Given the problems you and Todd have had with eBay cancelling auctions I am sending them the following letter under CC>CC letterhead:

Dear Sir:

Some of our club members have had their listings cancelled recently due to the use of the word “illegal” in the description. We understand how eBay wants to keep illegal or unsavory items out of their auction realm however that is a description problem with some types of collectible “casino” chips.

During the past 80 years or so there have been thousands of illegal casinos that were typically open in the back rooms of bars, restaurants and dance clubs. These are considerable different from legal casinos that existed then and today. Some of these were owned by the mob or famous gangsters such as Al Capone. A lot of these casinos were raided by the police or just closed down and the chips, which had been specially made for that club, were eventually distributed into the market. Many members of our club collect these chips and the only way to accurately describe them is that they come from an “illegal” club. We call these illegal club chips. The illegal part has nothing to do with the product being sold only the fact that it is an adjective describing the type of club it originally came from.

A large portion of all casino related items sold on eBay are sold or purchased by our 2000 club members. We are asking that the word “illegal” be allowed on all items listed in the “Casino” section of your auctions.

Thank you for your time.

John Zoesch
Vice President
CC>CC

I don't know if this will do any good but it sure can't hurt.