[ipgyst]

This is a Group Buy for the Protege Supplemental chips which are on sale for $1.25 each until 9/30/07.

See this thread for pictures and information:
http://www.chiptalk.net/forum/chip-d...1-25-chip.html

See this link at Sidepot for additional information:
Protege Supplemental Poker Chips Set at Sidepot Gaming

I will place the order Friday Sept 28 or Saturday Sept 29.
The chips will be delivered to me in 4 to 8 months, at which time I will ship them to you.

The purpose of this Group Buy is to allow those of us who want less than 100 chips (small orders and sample sets) to combine our purchasing power to the point where we can get the few chips we want (since the minimum order quantity is 100 chips).

The procedure:
1) PM me and tell me exactly what you want. Post in this thread too if you like.
2) I will send you my paypal information.
3) You pay me at least for your chips ($1.25 each plus fees).
4) When I get the chips, you will choose your shipping method and pay for it (plus $.50 or so for packaging).

Your order should be less than 100 chips. If it is over 100 chips, place it yourself!
You must pay me before I place the order or you will not get your chips.
When you pay me, you should repeat exactly what you want. I don't want to screw it up.
We will divide the shipping costs from Sidepot proportionally. I checked and they ship a 150 chip order for about $10. (If you get 12% of the chips then you pay 12% of the shipping)
If you want to throw a little something my way for the effort, I will not object. I am gaining, however, in that I am obtaining 2+ sample sets that I would not be able to get otherwise.

If you're worried about my trustworthiness, I've bought a few things on CT, my user name at boardgamegeek.com and ebay.com is ipgyst, and I visit those sites daily as well.

That about covers it. Post what you think here if you want. I suppose I should mention that if we don't get over 100 chips then I will cancel the order, but that seems unlikely.

Edit 1 - I'll ship international as well. I will use only USPS Priority Mail International, since they have both delivery tracking/confirmation and insurance.

Edit 2 - When you send the $$ with paypal, please include your CT name if it is not already obvious, then I can establish a relationship between CTers and people who have paid. Thanks!

[ipgyst]

According to Sidepot, these should ship next week.

1) There are two extra sample sets available. PM me if interested. You'll pay what everybody else did, plus shipping etc. (about $31 paypal shipped to you for 15 chips in the USA - for one of the sets you will have to paypal two people like 20 here and maybe 11 there, but it won't cost you any extra)

2) I will send email to all participants regarding final payment for shipping. USPS rates have changed since this GB started, which is why I waited to collect shipping fees. See the OP if you forgot that you still owe me money.

[ipgyst]

Originally Posted by ipgyst

According to Sidepot, these should ship next week.

1) There are two extra sample sets available. PM me if interested. You'll pay what everybody else did, plus shipping etc. (about $31 paypal shipped to you for 15 chips in the USA - for one of the sets you will have to paypal two people like 20 here and maybe 11 there, but it won't cost you any extra)

2) I will send email to all participants regarding final payment for shipping. USPS rates have changed since this GB started, which is why I waited to collect shipping fees. See the OP if you forgot that you still owe me money.

1) Who knows when these will ship?
2) Until I have the chips, in acceptable condition, in my hands, I'm not collecting any money from anybody for shipping.
3) All remaining sample sets are spoken for - there are no more available from me through this GB - I suppose my eventually full 24-chip Protege sample set is available, but I might have to keep it - 24 chips - WOW.

[cdnmoose]

I'm interested in a sample set. pm me if you want to dump yours. Thanks.

[greihart]

Nothing like pushing that "eight months" to the very last second, eh?

This has to rank up there in the top 3 of the worst business practices I've ever seen. What ever happened to "under-promise & over deliver"?

Thank you Stephan Aarstol for the ultra cheap-ass dealer button you sent me last year with another sample order that I over paid for. I'm throwing your business card in the trash at this moment. You've guaranteed that when the day comes for me spend a grand or so on a nice custom chip set.... it certainly will NOT be with Sidepot Gaming Company.

Back to waiting....

[machinelf]

I'm sure Stephan is just as frustrated... he doesn't make the chips, he sells them. He's at the mercy of BCC and their old-school "you'll get 'em when ya get 'em" attitude.

Originally Posted by greihart

Nothing like pushing that "eight months" to the very last second, eh?

This has to rank up there in the top 3 of the worst business practices I've ever seen. What ever happened to "under-promise & over deliver"?

Thank you Stephan Aarstol for the ultra cheap-ass dealer button you sent me last year with another sample order that I over paid for. I'm throwing your business card in the trash at this moment. You've guaranteed that when the day comes for me spend a grand or so on a nice custom chip set.... it certainly will NOT be with Sidepot Gaming Company.

Back to waiting....

[EmptyPocs]

Originally Posted by greihart

( Begin useless and unhelpful pi$$ & whine section now: )

Well, with as much as I was disappointed with the inlay quality of my initial Protege sample sets (is it really possible to have an inlay off center on 3 different axis'? BCC thinks so!) ... and the fact that I think they sound.... cheap? ......... I will have to say that I did like the colors, I did love the mold design (even more than TH&C), and they are fun to play with (great texture.) Not to mention that I like the color combos on the "supplemental" chips even better than the standard set.

So yeah...count me in for a sample set. It probably has more to do with being a little OCD, and just knowing that there is a "rest of the set" out there.... well, I just can't only have (less than) half of the complete set. I've sent my PM...so I guess we'll go from there.

