I agree that auctions should show the ACTUAL chips the Seller is sending... and the ones the Buyer will be receiving.
I also agree that "new" chips straight from the cage can be excluded providing condition has not been compromised.

Kevin is a good guy - I've had no problems with him... but it does seem a little unfair to show "his best" / or the "chips from his personal collection"
After all, how many of us pick up 50 chips from local casinos.... riffle through them until we find the 2 ugliest, worn-out, dinged and dirty, globbed up puppies - and keep THOSE for our collections? ANYONE????

No... we keep the "best"... or even the "best of the worse". The rest become "traders".

If I see an auction - and am undecided...
"Do I want that?? Naaawww... maybe... OK..." PRICE & CONDITION will contribute to whether I bid or pass.

The way I see it... Jim is new collector with higher standards than some of us (at least concerning "condition" )
Nothing wrong with that. It is his money, his collection.

And it appears Jim finds quality more important than "variety". And on the top of HIS priority ladder is "attractive" & nice "appearance."
He saw "shiny" chips.
He likes "shiny" chips.
He WANTS "shiny" chips so
He bought "shiny" chips...
but instead he got river sand and casino glob.
The only shine on those chips was a trace of last years pizza. IMO - he has every right to be disappointed.

My suggestions:

Jim - return the chips. You thought you were buying what you saw in the scan... and didn't get them.

Kevin - it's a pain in rear but scan what you sell. If your selling dirt... you gotta scan 'em dirty. Worse side up...
People (like me) buy chips all the time for "spaces", "canes", font and shade variations...

It irritates the HECK outta me to bid on a chip because I see "the LCV"... and get ANOTHER SCV in the mail. If I have "the space" chip - I proably want THAT "no space" chip...
I know it's easy for me to overlook details that might be important to another - because my focus is somewhere else.

But I don't feel Kevin was "unethical"...
he just has a different perception of what he hoped people wanted. I suspect his auctions were meant to target chippers wanting variety, $1 denominations and Indiana locations.

But "condition" IS important too...
If we SCAN WHAT WE SELL... people can decide if they want what they see... casino glob, felt-lint, impacted canes and all!

Hey - at this point, I'd take a botched-up Chipco - with crater-like candles... pot-holes in the birthday cake... as long as it was RED and said HARRAH'S...
But if I bid on that chip from Larry's scan... I'd be upset if Richard's "practice chip" arrived instead.