the scenario that you noted -- "guide" says $XYZ and I bought it for around that price. Come to find out that that chip was instantly less valuable because a bunch more were found or some other reason. But then there are so many other reasons why a chip won't sell for "guide" values, some of which I noted before. Then there are those cases of items listed in the wrong place, or part of a lot, or a poor picture that will cause the final closing price to be very low. I told the story a couple of weeks ago where I paid $14 on for a Dunes chip that had no picture with the auction. Took a chance hoping to upgrade one that I had & what I got was a gem that I eventually sold for low Chip Rack value ($150) a week later. I didn't pay "guide price", but got "guide price" when I sold it!!

I will tell you that exposure really does help -- cross-listing a chip, adding a second-line description, letting people on this BB that you're selling stuff on . Many times when I log-in to "My ", it shows "Most Watched"...many of those items are listed by those on this BB that announce their auctions -- those are the auctions that seem to get the better closing price.

One other good use of the price guides that I just remembered is during trading. I don't trade chips, but I do know that many collectors trade "value for value"...some of the dealers even use this method when they're doing their deals, gauging the value of their trades based on the values provided in the guides.

I know that with actual chip values & pricing, it's hit & miss...but it would be so much worse without these guides.

Steve B