These really are excellent questions, so don't worry at all about putting yourself out there by posting this. Every n00b here has gone through an education phase. Especially one that wants to fairly quickly jump into the higher value chips.
I was where you are a little over 3 years ago. Maybe even below your level of knowledge as I didn't know who Paul's son was
didn't know that CPCs existed (and can be ordered!) had never heard of TRKs (holy grail for many here) and just wanted to know which Claysmith chips were the best clay chip that could be bought! Seriously, I thought Milanos were "real" clay, casino quality (because that's how they advertise and sell them) and wondered if they were good enough that I should up my budget from 20 cents a chip to 35 cents. That is why I created an account on PCF back in April 2020.
I totally immersed myself in this forum from day 1. As others said, you need to acquire the knowledge. In many cases it will not be obvious from a listing why some chips are $1 each, and others that look very similar are $10 each. I didn't know whether the people on here could be trusted, but I saw some chips listed sell within minutes, sometimes within seconds of being posted. While others, that might have looked as nice to me, and maybe even priced lower, would sit for days or weeks. So yeah, obviously there are reasons, and to be honest, to get the best deals, you have to know the difference quickly enough to make a snap decision. And it will take experience and knowledge.
So I probably spent 8-10 hours a day on here that first week. I was just fascinated by the hobby, by the diversity and depth of different types of chips, and the vast variety even within types. But the other thing I did was I found that some people were extremely helpful in sharing knowledge with me. They welcomed me into the community of this forum. They sent me PMs to explain to me when others might be critical of my questions or statements. They genuinely became my friends, and I could ask them questions offline with no fear of being criticised for saying something ignorant.
So my advice is go forth and learn. Read a LOT of posts, ask questions, participate in discussion threads, and make friends. Also, get samples! Try to get as many different types of chips in your hands so that YOU can decide what types of chips, what colors, what spot patterns, and what composition of materials YOU like best. Ultimately, buying chips that YOU will love collecting and playing poker with is what is most important.
And WAIT to make any big purchases. Your tastes will evolve the longer you are here. Because I waited until I had learned more, I did not purchase a set of any Claysmith chips. I'm not dissing them, because they do fit a niche, and there is nothing wrong with them at their price point. But I actually like the set I bought first even better, and they were cheaper than Milanos. And after a year here, i decided I did want real compressed clay chips, and I bought some that were over a dollar a chip. And just last week I went over another milestone by getting a few chips I wanted to complete a set that cost $5 per chip, the most this cheapskate has ever paid, and about 20 times what my budget per chip was when I joined this forum. But you know what, I still love that first set I bought that was under $250. And I'll probably never sell it. Because I made sure that I only bought chips that I knew I would love.
Welcome to PCF. Most of all - Have fun! This is a great place to learn, and a really fun and addictive hobby.
