... implement is not, in and of itself, a reason not to impose one.

Going to the bottom of your post first:

>> At this point Jim, I trust you see where this is going and you
>> can ask yourself the rest of the questions in my list.

Yes, I see your point. However, I don't think the difficulty is as great as suggested by your questions. In fact, I'm prepared to answer them all:

>> Under your proposed ban at the convention may a dealer

>> 1) Grade his own chip and inform buyers of the grade he has assigned.

Yes, except as noted in the caveat below.

>> 2) Encapsulate his chip in a hard to open container.

Yes, except as noted in the caveat below.

>> 3) Mark that container with his grade.

Yes, except as noted in the caveat below.

Caveat to the foregoing -- if the three taken together serve to make the item a "slabbed" chip (that is, if the dealer is functioning as a slabbing service himself), then the combined answer is No. We do not have to approach this the way legislators make laws; we know what slabbed chips are. They would be banned; other alternative means of selling chips would not be.

>> 4) May a dealer submit his chip to a third party
>> grading service that does not encapsulate the chip?

Banning the sale of slabbed chips at the convention would not address in any way what a dealer may or may not do with his chips at any other time. Anyone could still submit chips to a third party grading service, whether or not it encapsulates the chips.

>> 5) May he inform buyers of the third parties assigned grade?

Yes.

>> 6) May he present the buyer with a certificate stating the assigned grade?

Yes. [Personally, I consider such certificates worthless.]

>> 7) May he encapsulate the chip in a cardboard flip, plastic flip, or
>> standard airtight and mark the container with the grade assigned by
>> a third party grading service?

Yes.

>> 8) Does your answer to questions 4-7 depend on whether the
>> third party grading service charges money for that service?

No.

>> 9) May a seller while he is discussing the sale of a chip, call over
>> a third party (another dealer) and ask the third party to state to
>> the buyer his opinion regarding the grade of the chip?

Without a doubt.

>> 10) May a seller display a graded and slabbed chip,
>> if he does not offer it for sale?

No.

>> 11) May a seller display a graded and slabbed chip, and offer it
>> for sale on the condition that prior to the change of possession
>> the chip is removed from the slab?

No.

>> 12) In the case of chips where it is known that there exist
>> counterfeits, may a seller present a certificate of authenticity
>> from a third party?

Yes. [But, see my comment about #6 above.]

----- jim o\-S