... we are so fortunate to be able to share our opinions, points of view, and/or our ideas and it doesn't matter about wrong or right... just share them. I apreciate your honesty and candor... besides, if everyone agreed with each other, this would be boring...

I understand where you are coming from and I agree with most of it - I only believe in the large government-related kinds of conspiracies anyway, well, sort of... (UFO's - some or most governments do know a whole lot more than what they are telling us). Where I do disagree with you is a small conspiracy regarding E-Bay that I did witness back in the late 90's (football cards). Yes, it is possible. People who I used to know (yes, they were friends at the time), did manipulate pricing/value of an item by talking to each other over the phone and bid up the item (two to three people bidding). If one of the friends won and not an "outsider" so to speak, the seller would just simply repost the item stating the last one went for "this much, get this one now for only this much"... You get the idea. You have to remember, people are people, greed is greed, money is money and anything is possible...

As for the Chip Rack & the US Chip Guide, I am not trying to infer that David and/or James are controlling, conspiring together or manipulating prices/values of chips, but, some people may see or believe that to be so, because they are dealers who are directly associated with those publications. Maybe there should be some kind of discussion to better inform, especially, new comers of how prices or values of chips are determined. Not every new comer reads up on chips or is a member.

I use James' Guide because he was the first to work with me on getting chips when I first started and, he autographed his book. That was nice of him. I have looked at the TCR and I prefer something with larger font/writing, more definitive information (I hate that "attributed to" designation) and I like pictures of chips. I have met and have worked with both David and James over the years and believe them both to be stand-up guys. I know that when I e-mail them, they will respond and they will be helpful. I can not say that about other dealers...

Regards,
Thomas (R-7788)