I'm not saying I'm an "experienced" collector (I've been collecting for about a year and a half), but for what it's worth...

First, I'm not a tough negotiator. If you are, you may can do better than the advice that I'm about to give you. My advice is based on what I think is commonly accepted as fair prices and the result of light negotiation.

Offer 80% of low book value on chips valued at double their face value or more (i.e. a $5 chip valued a "D" chip ($10-$14) in The Chip Rack). Notice I say 80% of LOW BOOK VALUE - not 80% of the asking price. Often dealers put the HIGH book value as their asking price because they expect to negotiate.

I find that if I want a particular chip, I can almost always find it at 80% of low book (or better) if I'm patient. If I'm REALLY patient, I can sometimes find it even cheaper.

Also, you could possibly offer less (60%-70% of low book) if the condition of the chip is Average or Well Used. Conversely, if the chip is in mint condition, you may have to pay low book value or even more if they're hard to come-by in that condition.

Now if a $5 chip is only valued a "C" chip ($5-$9) of course, you're not going to get it for $4 (80% of $5). Offer $6 for such a chip and expect to pay $6-$8 depending on how hard it is to come by.

If you're looking at $1 chips, offer $2 for current chips - especially if they're not in mint condition - and again 80% of low book if it's obsolete/rare. If you're buying a lot of current $1's from someone, make an offer that's even less than $2 chip if they're in Average condition (Say $30 for 20 chips). Sometimes people just want to get rid of their extra chips and will let them go at lower prices.

If you're buying chips without some sort of price guide, you're just asking for trouble sooner or later. The only way you're going to know if chips are obsolete/rare is to get yourself a price guide (and I know you already have a TCR so you're off to a good start). If you're going to collect Atlantic City chips, get Archie Black's guide. Even an old copy is better than no copy as it will give you some ballpark idea of a chip's value. Campiglia and Well's guide is also excellent. You can buy that one at www.2chippers.com (shameless plug )

Always remember that if the seller won't budge and you're not happy with the price - walk away. I promise you'll be able to find that chip somewhere else, and probably at the price you think is fair.

What I've given you here is just a rule of thumb (their will be many exceptions to it) and just my opinion, but as long as you take it as that, it should serve you well. Good luck and happy hunting!