Shop Around for your purchases

One of the first things I noticed at the very first convention I attended in Vegas was that many dealers had the same chips on their tables with vastly different prices. A chip may be priced at one dealers table for $50 while just a few tables down would be priced at $10.

The same can be said for Ebay. I consistently see the same chip or token bringing huge price swings on any given day. I am sure we have all seen a chip go unsold at a "Buy It Now" price of $25 when that exact same chip just sold in a highly competitive bidding war for double that.

There are many reasons for this disparity in prices among sellers and here are a few :

1) The Price Guides are not meant to set definitive prices. In fact many of the chips are priced differently within the different Books. Some e people feel that the prices in the book are too low because the books are a few years old. Others feel that there are now more known than when the books came out so the chips should be prices less.

2) Conditions vary among the chips. Some people place a HUGE value on condition while to others its not as important. One dealer might discount a chip a few dollars because of a small rim nick while another might be willing to cut the price in half.

3) One of the most important factors in determining price (If not the most important) is what does that dealer have into the cost themselves. If I personally paid $100 for a chip it would be difficult for me to part with it for less than that. Another person with that same chip may have only paid $50 for it and therefore a price of $75 represents a 50% profit, while to me that would have been taking a loss.

So the lesson here is don’t buy the first thing you see at a convention. Take your time to shop the tables and find your best deals.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more Tips of the day coming tomorrow.

Happy chipping to all

Doug