John Benedict's answer was pure and simple. If someone who sells chips is selected to be the subject of an IRS audit, they will find out very quickly who is a dealer and who is not. If you are receiving regular income through the sale of chips, in my opinion YOU are a "dealer". If you take a table at a collectibles show or even at a flea market, you are considered to be a dealer and the state wants their cut in the way of collecting sales taxes. Now that I'm retired, I sell chips through the mail, via my A.C. New Issues Service. I report my chip sales income on my annual tax returns and I deduct my legitimate expenses. I can't compete with "collectors" who sell chips for less and don't report it as income. That's their business and they take a huge risk if they chose to ignore the consequences. Dealers who run their businesses out of stores have additional expenses such as rent, utilities, insurance, maintenance, advertising, etc., which makes it difficult to compete with mail order dealers and "collectors" who are selling chips "to bolster their collections" and not reporting it as income. I too, am also a collector. So in short, like it or not, if you sell chips,... that makes you a dealer (in my humble opinion). How about it Jimbo??? You're the former IRS man! Any advice?