Where do you buy chips in Europe? (6 Viewers)

[caperalta]

Good evening

I've been playing poker and working as a croupier for a long time, but I've never been interested in having a good set of chips for my games.

Now I've started to get curious, and after looking through everything I could on the internet, I've found that quality chips are not sold in Europe (there's no competition, I only found pokershop.de), and buying in the US means too many shipping costs (I want a set of 300 or 500 at most).

After researching, I came to the conclusion of looking for sets like Majestic, Bank, or Milano, since I don't like ceramic chips, and since I can't afford Paulson chips. Do you think I've made a good decision?

Another option would be the Outlaw collection. Do you think it is comparable in quality to the others I have mentioned?

And if so, where do you buy chips in Europe? I live in Valencia, Spain.

Thank you very much! Good luck at the tables!

 

[Syzygyy]

Depends on your budget and what you deem a ‘good set of chips’. The ones you’ve listed will work as an in between if ceramics are not an option

 

[cpac54]

Welcome!

Get samples if you can before making a decision. I would suggest, if Majestics etc are in your budget, take a look at the custom and stock ceramic options available from @justincarothers. I know you mentioned you didn’t like ceramics, but the newer hybrid ceramics are very different that what you might know as standard ceramic chips - much more like a China Clay chip or better.

Price wise you’re looking at similar costs in the end. Take your time, get samples and ask lots of questions! Have fun!

 

[CarlosStorm]

Hello from Barcelona, Welcome to the forum.

I've never bought chips in Europe, but use https://articulosdepoker.com/es/ for other stuff, as cards, briefcases and so on.

I think it's a good option to buy here in the forum, but you must be very patient and find something you like in your budget, and a person willing to ship overseas. As it mentions in other messages, is very important to get samples of different chips before making any important decision.

I don't have any china clay chips, so I can't give an opinion about them, but people say they smell plastic. For my experience, it doesn't happen with ceramic nor hybrid ceramics, the best option with a low budget in my opinion. I would recommend compressed clay: Paulson, CPC or BCC.

Enjoy the forum!

 

[caperalta]

Thank you guys for the answers!

I don't like ceramics because working as croupier we had a chip set for tournaments, and the chips constantly slipped, the towers fell easily, I ended up hating them and they looked more "artificial". Right now I'm between:

Showdown 500 chips - 285€ (all included) (pokershop.de)
Desert heat 500 chips - 306€ (only chips + shipping (no case, cards, etc)) (amazon)
Outlaw 500 chips - 226€ (all included) (amazon)

This will be my first set, and I think I'll keep buying over the years, little by little. Do you think it's a good option? I wanted to invest 250€ maximum, do you think it's worth spending a little more (showdown or desert heat) or will the Outlaw be good to start with?

If I order samples it costs me 25€ for shipping + the samples. If my total maximum investment was 250€, do you think it's worth spending 50€ on samples and ending up spending 300?

Thank you very much for your participation and experience! I hope to learn a lot in this forum!

 

[CarlosStorm]

Not an expert, I think those three options are very similar, depend on what you like more. From Pokershop I prefer Milanos and Majestics.

Abotu samples, you can expend 50€ more or waste the entire 250€, it depends. If the chips aren't what you like...
If you want sample of real clay, I recommend you to bye from CPC directly: https://www.classicpokerchips.com/stock/atlantich.htm

 

[FrostyStoic]

I'm in a similar situation - not having easy access to quality chips in Europe. My plan is to use a re-shipping service (probably myUS) to get samples from different vendors (Apache, BR Pro and Tina clays from Justin). The re-shipping service will bundle my shipments so I only have to pay for US -> EU shipping once. At least that's the plan - dunno how it'll work out

 

[w00zie]

I'm in a similar situation - not having easy access to quality chips in Europe. My plan is to use a re-shipping service (probably myUS) to get samples from different vendors (Apache, BR Pro and Tina clays from Justin). The re-shipping service will bundle my shipments so I only have to pay for US -> EU shipping once. At least that's the plan - dunno how it'll work out

Lots of German members here. When you have the rights to post in the classifieds just start a wanted thread. I‘m sure you will get samples.

 

[caperalta]

Not an expert, I think those three options are very similar, depend on what you like more. From Pokershop I prefer Milanos and Majestics.

Abotu samples, you can expend 50€ more or waste the entire 250€, it depends. If the chips aren't what you like...
If you want sample of real clay, I recommend you to bye from CPC directly: https://www.classicpokerchips.com/stock/atlantich.htm

Wow, that would be amazing. Right now is like a dream for me to have a set like that Atlantic or Rounders one. Amazing work!

