Just because someone hoards an issue or there's a limited release, doesn't make a chip "rare". (or scarce either) It does make it manipulated and controlled.

No offense Bam Bam, it's just that other people have been using Rare and Obsolete on auctions for chips that are current and on the tables. Kind of like, everything is Rare

When a casino issues 1,000 or 2,000 of something and it sells out in a day, there's a sign that something is wrong. Someone is grabbing them up in stacks, because they want to re-sell for a profit.

Imagine this. A small town casino issues a "limited edition" chip in 1999 2,000 made and there's still a chance you'll find one in play on the tables tomorrow. Hard Rock issues a chip and in one day 2,000 are gone. This is current fact and reality.

If the situation was demand from collectors, wouldn't both be gone? The fast disappearance of Hard Rock the chips isn't due to collectors, it because of speculators. They want to corner the market and re-sell for a large profit. That has NOTHING to do with collecting?

Don't take it personally, you probably just picked up a handful and are having some fun, re-selling to cover hobby expenses. The only disagreement is the use of the word Rare or Scarce when in fact, most are just "hard to get".

Here's some help. (taken in part from Dale Seymour's guide to Antique Gambling Chips.)

12 = Extremely Rare / often one of a kind
11 = Rare
10 = Scarce / Very Collectible
7 = Uncommon / Very collectible
6 = Average / collectible
4 = Common / moderately collectible
2 = Very Common / not collectible

At best, any Hard Rock issue of one or two thousand is going to be Uncommon, only because someone bought them all, the first day. Otherwise it's really an Average chip, just like all the rest of the 1,000 issue chips?

Demand doesn't not effect rarity or scarcity, IT DOES effect prices. So the confussion may be confusing rarity with values?

Ask yourself why a LTD 750 chip from Four Queens will hardly bring $15 at auction? It's not rarity. It is demand.

Join the club, the Mag. provides good reading and interesting educational materials. Membership has nothing to do with terms and definitions. If I called a common WI chip rare in an auction, you would hear a howl and shouts all the way to California. If I had it on eBay it would be strung up on the BB, and so would I!

In other words, nothing personal, it's just a long time issue with Rare chips that aren't.