Not sure which price guide you're looking at, but in the current edition of Campiglia/Wells, the chip is listed as values 2500/3750/5000. In the 11th edition of The Chip Rack, it is listed at "*Z2" in average condition. This indicates a value of 1100-1600... in average condition.

Now, in the completed auctions I've seen, the last one sold on eBay on Oct. 25, 2009 for $1,985 in SU condition. The previous one sold on eBay for $2,469, also in SU condition. Prior to that, one in AVG condition sold in the 2007 CC&GTCC auction for $950, and another sold on eBay on Feb. 18, 2006 for $2,250 in AVG condition. The chip is this auction looks to be in much better than AVG condition, and there is no way it would ever sell as low as the $750-$1,000 range.

C/W and TCR have different methods of placing values on chips. Neither is wrong. My guess is that if you went to a convention and could even find an example of this $5 Flamingo chip in this condition, the price on it would be in the $4,000-$5,000 range at least, which is what James' book reflects. The value inferred by Chip Rack (don't forget, the Z2 value is for one in AVG condition... you would need to assume that the value would be higher for one in much better than AVG condition) would probably correspond to what you might be able to buy the chip for, all things being equal. The caveat, however, is that things are rarely equal, the biggest variables being how motivated the buyer and seller are. Because of this, both guides should only be used as guides and nothing more... they are not price lists and "values" or sales prices of chips depend on who is buying, who is selling, and how rare the chip is.

Auction selling prices for RARE chips, such as this one, because of the small population of the potential buyer universe, depend on other factors: who already has the chip?, who is aware of or present at the auction?, etc. What Joey is doing with his auction is saying: "I don't need to sell this chip now and I'm not willing to sell it for a price lower than what I think it's worth." There is nothing at all wrong with this. You'll encounter exactly the same situation with many dealers on the floor of a convention or at a chip show. Buy it or don't.

As a side note, Joe Del Popolo is a terrific seller and probably has the nicest display of chips in his cases that you'll see at a convention. He's also a very nice (and interesting) guy.

P.S. If you feel that the price guides to not accurately portray the value of a chip, you can always write to the authors and try to convince them of the fact. Posting rude remarks about the guides on the board is not likely to accomplish anything. If you don't like them, why do you buy them in the first place?