General Discussion- Taj Mahal Atlantic City Ceramics (3 Viewers)

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The 43mm Ascona Everest chips are nowhere near as nice. The stock chip's larger recess means less contact area and less weight -- they feel considerably less substantial.




edit: corrected chip line name
 
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The 43mm Ascona chips are nowhere near as nice. The stock chip's larger recess means less contact area and less weight -- they feel considerably less substantial.

This kind of sux. :mad: Just for a moment I thought there was an easier way. :confused: So, for the 43mm Apollon Hybrid, the only source is directly from Sun-Fly?
 
Below are the three standard hybrid (polyinno) blanks available from Sun-Fly -- two 39mm versions, and one 43mm version. OWPS offers all three sizes.

sunfly-hybrid.jpg


Not shown is the custom-mold hybrid 43mm blank (HB004?) with 25.4mm label, which has only been used once (original ACB chips) and is only available directly from Sun-Fly afaik.
 
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43mm hybrid pricing/options:

Sun-Fly offers stock 43mm Everest hybrid chips (HB003 blanks) for 81c each on the apollonchips.com web site.
Sun-Fly has offered custom-printed 43mm hybrid chips on custom mold blanks for as low as 58c each for very large orders, which included edge alignment and bulk shipping costs from China.
Sun-Fly offers labels with either matte or glossy finish laminate covering.

OWPS offers custom-printed 43mm hybrid chips (HB003 blanks) for 95c each on the OWPS web site.
OWPS offers custom-printed 43mm hybrid chips (HB003 blanks) discounted to 90c each to PCF members, with up to 12c/chip volume discount for 10,000+ orders (78c/chip after discount).
Per the web site, OWPS only offers glossy finish laminated labels, and extra charges apply for edge alignment (12c/chip) and/or face alignment (5c/chip).
 
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I didn't think custom molds were an option here. After all custom molds can run several thousands of dollars. They are a real headache and add a lot of time to a project.

Our group buy pricing on the 43mm Hybrid is absolutely negotiable depending on the volume of the order.

I've mentioned that our pricing is not going to beat Sun Fly. But our difference in shipping costs does offset that a bit. If you are going to place an order for 10,000 chips your initial shipping charges from China to your group buy leader will be around $1,000.00. So that's an additional 10 cents per chip that has to get passed on to the cost per chip in the group buy. And then you'll have to pass on the packaging and shipping costs to each participant after that. So when considering the cost per chip it is important to take that into consideration.

The advantage to going through us is that we will take on all the administrative tasks of the group buy and handle all the tasks that are normally a bear for a group buy administrator. We we manage the group buy, handle the customer service, collect all the funds, and again we package and ship directly to each of the group buy participants.


I don't mean to hijack the thread and I'm sorry for the long response. I don't normally intercede in these group buy discussions unless I'm invited to do so. I just wanted to offer my assistance because it seemed like the group buy had stalled. So if you want me to bow out I will certainly do so. Let me know if you have any more concerns or questions.
 
I didn't think custom molds were an option here. After all custom molds can run several thousands of dollars. They are a real headache and add a lot of time to a project.

Our group buy pricing on the 43mm Hybrid is absolutely negotiable depending on the volume of the order.

I've mentioned that our pricing is not going to beat Sun Fly. But our difference in shipping costs does offset that a bit. If you are going to place an order for 10,000 chips your initial shipping charges from China to your group buy leader will be around $1,000.00. So that's an additional 10 cents per chip that has to get passed on to the cost per chip in the group buy. And then you'll have to pass on the packaging and shipping costs to each participant after that. So when considering the cost per chip it is important to take that into consideration.

The advantage to going through us is that we will take on all the administrative tasks of the group buy and handle all the tasks that are normally a bear for a group buy administrator. We we manage the group buy, handle the customer service, collect all the funds, and again we package and ship directly to each of the group buy participants.


I don't mean to hijack the thread and I'm sorry for the long response. I don't normally intercede in these group buy discussions unless I'm invited to do so. I just wanted to offer my assistance because it seemed like the group buy had stalled. So if you want me to bow out I will certainly do so. Let me know if you have any more concerns or questions.
To me, it seems like the million dollar question is, can you produce chips on the custom mold that was created for the original Boardwalk buy - the 43mm hybrid with the smaller recess? Because I think one of the major reasons there were so many orders in for the second Boardwalk buy and for the Iron Bank buy is that so many people REALLY liked the feel of chips produced on that custom mold.
 
