You are missing a very important point, Vicki. Granted that the chip collecting hobby, of necessity, encompasses people who buy chips, people who sell chips, people who manufacture and sell chip containers, chip holders, flips, plastic pockets, frames… people who write books about chips, people who are historians in the field, people who invest in chips, and people who slab chips.

These people all have different ways of engaging in our hobby… you, for example, are utilizing it to make money. There is nothing wrong with what you are doing, or what anyone else does, for that matter, and I respect everyone’s right to participate in our hobby each in their own way.

However, the Casino Chip and Gaming Token Collectors Club is an organization of COLLECTORS and should, by definition, be pursuing in the best interests of the COLLECTING community. I do respect the arguments that you are making and your right to express them… but to “resent” what Ralph is implying is absurd. You are participating on this board, which, as you surely know is a forum whose impetus is the chip COLLECTOR. For you to include your Club membership number while making remarks such as…

>>> I have no idea why I joined. It just seemed like the thing to do at the time. Knowing what I know now I probably would not have bothered. <<<

…well, I, for one, resent that!

Chip Collecting is both a hobby and a business, Vicki, and many here on the board engage fruitfully in both ends of the enterprise. For you to stop by and tell us collectors what “wasted energy” we are expending arguing for or against slabbing is ludicrous. I can not understand how a non-collector such as yourself would presume to recognize what is important or relevant enough to discuss here. There is a huge amount of knowledge here on the ChipBoard. I would suggest that you do a little reading, particularly concerning the slabbing issue, before making judgements such as this.

P.S. Your point was MOOT, not mute.