[Stevo]

Why do they cost so much and why has competition seemingly driven the cost up? Something seems wrong. First, it seems to me that even the best chips probably costs the manufacturer less than 5 cents a chips to make. Frankly, I would venture that, in bulk, they are actually even well less than that. So, there is that, then - virtually no advertising costs, no rent - I imagine you could make them out of some small building out in the middle of nowhere and small personnel costs.

Ok, so now, I realize that you probably aren't selling tens of thousands a day (or maybe they are, I don't know), but nonetheless, the more chip manufacturers that come into the market, it seems like the prices - especially Blue Chips, which is what I want, are going up. You would think someone would have a sale or something...

Ok, sort of a senseless rant, but what is going on, really? Oh yeah, I can imagine why the chips folks who actually sell to the casinos jack up their prices - just to make up for the expense of the much smaller scale of the purchases and the added costs in that, but what's up???

[chipper57AA]

I'm banking on the fact that once the initial poker craze has died down a bit then you'll see a glut of poker chips on the market and they will be slashing prices to unload their inventories.

In the meantime, I love looking at all the nice chip pictures.

[Double Eagle]

It's always a case of supply vs. demand.

[tomb1]

Well, I think it's at least a couple of things -- cost and supply/demand.

First, when you talk about "good" chips, there is a significant cost that we may not realize. Clay chips are relatively expensive to make, especially with edge spots. There's a cool link to clay chips here: http://www.antiquegamblingchips.com/mfgchip.htm

Paulson's casino chips have high-security features that make them the most expensive chip, but the home clay chips also cost much more than cheap chips. The cheapest clay casino chips Paulson sells cost the casino about 70¢ each, and go up to about $2.00 each for chips with radio transmitters in each chip.

Chipco ceramic chips also cost a bunch to make, especially the full-color printing. And security adds more.

As far as for cheap chips, some factory in China is punching zillions of them out for only a couple of cents.

And that's when supply and demand come in. Certainly for vintage chips, retired casino chips, or anything else with limited supply, collectors drive up the price. For the cheap plastic chips, their prices vary depending on the cost and the features. Most of them are really inexpensive. I agree that there's a glut of cheap chips on the market, and prices will stay low and go even lower for this low-end merchandise.

[fcuk]

Just because they charge 70 cents a pop sure as hell dosent mean they cost that much.

[smoore]

Compression molding assembly line: $500,000+
R&D to make clay stand up to abuse: $50,000
Making a mold: $5,000
Bulk purchase of materials: $100,000
Factory, workers, sales force, back office: $200,000

Popularity of Paulson Hat and Cane mold: Priceless

[duma]

if i had the funds to start my own chip manufacturing company i would do it today. there needs to be a high end chip for the home market that compares to a Bud Jones chip. there is none right now and it would make tons of money if there was one.

[johndsoares]

agreed duma lets start tomorrow!

[JM]

Originally Posted by smoore

Compression molding assembly line: $500,000+
R&D to make clay stand up to abuse: $50,000
Making a mold: $5,000
Bulk purchase of materials: $100,000
Factory, workers, sales force, back office: $200,000

Popularity of Paulson Hat and Cane mold: Priceless

I think you need to triple the labor costs there, and double that if its unionized.

[dad604]

The price for the cheap 11.5g chips have already drop since Xmas. Last year 500 piece set were going for over $100, now they are below $50.

As for the clay & ceramic chips, only a few company are making them now. If China start to make them, we'll see a big decrease in price. Hope that will happen so we can buying good chips for a decent price.