I wouldn’t want to speak for the authors, but I would think that placing values on chips is problematic at best. Although I happen to agree that there are quite a few Hard Rock chips that are undervalued in The Chip Rack, I do believe they have been paying attention. Using the example of the 2001 convention chip, for example, and using only eBay sales as a yardstick, I have counted a total of 30 eBay sales to date, with an average selling price of $129.71. TCR has this valued as an “N” chip (125-149) which seems the perfect designation. (So far on the Pink Taco chip, I’ve counted 43 eBay sales, with an average selling price of $85.36, so if this trend continues, I would expect to see this one as an “L” in next year’s TCR.)

As far as TCR being a guide you have “confidence in”, if you are using TCR for the sole purpose of determining what you will pay for each and every Nevada chip you plan on buying, then I would say that you should not have confidence in it…or any other source, for that matter. If you are planning to buy a Hard Rock chip, for example, and are using price as your only guideline, I would recommend that you do a little shopping around to find the best price, as there are quite a few high profile dealers who sell these.

My suggestions to you, however, would be these:

Buy The Chip Rack and use it for other purposes, such as knowing what Nevada chips are out there. There are over 18,000 chips listed and there simply is no other source of this information that is as complete as TCR. It’s also perfect for recording which chips you have and graphically showing those you’re missing. If you plan on becoming a Nevada collector of any kind, not buying The Chip Rack is not an option. (That said, I have also found Campiglia and Wells’ book to be invaluable as well, but for different reasons and definitely not as a checklist.)

If you’re mostly an LE collector, life is simpler… form a relationship with one of the fine new issue providers in Las Vegas and do business on that level. You may even be able to do without The Chip Rack… although I don’t see why you’d want to.

My final suggestion to you is to keep track of the marketplace yourself. There is no substitute for this. If, for example, you’re looking for a Hard Rock Con Air chip, and you go uninformed to a dealer who has the chip marked at $30, on what basis do you do business? It’s undervalued as a “D” in TCR ($10-$14) and you won’t be able to buy it at that price. If you do some research, however, and find that the chip generally sells in the $18 to $24 range on eBay, you can probably buy the chip and the transaction would satisfy everyone involved.

Finally, I can almost guarantee that those whom you overheard complaining about the pricing in TCR had a vested interest in having those values increased. And where I don’t necessarily find anything wrong with their complaints (they are valid to a degree), I don’t think it’s constructive for them to bash what has become the undisputed bible of Nevada collectors.