First of all, Mark, that's a BEAUTIFUL chip! I’ve never seen one before either, and I'm gonna have to keep my eyes peeled for one of those. That casino is another of my favorites to collect from because they have a series of C&J’s and some great designs. But back to the topic, I’ll admit that I enjoy playing devil’s advocate when people make extreme statements or hold extreme viewpoints. Getting the venerable Mr. Black to admit that the value of a given chip could even be affected by internet auction sales is no mean feat!

But you’ll notice that I never gave my own opinion in my scenarios… I just posed some questions. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head in several respects, but I’d like to elaborate on my feelings about chip valuations.

First and foremost I really do believe that the price guides should continue to represent the “retail” portion of the market. If, in your example, the dealers were getting movement for the 10¢ chip from The Pit at $225, even though the eBay level might be closer to $80, I would not advocate moving the value off of what the dealers get. On the other hand, if we follow your example closely and there is NO movement at the “book” level, I believe that the value should be moved down TOWARD the eBay level, although not necessarily TO that level.

Where you’ve really found the issue is in the population levels that might be deduced by internet sales. In my example in a previous post, I was thinking of a specific chip (the $5 hub mold from the El Rancho Vegas) that has been sold to death on eBay and should definitely be revalued. I’ve seen 93 sales of this chip on eBay since I started tracking it 3 years ago, and I’ve noticed the value slip month after month. I don’t have my C&W here at home with me, but I have to believe that their assessment of the population of this chip will have to be revised downward.

For other chips, eBay sales point to an increase in “book” value. In all of my recommendations to the authors of TCR, I haven’t recommended a decrease in the value of any chip (based, again, solely on internet sales). In fact, if I were to go through my entire auction tracking list chip-by-chip, I think that I would have relatively few downward recommendations. To me, the important aspect of internet sales is the volume of sales of each chip vs. what the dealers are doing. For example, over the past twelve months the eBay price point of the $2.50 Atlantic City Playboy chip has been in the $65 - $75 range and there have been lots of sales. If the Atlantic City dealers are consistently selling the chip at or close to book value, though, I would just say that there is a split market and that the auction sites represent the “wholesale” value of the chip and should not be considered when publishing a “retail” value in a guide.

I also agree with Doug, with whom I’ve discussed this in person, and with C.T. Rogers, who has posted this previously on the Board. Dips in chip values are often temporary. As a higher and higher percentage of a given chip becomes entrenched in collections, the prices will rise back up toward the “value” level. I do, however, find it amazing that lots of lower priced chips are so damned difficult to find, while some of the higher-priced ones are seen consistently.

Now sales methods enter into the equation as well. I don’t want to dwell on this here, but you certainly have some dealers that have the inventory of a chip, set a price, and don’t move off of it. They’re protecting the buyers at that level and I feel comfortable buying chips on that basis. Other sellers merely pour their inventory into the marketplace. In my opinion this has only a TEMPORARY effect on the market of a given chip, because when the dealer runs out of the chip, the price should rebound back toward the real value. In the meantime, us eBayers can take advantage of the temporary price reduction and add some good chips to our collections at (as Archie puts it so well) “bargain” prices.