 

[caperalta]

I'm in a similar situation - not having easy access to quality chips in Europe. My plan is to use a re-shipping service (probably myUS) to get samples from different vendors (Apache, BR Pro and Tina clays from Justin). The re-shipping service will bundle my shipments so I only have to pay for US -> EU shipping once. At least that's the plan - dunno how it'll work out

I've tried to find out how myUS works but I don't have much more time, I'll keep investigating. Do you have more information? It seems too easy to pay 13€ and have it shipped to your home from the US. I'll keep investigating, thanks for letting me know!

 

[FrostyStoic]

I've tried to find out how myUS works but I don't have much more time, I'll keep investigating. Do you have more information? It seems too easy to pay 13€ and have it shipped to your home from the US. I'll keep investigating, thanks for letting me know!

If you want just a single sample set and shipping is only €13, then yes, having it shipped directly is the way to go. I want samples from three different sources, that's why I like the idea of bundling the shipments before crossing the ocean. It's still a very early stage plan, so I have not yet done the math and I don't know exactly how much the use of a re-shipper will save.

 

[allforcharity]

Where do you buy chips in Europe?

From North America!

 

[CarlosStorm]

Where do you buy chips in Europe?

From North America!

All my chips came from USA, and some stickers from Canada. So, yes, almost everything nice came from North America.

 

[dallen1123]

I've tried to find out how myUS works but I don't have much more time, I'll keep investigating. Do you have more information? It seems too easy to pay 13€ and have it shipped to your home from the US. I'll keep investigating, thanks for letting me know!

Could you provide a link to this service by any chance?

 

[caperalta]

Could you provide a link to this service by any chance?

https://www.myus.com/welcome/spain/?aid=1008096&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaign}&utm_content={adgroup}&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-e6-BhDmARIsAOxxlxVJXkEoxDX8d8SoGmNFaGjUmxt2rvdgill-SnDGQoE197NYRW5ItfUaAgf2EALw_wcB

There you have it. I did some research and ultimately didn't sign up, but the concept seems very interesting if you're able to combine multiple orders so they're all shipped together. You'd only pay for shipping to Europe once plus the service fee. The link detects my IP and refers to Spain. I don't know if there's one for the UK. Do some research with AI or on the website itself. I ultimately rejected it, but I'll keep it in mind for the future.

 

[BigGrizz]

Just saw that OP was inquiring about Outlaws. I have a 1200 set of Outlaws and love them. Yes they are ABS sluggos, but they are probably the best ones out there. I personally love the extra weight of an ABS chip (rare opinion I know) and am very satasfied with them. That said, I would say a fair price is up to half the cost of Majestics. In the states they are cheaper than that, almost 1/3rd the price. For that they are an absolute steal.

My only big gripes with Outlaws are some people just don't bother reading the small denoms, their green chips are more of an aqua, and they cap at 10k chips instead of 25k. Also their edge spots are like a C-.

 

[caperalta]

Just saw that OP was inquiring about Outlaws. I have a 1200 set of Outlaws and love them. Yes they are ABS sluggos, but they are probably the best ones out there. I personally love the extra weight of an ABS chip (rare opinion I know) and am very satasfied with them. That said, I would say a fair price is up to half the cost of Majestics. In the states they are cheaper than that, almost 1/3rd the price. For that they are an absolute steal.

My only big gripes with Outlaws are some people just don't bother reading the small denoms, their green chips are more of an aqua, and they cap at 10k chips instead of 25k. Also their edge spots are like a C-.

Thank you very much for your comment. Finally, after spending a few days on the forum and doing some research, I think I'm going to invest in a Justin hybrid ceramic set. It's a lot more money, but this way I'll have a quality first set with many years of use ahead.

 

[Vogelgesang]

If you want just a single sample set and shipping is only €13, then yes, having it shipped directly is the way to go. I want samples from three different sources, that's why I like the idea of bundling the shipments before crossing the ocean. It's still a very early stage plan, so I have not yet done the math and I don't know exactly how much the use of a re-shipper will save.

May I ask if you tried your plan of re-shipping service yet?

 

[Baxit]

Same problem here. Buying chips made in China and having them shipped through US reseller more than doubles the initial price due to current tax patterns and quite expensive UStoEU shipping. Considering buying from apollonchips (sun-fly retail) who sells at $1 per chip shipping included, great option for EU as it avoids China/US tariff rage. Also, @justincarothers here make group buys to "Tina" chinese company, can be interesting if he can maintain current prices. If not, maybe you can check Shenzhen City Chenglin Industrial Co., Ltd. on alibaba or aliexpress, I think it's the original "Tina" company (confirmation needed!)

