"What's next a release of 200 $5 chips? That sould also give instant rarity to that chip and a price to match."

I don't know how many were released, but I recently posted looking for a $1 Mandalay Bay Year of the Dragon chip for a friend. My friend collects Chinese New Year chips.

The only response I received regarding that chip was an offer to sell for $150. My friend knows he will have to pay a high premium for this chip. He just purchased the $1 MB Year of the Snake for $57.

I don't blame Mandalay for this. I don't blame the seller who is asking $150. I blame collectors who pay these premiums. If we don't buy them at those prices, sellers will reduce their prices.

I don't mean to suggest that their should be some organized boycott. What I do mean to suggest is that these run away prices are ultimately caused by us the collectors.

I don't doubt you one bit when you say that you would have collected the $25 Cure chip had it been available at a reasonable price. I know that there are collectors who try to collect all HRH chips, or $25 chips, or even some who might be Cure fans, but the price of those chips was not driven to outrageous levels by demand from those collectors. The price was driven up by demand from collectors whose only interest in the chip was in its rarity.

The Riviera Porn chips illustrates this very well. I use George Conrad as a new issue provider. George sends out an e-mail to his subscribers telling of expected releases and then you e-mail him with your order. I received an e-mail about the Riviera set, and I passed on the set BECAUSE I HAD NO INTEREST IN IT. I am sure that many other people passed on the set for the same reason. In addition to George there were posts on this board about the release and I am sure that other new issue providers got out the information to at least there online customers.

The chips were available, I understand that George got them for his customers who ordered them, and I am sure that a good number of at least the online collectors as well as the Vegas locals who wanted these chips because they liked the chips were able to get them. A few days later when the chips got pulled, suddenly there was much more demand for them and the prices on those which got out went way up. Was it because suddenly people realized how much they liked the chips? No it was the attraction of having a rare chip that led many people to seek this set.

If I had a time machine and could go back and buy a set for $21 I would. Because I too would like to have that difficult to acquire set.

So if we value rarity, then we are also need to recognize that rarity will cost us. Unfortunately it also will cost those who have a genuine interest in the chip.

For some time I have been considering quitting collecting LE's and focusing on current rack chips, illegals and obsoletes. Although the rarity issue is part of the attraction of illegals and obsoletes, it is a genuine rarity. That is to say that limited availability is not the product of an intentional act to make the chip rare.

By definition the sale of a Limited Edition collectible is designed to at least give the impression of rarity and as such is an artificial rarity.