About 2-3 months ago, when Burt first showed-up on the board as Art, he approached me with lots of questions about chipping. As a new chipper myself, I eagerly answered all questions and tried to be as helpful as possible. Burt was very enthusiastic, and I enjoyed corresponding with him.

Burt soon ran into trouble on the board with several people - generally because he mistook their good-natured humor and got offended. He would then "retaliate" with a rude and offensive post in return. Like many of you, I felt sorry for Burt and that he was taking some undeserved treatment.

The first 3 or 4 times this happened, Burt and I would talk about it via email and I would try to explain to him that the people involved were very good people and I'm sure they didn't mean to offend him. I strongly advised him to refrain from "getting into it" publicly on the board, however, Burt would insist that they'd ruined his reputation and that he would get those "a$$holes" sooner or later.

As a matter of fact, here are a couple of choice excerpts from the dozens and dozens of emails I've gotten from him. While it may not be polite to quote private email, I'm past the point of caring with Burt, and he doesn't deserve the courtesy...

"there are 3 guys on the group that are NO GOOD, bob orme, jay sands and andy hughes. i will remember them, don't worry. and i will get even with them in a verbal manner of course in future discussion. they have ruined my reputation on that group. i think the people are afraid to deal with me because of those 3 guys."

"i really don't care for most of the people on
the chipboard. i might stop posting there. and if i do, i will tell them where to go.
i haven't decided yet. i don't need them. if necessary, i can always sell out on ebay
if i ever decide to sell out. i'm glad we are friends. i like collecting and i will never, ever
forget the insults of these 3 a$$holes i mentioned to you. i will eventually tell them
where to go."

So far, I hadn't had a bad experience with Burt myself, but then one day I traded with him...

Remember those Monaco chips Burt B. was pushing for so long at $12 per chip? I actually traded him $24 worth of chips for a couple of his Monacos when he first posted them to help him get started trading (plus they were interesting chips). Granted it was my poor judgement to enter a trade without knowing the value of what I'm trading for, but I generally trust someone until they give me a reason not to. I was relatively pleased with the trade until I noticed many eBay auctions for these same chips at the rate of $10 for a lot of 10. Yes... a buck apiece. (He actually was able to sell 9 of them to someone else for $120). I was rather upset and approached Burt for an explanation. Here's his response...

"hello, a fellow long time chipboard member told me their worth 15. to 20. a piece and he said 12.00 is very fair. one of your own people. and an expert in european antique chips told me the same thing. and i have a 35. to 40. type in my collection. i traded you in honesty and with the good info that i received from these people. but of course, its always buyer or trader must beware in any situation. heres a picture of a 35. to 40. chip in my opinion.
thanks,
burt"

and another response...

"will,
i paid for my monacos. and you don't know how much. when i heard monte carlo, monaco. i really got excited. it was more famous than las vegas.
burt "

Needless to say, I expressed my disappointment with him as politely as possible, but never once did he offer to send my chips back or make amends in any way. So I considered it a lesson learned.

Then I heard of Jill's story where he agreed to purchase chips from her, and AFTER she'd shipped him the chips, he tells her she was asking too much and that he's sending LESS than the agreed-upon amount!! Can you even BELIEVE that??

Then I heard the same story from another person, and I also heard (third-hand) that it has happened with several more people.

The amazing irony of the situation is that BURT DOESN'T EVEN OWN A PRICE GUIDE!!!!! I've advised him again and again and again that he needed to get one if he's going to purchase obsolete chips. How can he tell someone they're asking too much for a chip when he doesn't know himself!! I'll tell you how...

He uses prices on eBay and prices he sees on other peoples sites as a guide for valuing chips. The problem is, he manipulates these prices to his own advantage. For example, when he sees a chip cheaper somewhere else, he tells you you're asking too much. HOWEVER, remember the Monaco story? When I pointed out to him, not one, but many auctions where those chips were going for less than a buck apiece, he insisted that it was a fluke and the seller didn't know the value of their chip. So it's a double-standard with him. He values his chips as highly as he can (even when it's just a word of mouth value he's been quoted from someone he doesn't even know), and he demeans the value of the chips he's trying to trade/buy from you.

There are several other people (if not many) who have similar stories, but I won't mention their names here. If they want to share, they'll post on their own.

Just take it from one chipper who tried VERY hard to welcome Burt and VERY hard to advise him on good trading habits, and VERY hard to advise him to try to get along more with people on the board. Needless to say, Burt is VERY adept at ignoring advice and nothing I told him was put into practice.

The morale of this story is BEWARE OF TRADING/SELLING/BUYING with Burt.

As for me, here's an excerpt from my last email to Burt Berenson...

"I'm sorry, Burt, but I think it's best if we terminate our communications. I don't respect your trading habits, your attitude, or your behavior on the Chip Board. I've tried countless times to give you friendly advice on all of the above, and you ignore every bit of it without exception. I'm obviously unable to help you with my advice, so I see no reason to continue our relationship since all I'm getting from it is shock, sadness, and frustration."