The following actually happened.

A rack of ivory chips was bought on ebay at a cost of approximately $30 a chip. Now I know for a fact that if the second high bidder had won the auction, I and a dozen other ivory collectors would have been able to purchase a 3 chip set (flower, $5 and $25) for anywhere from $90 to $125 (probably $90). When I saw who won the chips I knew that was not about to happen. (I would have paid $225 to $250 for a set.

The buyer of the chips is well known by other ivory collectors to use 2 shill bidders.

A week or two after the ebay sale the buyer ran 3 ebay auctions, one for each denomination.

There is a very nice chipper I know that collects, among other type chips, ivory chips. I must say that the chipper is, for lack of something nicer to say, a real newbie when it comes to valuing ivory chips.

Well when the auction was over the nice chipper won the 3 auction for about $850. If you eliminated the shills, he would have paid $200.

Now some would say no problem. He paid what he wanted to pay. I say he got screwed.

What say you: Screwed or good deal?