 

[Mast3r]

I am really looking forward to order some nice chips from CPC, but yeah it's a struggle.They seems to move to another factory, therefore currently no orders can be placed and also the pure production cost is a lot, on top comes like 180$+ for shipping to Europe. I wonder why China producers are not capable to do similar quality real clays. Usually they are good with copying any kind of machine and processing technique

 

[allforcharity]

I wonder why China producers are not capable to do similar quality real clays. Usually they are good with copying any kind of machine and processing technique

It is because the traditional manufacturing method uses ancient processes and materials that is not easily replicated with modern equipment, which is all about injection molding. The start up costs to modernize compression production is likely not worth the effort.

 

[Sly]

Hi all,

Apologies for semi-hijacking this thread... and a second apology for the very basic nature of this question as... while I'm not new to poker per se, I am new to the gigantic world of poker chips and poker mats and so on. I too am in the UK and finding that getting old of decent poker chips is a tad difficult. I bought an old dice set (I think they are called) from Amazon around 10+ years ago, and while they've only been used a handful of times, they aren't numbered, and I want something "quite decent" as I will soon be hosing some very low-stakes poker nights with the neighbours. Don't get me wrong - I'm not flush with money, but willing to spend a few more quid to get something good, and that will last.

So. Samples. Yes. I get it, I really do. but I am going to say something very bad here and say I'm not *that* fussed between the chips I get from such a small selection of vendors *at this stage* that's open to me. I say that as I've narrowed my selection to a few which are likely "not bad" (see below) and like non-audiophiles who can't really "get it" with the difference between the sound from a £250 CD-player and a £10.000 CD player... I don't think I'll see much difference - at the moment - between some of the chips which are double the price. Diminishing returns and all that.

I think the Poker Merchant in The Netherlands is probably my best bet (they seem to be a touch better than poker shop in Europe (Germany) and while I will, in time, figure out whether I prefer Ceramics or Clay or Composite Clay, or Clay, or whatever China Clays are., and these "Tinas" which seems to be a swear word here, . whatever I buy will be better than the Clay Chips I have at the moment. To be honest, it's the numbered denominations that interests me more,

I've posted a very noob~ish message in another thread about how I'll be hosting a 5c / 10c (or 5p / 10p for me) night as we are all beginners - it's more for the social aspect - so I am looking for chips which have 0.05 and 0.25 (er... nobody seems to use the 0.10 chips for some reason do they?) on them, either with dollar signs or without.

OR... I may go for 5 and 25 which can work both as "cents / pence" or "dollars / pounds" for future-proofing if that makes any sense.

With all the above in mind, I'm thinking of 500 chips of either the Poker Chips Banks (I like the colours) which are Pure Clay, the Monte Carlo or Vegas Poker Club which look clean and lovely, which are Clay Composite and a lot cheaper. I guess there is a quality compromise here.

The Majestic ones also look awesome but are more expensive, like the Banks.

The Milano chips look great too - but Poker Merchant doesn't seem to sell them, and the other place doesn't sell the 2 denomination.

So any pointers - I know it's difficult - or any help from my UK / European friends (I did not vote Brexit!) would be most appreciated.

Cheers,

And hello, by the way!

 

[BigGrizz]

Welcome! So just to clarify some terms. Clay composite, pure clay, all that stuff is marketing and frankly bull.

Vegas and Monte Carlos are plastic chips with a metal slug inside them. I own a set of Outlaws. I do really like them, but they are absolutely plastic. Many of these types of chips will have flashing, or little sharp pieces of plastic, around the edges. They are also heavier that typical casino chips.

Banks and Majestics are referred to as China clays. They have a clayish tacky feel but are overall pretty nice. Be aware that while reasonably durable, you can snap these in half by hand if you try.

Good hunting though!

 

[Sly]

Wow. That's... really confusing that chips are described as / marketed as a certain thing but, actually aren't.

At least it's nice to know the Bank and Majestics are decent chips (which I can get hold of).

