Welcome back Sir, I imagine the sticker price shock after 14 years is a hard pill to swallow... My GF
@FordPickup92 and I have only been in the game two years and the changes even in that short time frame are insane. It has been said that the pandemic brough tons of new chippers into the market, basically due to boredom. Lol
There was no where near enough supply of quality (clay) chips to keep up with the demand. Hell
CPC (formerly ASM) used to be the "expensive option" for chips but being fully custom still drew in the customers, now it is almost the cheaper option when it comes to chips.
Trying to piece together even a mixed set now is very difficult to do, maybe you can find a rack of something but many of us need (200) of the same chip for each denom in a line up... finding those 200 of the same chip is becoming very difficult to do! Many are still trying but it takes patience and also the understanding that when you find that second rack, you may have to pay double to get it!!
It can still be done but definitely a different market now! Looking forward to seeing what a veteran coming back into the hobby winds up with!
If I can ever be of assistance feel free to reach out anytime!
Fellow chipper Ben