European chip orders

[Tayrun]

Hey all, first post here!

I apologise if this has been answered somewhere, but I've been searching this forum and googling for a while trying to find information on ordering poker chips in Europe.

It seems that most of the websites discussed are in the US. The few I've managed to find based in Europe seem to have huge markups on the prices. Am I missing something?

As a European - living in Scotland - where should I be ordering chips from? Can't wait to get my first set!

Thanks.

[OutplayPoker]

It's pretty tough as most of the major chip manufacturers and distributors are based in the States. Have you looked into parcel forwarding services at all?

[Tayrun]

I have not.

DCG are using some service called Bongo, which seems set up to forward stuff.

Anyone have experience with such things? I imagine they're fairly reputable, but, I dunno. Edgy.

[Dazzler]

Best advice is to get some samples first - the point being is that choosing the right chip for you is the most important thing rather than where it comes from. I must have had 6 sets or so from the States and it's not as cost prohibitive as you might think. Most sets (up to 700-800 chips) can be sent in a medium flat rate USPS box for $40-$50, VAT is a bit hit or miss, but expect a 20% hit on import, no duty, takes about 10 days or so depending on how long customs sit on their backsides.

The options are many, find out if clay is for you, do you want custom chips or ex-casino paulsons, inlays or hotstamp, is ceramic your thing etc.

Any of the sponsors here are great to deal with. There are many great designers too.
Marlow Casino chips in the Uk is a good place to get samples and prices not far off imported prices when you compare.
Marlow Casino Chips, Poker Chips, Hard Rock Chips, Las Vegas Chips

Have a good look around the site and chose wisely

[pug_in_chip]

Hi. Come on in. Welcome to Chiptalk. Today we serve some good ol' double bacon burger with lots of spices, large bowl o' chips and, hmmm, beer...

I live in Finland and I've bought my chips from different sources: Sidepot (buypokerchips.com), Apache (sponsor here), PGI (sponsor here). My main source have been Chiproom (sponsor here). Also check pokerchipsonline.com (sponsor here). First, get samples from them all. Oh, and check classified ads here too.

Then check this:
http://www.chiptalk.net/forum/review...d-noobies.html

Then, lose your money to chipes. I don't know the taxes in Scotland, but we have 23% in Finland. It can get really expensive.

Good luck. Good to have you here

[Toby]

Marlowcasinochips resells some of the stuff sold by Apache I think. I've not compared their markup against what you'd pay in import duties ordering direct but they're definitely worth a try. Pretty sure you can get custom ceramics done in the EU no problem.

Likely depends on what you're after - custom clay or casino Paulsons, you'll probably have to bite the bullet and import from the US.

Keep an eye on the classified ads - you never know who'll be selling what/where..!

Good luck in your hunt!

Oh, and I'm moving to Glasgow real soon, so come by and give my chips a go if you're anywhere nearby!

[Tayrun]

Wow, you guys are remarkably friendly and helpful, thanks for the warm welcome! I shall look into the options presented. Sadly my budget is not up to the Paulsons level. I'm probably look at Nextgen Pro Classics (I do like the labelled ones) or maybe progens, though I hear there's not much difference between those two.

[Dazzler]

Friendliness is all we have left after the chip world took all our money

Look at the Palm Gaming Sponsor site, they have a good 8V deal on, do a custom label and you'll be on 40-50p per chip after design shipping vat etc.

Have a good look around the site. Get samples!

Mine to prove it can be done
http://www.chiptalk.net/forum/custom...-wallsons.html

[discountcasinogear]

Hi All...it is true, at DiscountCasinoGear we added Bongo International as our freight forwarder. Unfortunately, with the US Postal Service dropping surface international shipping, shipping out of North America has become ridiculously expensive. UPS and FedEx are even worse. In the past couple years, some of these freight forwarders have popped up as a potentially cost saving service for our International customers.

They basically set up a US based aggregation center for shipments to come to. The International customer sends the package to their Bongo US based address. Bongo basically combines mulitple customers order and ships them in the same shipment to save overall costs. Its basically like group buying shipping. The result is a 24-57% savings in overall shipping Bongo claims. They have even worked wtih Amazon and Macys with good success.

We implemented this as an option for our International customers a couple months ago. We are still testing it out and getting feedback when we can, but so far so good.

[Tayrun]

I have made a huge mistake. I ordered samples of various chips. Today, samples of Progens arrived. Right next to samples of Paulsons. "What's the harm in getting some Paulsons samples?" I thought when I placed the order. "Sure they're expensive but how nice can they really be?". These Progens are lovely but they really just don't compare. I am in love with these Paulsons classics. I do not have £1300. Not even close. Woe is me!