1. Thanks for the welcome for those that welcomed me, both in this forum and privately by email. I recently joined CCGTCC (R-4657), and will be attending the show later this month for the first time. I will be buying, rather then selling

2. My primary concern is that while most message boards have a policy that you do not discuss a person's ethics without inviting them to the board to defend themselves, this board apparently allows various forms of character assisination to go on behind one's back. I admit that this chip auction is a minor issue, but in some cases actionable slander could occur under this policy. Considering that readers of these posts may judge a man's reputation without hearing both sides of an issue, it may be in Greg's best interest to reconsider the policy, especially if this kind of discussion of a man's business practices occurs often.

3. In case some of you missed my point, the adjectives I use to describe my offerings on eBay are directed at eBay bidders, not at chip collecting elitists who do not understand the auction market, or those who reserve the word "rare" for essentially unobtainable chips. For those of you who find joy in imposing your definition of the word rare on others, regardless of the circumstances, please feel free to file a complaint with eBay, but I will not be intimidated by what amounts to nothing more than a matter of opinion. It's just an adjective, folks, not an official seal. If there is some officially sanctioned governing body that determines what's rare and what's not, in EVERY context, and lists exactly which chips can be called "Rare", somebody please let me know and I'll conform. Otherwise, I'll assume that what we have here is a question of semantics, rather then a question of fraud.

4. To my knowledge, my offering of a single chip at a low cost to my customer base was the first time in two years this chip had been offered on eBay. I had never seen one, and my collecton is extensive. One of the premier collectors in the country personally asked me for an example of the chip. I discovered five previously unknown chip designs in the last year, three of which have already been coded by Dale. I do know something about "rare" chips. Every time I have sold a truly rare chip, I have made it absolutely clear how unique the design was, and my bidders know this. After all, if I list a chip for $7.99 with no reserve, how "rare" can it be? My customers also know I'm not stupid, and would not list a valuable chip without a reserve. What the word meant in the context of that listing is:

1. New offering of a nice Crest & Seal chip that Chipguy had not previously seen in person or owned.

2. Limited quantity (I bought 10, and five were promised to other people before I even received them in the mail)

3. Not offered as singles by anyone else on eBay (it appears I may have been wrong about that, but a search for "poker chip" on eBay usually brings up about 750-800 items, and I concede I probably did miss Mr. Benedict's offering.)

I assure you that I will continue to use the dreaded "R" word in my descriptions if I believe the above factors to be true. That is usually about 2%-5% of my auctions. I will do so as a service to my hundreds of regular customers, and the antique chip collecting community in general, even if it means that a handful of "nattering nabobs of negativity" who may have had access to this chip through other channels may object.

By the way, I think I have a good sense of humor, and love a good fight, so don't be shy, fire away at me if it makes you feel superior, I can take it.

See you at the show!