To me, it seems like the million dollar question is, can you produce chips on the custom mold that was created for the original Boardwalk buy - the 43mm hybrid with the smaller recess? Because I think one of the major reasons there were so many orders in for the second Boardwalk buy and for the Iron Bank buy is that so many people REALLY liked the feel of chips produced on that custom mold.

+1
 
I didn't think custom molds were an option here. After all custom molds can run several thousands of dollars. They are a real headache and add a lot of time to a project.
@OldWestPokerSupplies -- Sal, the custom mold in question has already been created. It is a 43mm hybrid blank with a 25.4mm recess (taking a 1" label). Sun-Fly paid to have it made, based on the number of chips that were ordered....so Sun-Fly 'owns' it (vs a private entity paying for and owning it).

What is unknown at this point:
  • Will Sun-Fly sell blanks made on the custom mold to you?
  • If so, are you willing to buy said blanks for a group buy project?
  • Is your printing process capable of producing chips on this blank?
  • What would be your pricing on chips produced on this blank?
 
I'll chime in here since everything has finally been squared away on my end.

I had a designer (who shall remain nameless in public forum) draw up amazing Taj artwork. It was done to the T in line with the real chips (no pun intended). However, with the failure of the latest replica/tribute group buy, the designer respectfully requested that the artwork not be used for a large group buy, so not to cause any more trouble for the forum and our mods.

That being said, he is okay with individuals or small groups of a few people (to be done in private via PM among said small group) using the artwork to place their own orders. I have already gone ahead and begun that process of doing a personal order for myself. I wanted that to be out there so that in the future when I share the chips in pictures people don't think I went off and did it on my own in secret and left everyone out.

If anyone would like to go ahead and order these chips, contact me in a message and I will let you know who the designer is. You can then contact him for the artwork. Not sure if that's how it usually works, but I would rather you go direct through the designer and get the permission to use them and the artwork from him directly. Rather than me sharing the artwork willy-nilly with anyone who asks, which I don't feel comfortable doing, seeing as I'm not the one who did the work, so I feel I shouldn't share it just because I have it.

Best of luck to you all in getting some sort of community GB off the ground.
 
I'll chime in here since everything has finally been squared away on my end.

I had a designer (who shall remain nameless in public forum) draw up amazing Taj artwork. It was done to the T in line with the real chips (no pun intended). However, with the failure of the latest replica/tribute group buy, the designer respectfully requested that the artwork not be used for a large group buy, so not to cause any more trouble for the forum and our mods.

That being said, he is okay with individuals or small groups of a few people (to be done in private via PM among said small group) using the artwork to place their own orders. I have already gone ahead and begun that process of doing a personal order for myself. I wanted that to be out there so that in the future when I share the chips in pictures people don't think I went off and did it on my own in secret and left everyone out.

If anyone would like to go ahead and order these chips, contact me in a message and I will let you know who the designer is. You can then contact him for the artwork. Not sure if that's how it usually works, but I would rather you go direct through the designer and get the permission to use them and the artwork from him directly. Rather than me sharing the artwork willy-nilly with anyone who asks, which I don't feel comfortable doing, seeing as I'm not the one who did the work, so I feel I shouldn't share it just because I have it.

Best of luck to you all in getting some sort of community GB off the ground.

I think that's the direction most new GBs will take, at least for a while. Smaller groups, much of the design, corrections and collaborations done via PMs, and at a higher cost.
 
@OldWestPokerSupplies -- Sal, the custom mold in question has already been created. It is a 43mm hybrid blank with a 25.4mm recess (taking a 1" label). Sun-Fly paid to have it made, based on the number of chips that were ordered....so Sun-Fly 'owns' it (vs a private entity paying for and owning it).

What is unknown at this point:
  • Will Sun-Fly sell blanks made on the custom mold to you?
  • If so, are you willing to buy said blanks for a group buy project?
  • Is your printing process capable of producing chips on this blank?
  • What would be your pricing on chips produced on this blank?

What was the projected volume of the order for this group buy?
Were any chips produced on this mold?


I'll let you guys know what I find out on my end.
 
Yes, roughly 50,000. Sun-Fly waived the mold cost at 20,000 chips ordered.


