2024 New Chip Releases (4 Viewers)

[maxim_666666]

Counter-point: many casinos offer limited edition chips, knowing they pay (just a guess) around $1 each and collectors snap them up at $5 each from the cage. 5x profit just because they buy pretty chips from Paulson.

The casinos are not against the public collecting chips, but the days of $1 THCs may be gone.

Actually, I think the price of Paulson chips for casinos has approached $5 but hasn’t quite crossed that mark (maybe just slightly). Many years ago, there was information on the blue site that a chip cost around $3.5 from the factory. However, the absence (except for small batches) of commemorative chips, even in well-known casinos, indirectly suggests that producing them has become unprofitable and no longer makes sense from a commercial standpoint.

 

[WedgeRock]

Paulson boat chips were about $1.35/chip, or so I heard.

If chip prices were approaching $5/chip, most places would use coins for fracs and $1s...

Some people got recent orders through and could tell us actual prices, but it might make it harder to sell their chips at $11/each.

 

[allforcharity]

Casino Collectibles Association usually prices LV live chips at face value +$2 per chip.

 

[maxim_666666]

Paulson boat chips were about $1.35/chip, or so I heard.

If chip prices were approaching $5/chip, most places would use coins for fracs and $1s...

Some people got recent orders through and could tell us actual prices, but it might make it harder to sell their chips at $11/each.

Let's rely on facts and at least some numbers. To begin with, I’d like to point out that casinos will continue using clay even for 25-cent chips because, for them, it’s just another expense, like chairs, tables, and cards.
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...cs-hard-rock-illinois-hard-to-acquire.129037/
This is what we call the casino level. We wouldn’t claim that KEM cards (if it were unprofitable for them) would be replaced with Chinese junk, would we? That simply doesn’t happen.


Now, let's talk about prices. The $1.35 figure you mentioned might have been relevant 15–20 years ago, but definitely not today.

We're not talking about the price at which chips are obtained by certain people, but rather the price the manufacturer wants for a chip.

How can we estimate the current prices? I suggest looking at competitors.

I reviewed the archives of BCC and ASM websites from 2007, as well as Apache and Trademark regarding the prices of Paulson chips. BCC sold them at that time for $0.85 but wanted an additional $150 for each new mold/label, pushing the price confidently above $1 per chip. ASM wanted around $1 per chip. Apache and Trademark priced Paulson chips at $1.25.

So, the prices were fairly similar across the board, and I make the logical assumption that this proportion has remained roughly the same, at least with one of the surviving competitors—CPC. According to David, the profit margin on a single chip isn’t very high, and I tend to agree with that.

CPC charges around $2.90 on average for Level 1–5 chips (I’m not even considering the higher levels or 44mm chips). When factoring in all mold types, the average price comes out to ~$3.23 per chip.

For higher-level chips, we confidently cross the $4 mark!

And we know for a fact that casinos still place orders with CPC, which confirms that their prices are competitive and that they can hold their ground in this market.

These are at least real numbers we can discuss.

 

[AlbinoDragon]

Even David has said that the process is much more automated than at CPC and the labor in Mexico where the chips are made is being paid peanuts. I don't think CPC prices are a reasonable metric with which to compare the cost of Paulson chips and never can be.

I don't think anyone believes for a moment that the Tigers were being sold to the group for anything close to cost.

 

[maxim_666666]

As for the prices of new chips, I think Paulson figured out this game and simply set a high initial price to account for these whims. As a result, sellers are forced to charge $10 per chip to make a good profit, but at the same time, they can’t afford to lower the price too much.

It’s sad to see all this happening, but there are still huge quantities of them out there.
https://tigerpalacechips.com/collections/featured-products

 

[Timmah]

Let's rely on facts and at least some numbers. To begin with, I’d like to point out that casinos will continue using clay even for 25-cent chips because, for them, it’s just another expense, like chairs, tables, and cards.

The casino I work for owns 4 casinos. They do between $500m - $600m a year in revenue between the four. Occasionally they order more chips to rotate the bad ones out, and each casino has their own chip designs. If Chips were $5 each, and they needed 100,000 more of them, they wouldn’t blink at the $500k price tag. I also feel that Paulsons hold up better than CPC and any ceramics out there. That in itself is a selling point. We have Paulsons that have been in play for over a decade.

 

[maxim_666666]

Even David has said that the process is much more automated than at CPC and the labor in Mexico where the chips are made is being paid peanuts. I don't think CPC prices are a reasonable metric with which to compare the cost of Paulson chips and never can be.

I don't think anyone believes for a moment that the Tigers were being sold to the group for anything close to cost.

Maybe, but I doubt they produce chips three times cheaper than everyone else. If that were the case, ceramic chips wouldn’t stand a chance in Vegas.

Even plastic chips, like Matsui, are selling for at least $2+ per chip right now—and there’s zero manual labor involved.

I don’t want to comment on the whole story with tigers and princesses. If people like it, so be it.

 

[maxim_666666]

The casino I work for owns 4 casinos. They do between $500m - $600m a year in revenue between the four. Occasionally they order more chips to rotate the bad ones out, and each casino has their own chip designs. If Chips were $5 each, and they needed 100,000 more of them, they wouldn’t blink at the $500k price tag. I also feel that Paulsons hold up better than CPC and any ceramics out there. That in itself is a selling point. We have Paulsons that have been in play for over a decade.

Could you treat the girls from accounting to a pie and find out the exact numbers for us?

 

[WedgeRock]

I'm sure you have sources for all your facts.

casinos will continue using clay even for 25-cent chips because, for them, it’s just another expense, like chairs, tables, and cards.

My payout on a blackjacks has included two $1 chips and a 50¢ token.

Even though it's an expense like chairs, tables and cards, casinos are watching profits and will look to save on those line items. Why do you think ICON chips are much more popular now than they were even 10 years ago.

We wouldn’t claim that KEM cards (if it were unprofitable for them) would be replaced with Chinese junk, would we?

See above.

I make the logical assumption

I thought you were relying on facts.

And we know for a fact that casinos still place orders with CPC

These are at least real numbers we can discuss.

 

[AlbinoDragon]

Maybe, but I doubt they produce chips three times cheaper than everyone else. If that were the case, ceramic chips wouldn’t stand a chance in Vegas.

Even plastic chips, like Matsui, are selling for at least $2+ per chip right now—and there’s zero manual labor involved.

I don’t want to comment on the whole story with tigers and princesses. If people like it, so be it.

I still can't imagine that Paulsons sold to a casino are going for $4. Every Vegas casino would have already switched out their singles to ICON by now. We know some have already, and many others have switched to hot-stamped singles.


Ceramic chips wear like garbage in a casino environment. Edges get worn to the white base much quicker than a clay chip becomes unusable leading to the need for more frequent replacement.



A P.S. to my first reply, I'm unaware of any casinos getting CPC chips recently. I haven't seen them in the 'new chip' reports here nor do I see any on eBay. Casinos have purchased CPC (and ASM) chips in the past, but short of David telling us that there had been a recent casino that purchased CPC chips, I think this is another reference point where the cost for CPC chips don't relate to the price(s) for Pauslon chips.

 

[maxim_666666]

My payout on a blackjacks has included two $1 chips and a 50¢ token.

Go see a doctor and get your eyes checked! It was a Coke cap..

 

[maxim_666666]

WedgeRock
How much money did the casino save here?

 

[WedgeRock]

You'd agree that casino fracs are uncommon? Which is why they sell for 16xface on the secondary market...