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Syzygyy]

Hi all,

Apologies for semi-hijacking this thread... and a second apology for the very basic nature of this question as... while I'm not new to poker per se, I am new to the gigantic world of poker chips and poker mats and so on. I too am in the UK and finding that getting old of decent poker chips is a tad difficult. I bought an old dice set (I think they are called) from Amazon around 10+ years ago, and while they've only been used a handful of times, they aren't numbered, and I want something "quite decent" as I will soon be hosing some very low-stakes poker nights with the neighbours. Don't get me wrong - I'm not flush with money, but willing to spend a few more quid to get something good, and that will last.

So. Samples. Yes. I get it, I really do. but I am going to say something very bad here and say I'm not *that* fussed between the chips I get from such a small selection of vendors *at this stage* that's open to me. I say that as I've narrowed my selection to a few which are likely "not bad" (see below) and like non-audiophiles who can't really "get it" with the difference between the sound from a £250 CD-player and a £10.000 CD player... I don't think I'll see much difference - at the moment - between some of the chips which are double the price. Diminishing returns and all that.

I think the Poker Merchant in The Netherlands is probably my best bet (they seem to be a touch better than poker shop in Europe (Germany) and while I will, in time, figure out whether I prefer Ceramics or Clay or Composite Clay, or Clay, or whatever China Clays are., and these "Tinas" which seems to be a swear word here, . whatever I buy will be better than the Clay Chips I have at the moment. To be honest, it's the numbered denominations that interests me more,

I've posted a very noob~ish message in another thread about how I'll be hosting a 5c / 10c (or 5p / 10p for me) night as we are all beginners - it's more for the social aspect - so I am looking for chips which have 0.05 and 0.25 (er... nobody seems to use the 0.10 chips for some reason do they?) on them, either with dollar signs or without.

OR... I may go for 5 and 25 which can work both as "cents / pence" or "dollars / pounds" for future-proofing if that makes any sense.

With all the above in mind, I'm thinking of 500 chips of either the Poker Chips Banks (I like the colours) which are Pure Clay, the Monte Carlo or Vegas Poker Club which look clean and lovely, which are Clay Composite and a lot cheaper. I guess there is a quality compromise here.

The Majestic ones also look awesome but are more expensive, like the Banks.

The Milano chips look great too - but Poker Merchant doesn't seem to sell them, and the other place doesn't sell the 2 denomination.

So any pointers - I know it's difficult - or any help from my UK / European friends (I did not vote Brexit!) would be most appreciated.

Cheers,

And hello, by the way!

what's your budget and timeframe? there are a few new UK joiners recently who both expressed a desire to join a 'tina' group buy (where you split cost for shipping). I've got a tina sample set and i must say they are impressive for the price point given the customisation options - the main cost is delivery (which can be reduced via a group buy) and import taxes (unavoidable) - i've linked below the latest group buy that is organised monthly predominantly for US peeps but gives you an idea as to what is available.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...ers-september-2025.135153/page-6#post-2765219

I haven't ever seen or felt the 'china clay' style chips which i think majestic/banks/milano are to comment on their quality.

if time is no issue, i would explore tina options first - you'll pay the same import taxes from china as you would from any other EU country, just the shipping will be more costly (maybe like £100 if you did it on your own)

 

[Sly]

Thanks syzygyy - appreciate the information. Time is... yeah... time is a bit of a consideration. Plus, because I'm "very" new to all this, I reckon I'd be spending a LOT of time on the group buy and would hold things up at this stage. I haven't looked into customisation or anything like that, which, I'm sure, would be a rabbit-hole taking up much of my time. I do see that being enjoyable though!

For now, as I haven't seen any "What? No way, don't get the "xxxx" chips" I think I'll narrow my options of Majestic / Banks / Milano down to one, and pull the trigger on those.

Perfectly happy to know I may be licking some wounds later on *if* I get into poker big time, and the different chips available to me - but I sense that'll be a good year+ down the line.

 

[maxim_666666]

Essentially, everything comes from the US or China.
I had CC chips, and if budget is the only issue, they're a really good choice.
Be patient, and you'll find plenty of samples or matching sets from sellers here in Europe at a pretty decent price. Incidentally, once I decided to buy CPC/Paulson chips, I never went back to Chinese ones. They're expensive, but the difference is noticeable. Samples will greatly help your decisions, but they help you make the right decisions! Yes, you spend money on them, but even in Europe, there are people who have tons of them; just post an ad in the "search" section. And then sell them to someone else.
Once you get your hands on the Paulson/CPC chips, you'll likely decide to save some money, add a couple €€€ and buy them.
Determine your game type, the number of chips you need, and go..
Plus, you probably have PayPal, which allows you to pay in installments. So you don't even have to shell out the entire amount at once.