The hobby is alive and well in my opinion... with more collectors from regions around the world than ever before; more organized societies, books, websites, auction houses and... in general, an overal availability of chips within an arm's length and at exceptional levels, which, in my opinion, is what's keeping the hobby healthy. For the investor who feels chips are not at the levels they hoped they would be; well, they simply were not buying the right chips... The hobby was good to me 25-years ago and continues to be good to me today as I'm selling off my cabinet; which, in virtually 90% of the time, I allow the well-learned collector to set the price where both they and I am happy... and as soon as I see a buyer who has the buying skills as I, that chip is theirs, instantly.