I have been collecting chips for 21 years, and have been a chip collector for about 2 months, and have realized from following this board, that the two may be, in some ways, incompatible. When collecting chips, I picked them up from tables I had played at around the world; I kept them in the tupperware equivalent of a cigar box; all mixed up, unprotected;uncataloged;I would sometimes take them out to look at them, touch them; I had no sense of their monetary worth; did not know(or care) if they were rare, obsolete, LE; they were priceless to me in the memories they evoked. Then I discovered the CC&GTCC, Gaming Times, Cyberchipping, and decided to become a chip collector. I made my first trades(exciting stuff). I now own chips from places I have never been. But something changed. Chips I traded for arrived wrapped in those cardboard and plastic things; I couldn't touch them; I wasn't sure if I should touch them. Would that affect their value(of which I learned by buying "the Books"). What if the hot stamp faded?(now that I knew what that gold writing was); I follow the BBS religiously, to learn of Ebay fakes;unscroupulous dealers who want to make a profit(the nerve!)on chips they buy; I now wonder if LEs are "real chips"(did they ever touch a table?);should I "suscribe" to a "list" to ensure I never miss a chip(and never have to leave my house); I bought plastic pages for a binder and emptied my cigar box.Now everything is in order, but its not the same. I'm worrying that I might not be able to get a convention chip 9 months from now(though many good people are working on this problem); is that chip from Castro's cuba on Ebay really rare(seems like it should be, but maybe Castro has a boxfull he could dump at any time!); what exchange rate should I use on Korean won to determine face value for my Seoul chips? (if I factor in a $2000 plane ticket, will I be exposed and shamed-casinolist blacklisted?) It's too much pressure; So I've taken the chips out of the plastic(it were as if they were in a condom-safe, protected, yet somehow not the same). They're back in the box. I don't look in the book anymore. I still enjoy the BBS and the hobby-I learn a great deal from the tremendous people here-but I realize I can never be a SERIOUS collector-it's just too...serious.