing wrong with it at all, you just aren’t ever going to be happy with human made chips, there’s always going to be some variance.
 
Yep…last thing we need is more demand. There’s a few super awesome plastic chip manufacturers out there (I’m sure you’ll find them), so you don’t have to slum it up with monte carlos at the chip cave.
 
Auction them.

It’s the only answer.

Start it at $1 and make it 48hr, let it ride my man! I’ll gladly bid $500 instantly, and fight from there…. A healthy amount.
 
ekricket said:
I think these samples are so you can feel them and judge colors and mold looks. I don’t think they are showcasing their label alignment or their color QC. If you want samples that demonstrate that you should ask specifically for them if that is a deal killer.
Click to expand...
This.
 
It sounds like your expectations were for a perfect product. I get that. But I f you’ve never had compression “clay” chips before, they are far from perfect. Edge spots on CPC, Paulson, etc are never uniform on the faces or on their edges. Paulson inlays are never consistently aligned with spots or with the other side of the chip. Little color flakes from the spots make it to different parts of the chip, etc.
That’s just the way they are. But nothing feels, wears or sounds quite like a clay chip.
Embrace the little imperfections! They’re the sign of the real deal.
 
I think it comes down to this, for me the imperfection level was unacceptable in the sample set. More than half of the chips I wouldn't play with.

People tell me that the chips vary, they are human made. I understand but the errors are too big and too common. A big error every 100 chips is fine, a small error on every chip is fine, but big errors on more than half isn't fine.

I guess everyone has different definitions of big errors but black smudges or easily noticeable misaligned labels qualify for me.
20230617_111531.jpg


Sample sets may have more imperfections than full sets. Interesting, valid point. If that is the case then CPC isn't selling samples, that's not what the word sample means. They are selling factory seconds and they should label them as such. If it is true then CPC may still be the right chips but I question their marketing.

I may have been unlucky, if that is true CPC may also still be for me.

For those that own CPC, do you have more than half your chips with noticeable errors? Like paint in the wrong place or a label massively off centre? That would really help. I assume you don't but it would be good to hear.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20230617_145727_Gallery.jpg
    Screenshot_20230617_145727_Gallery.jpg
    531.5 KB · Views: 41
This has been brought up before by people that buy sample chips. CPC should make it clear that the sample chips are pretty much rejected chips from a run. It can be confusing to someone that is trying to judge if they want a set based off just the few sample chips they receive.

The quality of a full set will be much better! You still have a few error chips, but they also include some extras to make up for it.

You’d be better off trying to buy some samples of members custom chips to get a realistic representation of CPC quality.
 
I have a set of Rounders chips and I would not describe the inlays as massively off-center, and I wouldn’t describe your sample that way either. It’s not perfectly centered, but not something that would bother me. Little bits of color are pretty common, CPCs and a Paulsons alike.
Here are a few $100s from my set, and they’re pretty indicative of what you can expect:
B6C4980E-C1FB-48C0-9055-4F39CAB7FF4F.jpeg

I don’t have any smudges like your sample has. The alignment is fairly consistent. Edge spot size and shape vary, but that is to be expected. Little green flecks are common.
Again, this is fairly true for any compression molded clay chip.
 
CPC is, in fact, an excellent product. You will have to evaluate more samples, such as their mold, colour, and spot sets, or other people's completed projects, to get a better picture of their quality.
 
That’s twice you’ve referred to “paint”

There is no paint; it’s all clay. They roll and press clay into the disc , punch out spots, and back fill with the different colored clay for spots. It’s a semi-viscous material, and moves under heat and pressure. Sometimes it moves too much, and you get funky spots, or even cross color transfer/ contamination.
 
And fwiw, aligned inlays are a matter of taste - some people like them perfectly aligned, some people prefer them totally random.
 
That post was a lie, I don't hate it, the man got me in a smoked meat induced coma, sweats and all, and then pulled a train of circus games on me nearly emptying my wallet in the process. Didn't even have gas money to get home! :)
 

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!

Register

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Similar threads

S
Br pro vs cpc
Replies
18
Views
914
Colquhoun
Colquhoun
lovetowel
First Post - Jumping Right in Seeking Chip Breakdown Advice
Replies
14
Views
381
Huskerchipper
Huskerchipper
MrMuffin
I just bought some Chips I don't really know
Replies
13
Views
783
philhut
philhut
L
CPC Easily Breakable by Hand
2
Replies
47
Views
2K
ngmcs8203
ngmcs8203
ChippinUp
CPC Sample Set Arrived
Replies
14
Views
985
Tonysquander
Tonysquander
Back
Top Bottom