Neoprene Poker Playing Surface from Sea Vulture Review

[ttttubby]

Palm imports custom labeled china clays

[sbv32]

Hello All,

Are these toppers still available for sale?

[Honais]

I was wondering that myself. I may be moving overseas soon and likely won't be able to take my table with me

[chipNAchair]

They should be. Just pm Sea Vulture directly and ask.

[forcedsqunt]

If not, I have a poker hoody and it works pretty well.

http://www.chiptalk.net/forum/poker-...ml#post1105089

[6wiretech]

I'd like one of these. All the posts and reviews of similar products are from 2 1/2 years ago. I don't have room, or budget for the table I'd love to have, but a quality top seems ideal. Would appreciate some help/feedback. Is this top from sea vulture even available? I Would rather give a CT member the business. Again, any help is very much appreciated.
-John

[Sea Vulture]

Sorry, but I no longer make these. This was a side thing I did, but my real business got in the way, lol. It's too bad, these things rock, but I just didn't have the time to keep producing them. I had a bunch of 5 ft rounds made, but sold out of them and once they were gone, they were gone. At some point, I may have another batch made, but not in the near future.

I do appreciate the inquiries, it is flattering. The design of the rounds was perfect, much superior to other neoprene toppers I have seen.

[JEH]

Originally Posted by Sea Vulture

The design of the rounds was perfect, much superior to other neoprene toppers I have seen.

I also need two 5 foot round toppers for a pair of those fold-up plastic tables that Lfetime makes and I now feel all of my choices (which maybe just one) are sub-optimal.

[celticnoel79]

These look like the best non wood table toppers ive saw, pity theyre no longer produced as it seems there is a demand for them, suppose if time, money and space is a serious issue these toppers would be ideal to some, cards gliding off the table look the main problem to me with these but they are still in demand it seems

[Sea Vulture]

The problem I ran into with continuing to make them are these:

1) I reacquired a company I had previously sold. This has taken a large chunk of time to fix what the buyers broke. Without going into specifics, it became an ugly octopus which had to be tamed.

2) The inquires I was mainly getting were for all sorts of custom sizes. I did the one in the OP as a favor, but realized that custom toppers are challenging, with very little upside potential, meaning that the time and effort that went into these really didn't justify to keep doing it. For example, the OP needed one design that would accommodate 4 very different playing sizes. The potential for getting things wrong is high.

3) Unless you are doing HIGH volume, small batches had to be made and shipped. Each topper was hand made in the U.S. and had to be shipped. In order to keep the price low, I would have to have these made in Asia in a large number (5K pieces) and have them shipped here. This would have driven the price per unit in a range I would be comfortable with, which would satisfy customers. I wasn't willing to fork out that kind of cash and store that many in my garage, lol.

4) The price of oil (which affects the cost of neoprene) went up, as well as the cost of labor. Both of these drove up costs to a point where customers wouldn't want to pay the increase, which squeezed any potential profit right out the window.

I enjoyed the challenge of coming up with the, what I considered, a great round desgin for 4' and 5' tables. We use them in local tournaments, as I had two organizers outfit their tables with them, so I get to play on them regularly.

Again, I'm sorry I couldn't keep producing them, but at some point, I may try to do another batch when I get the opportunity. I appreciate the positive feedback on them.