Your 4 chips ($5 face value each) would probably sell from a dealer at $7.50-$8.00 each, plus $2 to $3 shipping for the package, for a grand total of $32 to $35 range. (I'm thinking of typical pricing of Robert Cook at Wilcox Ent; or a bit more from Tom Pleau at Coast-to-Coast; or a bit less if you find them at a chip show.) But call it low-to-mid $30's from a typical chip dealer.

Your 4 bids ($5.50 each/ total $22.00) plus $3.50 shipping on each, if you had taken it as offered, comes to a grand total of $36.00, delivered to your door. It would appear that you overpaid by a "net amount" of $1 to $4, depending on the assumptions you make.

I DO think the unpadded envelope was reckless on the seller's part, and if lost or damaged in transit, would have been his responsibility. But it soulds like the chips arrived safely, even against the odds of something happening.

Personally, I dislike the "whizbang" ebay adds with all the bells & whistles (and even a music track!) that just take up unnecessary bandwidth and time. And also, personally, I dislike inflated shipping charges such that I will not bid at all, at ANY price on most of them, or at the very least, will deduct it from the maximum amount I'm willing to bid.

In the case of your bids, I think you were gouged on shipping, and I do appreciate the heads-up on your experience. But from an economics-only perspective, I don't think you were clipped too badly. The high shipping costs probably suppressed other competitive bidders.

Just my opinion, to add to the mix.