Hey....here's a thought.... since we might have to wait an ungodly 8 months for these to be produced and shipped, maybe the quality control folks at Sidepot and BCC could take a field trip over to ASM's factory... and take a course in Inlay Application 101. They've got some time apparently.

( End useless and unhelpful pi$$ & whine section now: )

Originally Posted by greihart

MisterShark, I could probably write a full page review of the various things I found disappointing about the inlays on my original Protege sample sets, but I don't think anybody wants to hear it really. Suffice it to say...yes, I was too. Quite simply, the final inlays, in my opinion, don't look anything like the 'final' mockup at all. If the end result had matched the website's mockup's, and the inlays had been layed down professionally, I think I would have spent a lot of $$ on a complete home set.

But hey...some people think they're fine and they love 'em. So what the frack do I know?

GH

Originally Posted by greihart

It could also be said that "good customer service" is not taking hard earned money from a large group of honest and well-intentioned people who are placing a certain amount of faith in a company and it's products by 'pre-buying' said products...thus infusing said company with "capital without collateral"....and then forcing the customers to wait 8.... 9.... 10.... ??.... months to receive their product.

Just a thought...but what the frak do I know, eh?



If Stephan is such a great guy...tell him he can pay for my (and everybody else's) shipping when....AND IF!!....these chips are ever produced.

Originally Posted by greihart

Nothing like pushing that "eight months" to the very last second, eh?

This has to rank up there in the top 3 of the worst business practices I've ever seen. What ever happened to "under-promise & over deliver"?

Thank you Stephan Aarstol for the ultra cheap-ass dealer button you sent me last year with another sample order that I over paid for. I'm throwing your business card in the trash at this moment. You've guaranteed that when the day comes for me spend a grand or so on a nice custom chip set.... it certainly will NOT be with Sidepot Gaming Company.

Back to waiting....

I'm confused as to why you are still waiting and have not cancelled your order.
Did you place an order at all?

It seems you were not happy with the chips at any point and more than half your total posts at this site are just complaining about Sidepot.

[ipgyst]

Originally Posted by greihart

Nothing like pushing that "eight months" to the very last second, eh?

Actually, we're in month #9. In a week, we will be in month #10. We deserve freebies and discounts.

Sidepot is only to blame for telling us what BCC told them would be the timeframe for manufacturing the chips. My impression of BCC is that "small potatoes" orders aren't a priority for them, but they will be glad to take our money 6 to 12+ months ahead of time and manufacture the chips at their convenience.

[MisterShark]

Originally Posted by ipgyst

Actually, we're in month #9. In a week, we will be in month #10. We deserve freebies and discounts.

Sidepot is only to blame for telling us what BCC told them would be the timeframe for manufacturing the chips. My impression of BCC is that "small potatoes" orders aren't a priority for them, but they will be glad to take our money 6 to 12+ months ahead of time and manufacture the chips at their convenience.

I get the same feeling.

If indeed smaller orders are given low priority then that's a true oversight. Small tastes like these (samples) turn into full sized orders.
It only takes a little spark to start some huge fires.

[greihart]

Originally Posted by EmptyPocs

I'm confused as to why you are still waiting and have not cancelled your order.
Did you place an order at all?

It seems you were not happy with the chips at any point and more than half your total posts at this site are just complaining about Sidepot.

EmptyPocs....please do not confuse my expressions of disappointment with complaining or whining or other such nonsense.

Complaining or whining is something done when one has no real vested interest in the subject at hand, but rather one just feels the need to fahrt their worthless opinions about something that they probably no nothing about anyway.

On the other hand, expressing disappointment is typically done when someone DOES want an item or some other sort of 'thing', and they are looking forward to having that item or idea, only to find out is was far less than they expected when the 'thing' finally arrives.

Yes 'Pocs, I did order a sample set. I ordered them to go along with the original sample sets that I got last year. And those I ordered based on the mockups I saw posted here and on the SGC website. I fell in 'luv' with the series right off the bat... imagine my disappointment when, after I received them, they really didn't look at all like what I was led to believe.

Why did I order the supplemental set you ask, when I was so disappointed with the first round? Hell, I don't know... maybe because I'm a completest. Maybe because I had some false hope that the quality had improved. Maybe because I was the sucker that happened to be born at just that minute. There is one born every minute you know.

Look, I'm not trying to start a flame war.... but I do feel I have the right to express my utter disappointment here just as anybody else has the right to express whatever's on their minds. If you ordered a set, and you're okay with tossing your cash to the wind without any real guaranty that your order will ever show up.... more power to ya buddy.

BTW... I'm not to concerned that "half of my total posts" on this site might be negative, since I have like...what....10 posts so far? If someday in the distant future, I have something near 3000 posts like yourself.... and you're still keeping score as to my neg/pos ratio.... well then feel free at that time to chew me a new one if I'm still dumping on anyone "more than half".

[EmptyPocs]

OK understood, I just never saw anyone get so bent about a sample set.
I thought there might be something else going on between the lines.

Aside form expressing your displeasure in the slow delivery and quality of the product (several times), you seemed to be gonig out of your way to add more insult to Stephans injury.
I'm sure he is as disapointed as anyone else about BCC jerking him around so long and that he would refund your money if you asked.

Glad you didnt buy a playable set!