I have been reading with interest some of the comments of late about chip values declining over recent years. It seems also fairly unanimous that the values published in the respected guides are not very dependable in today's market. So how do you determine the fair value of a chip? Up until recently I have collected just $1 fairly common house chips and have used the rule of buying those I like and those that fill holes in my collection - and trying to keep the total cost including shipping to below $3 - and hopefully closer to $2 per chip.

However - recently - my interests have expanded to more vintage chips, that tend to sell on ebay in the $5-$25+ range, though I am yet to acually purchase one. For example, I bid on and didnt win a Can Can Girl Last Frontier Chip. Is there a way to look back in history on ebay over the last 6 months or longer to see the various prices a particular chip sold for? Do people have a system of tracking prices before buying? Is there some way to dump raw sales data from ebay? I am not concerned about spending a few extra dollars for a chip I like - but I feel like I am kind of wandering in the dark without a flashlight when it comes to this next level of collecting and dont want to make any silly mistakes.

Any advice appreciated.