If you mean a new group buy using that mold, I'd guesstimate around 20,000 chips. Could be more. If you mean the group buy that actually used that mold, see above.

If he is referring to the two cancelled GBs, I believe the pre-order was close to 60-70K combined
 
Were any chips produced on this mold?

Yes, roughly 50,000. Sun-Fly waived the mold cost at 20,000 chips ordered.

It was 54,373 pieces ordered and produced, but of those, 37,371 were 39mm on an existing mold, and 17,002 on the new 43mm mold. The two molds take identically-sized labels. (Slight tolerance difference on the blanks, but the same cut labels were applied to both.)

So yes, the mold was made and chips were produced. SUN-FLY took a deposit before making the mold and waived the actual cost of the mold given the size of the Buy. Their intent was to make it a stock house mold, and they were later prepared to take new orders to be produced on the mold, even though it was not added to their online web pages.

If he is referring to the two cancelled GBs, I believe the pre-order was close to 60-70K combined

That order might have included 33K chips scheduled to be made as 43 mm on the new mold with artwork for various chipsets.

Or something like that.

People tell me that, anyway.
 
With the void (both physical and emotional ;)) left by the withdrawal of the previous group buy, I would be interested in participating in another using the same blanks and whatever design was deemed acceptable by the group whether it be a Taj tribute or a Day of the Dead version. Both would be desired.
 
I won't be taking part in any group buy, but for everyone that would want to do Sun Fly hybrids, here's what they told me. Figure I'll pass this along. This is a copy-paste of their email

HB001A, 39mm APOLLON HYBRID Chip with 1 inch Decal, Aligned, EXW price: US$0.56/pcs
HB001U, 39mm APOLLON HYBRID Chip with 1 inch Decal, Unaligned , EXW price:US$0.48/pcs

And that was just for an order of 800. I'm sure if a GB of 20,000 chips gets off the ground, it would go down.

I didn't go with Sun Fly for my custom order. Knew the shipping would be awful. But still figured I'd pass along what they told me
 
@OldWestPokerSupplies -- Sal, the custom mold in question has already been created. It is a 43mm hybrid blank with a 25.4mm recess (taking a 1" label). Sun-Fly paid to have it made, based on the number of chips that were ordered....so Sun-Fly 'owns' it (vs a private entity paying for and owning it).

What is unknown at this point:
  • Will Sun-Fly sell blanks made on the custom mold to you?
  • If so, are you willing to buy said blanks for a group buy project?
  • Is your printing process capable of producing chips on this blank?
  • What would be your pricing on chips produced on this blank?

Okay, we have discussed the custom mold with SunFly and we can purchase and print on that mold.

This is Member Bulk Group Buy Pricing ONLY (20k chips and above prices may drop accordingly)

39mm Hybrid (both molds) NOT aligned = $0.62/each
43mm Hybrid (both molds) NOT aligned = $0.70/each

39mm Hybrid (both molds) aligned = $0.74/each
43mm Hybrid (both molds) aligned = $0.82/each

As I've stated before our pricing will never ever beat Sun-Fly's. That's just a matter of commerce. However if you consider everything that we offer including our personal service and the cost of shipping from China I believe we are well worth the additional cost.

As I've mentioned in another thread I am working on additional defunct casino designs which will work well with the hybrids - including the custom molds. I would be willing to entertain ideas from anyone who wants to offer design suggestions.

I will likely start a group buy for that set soon. I am hoping to get denomination requests and design suggestions.

I will update this post with the thread link as soon as it is available.
 
Okay, we have discussed the custom mold with SunFly and we can purchase and print on that mold.

This is Member Bulk Group Buy Pricing ONLY (20k chips and above prices may drop accordingly)

39mm Hybrid (both molds) NOT aligned = $0.62/each
43mm Hybrid (both molds) NOT aligned = $0.70/each

39mm Hybrid (both molds) aligned = $0.74/each
43mm Hybrid (both molds) aligned = $0.82/each

As I've stated before our pricing will never ever beat Sun-Fly's. That's just a matter of commerce. However if you consider everything that we offer including our personal service and the cost of shipping from China I believe we are well worth the additional cost.

As I've mentioned in another thread I am working on additional defunct casino designs which will work well with the hybrids - including the custom molds. I would be willing to entertain ideas from anyone who wants to offer design suggestions.

I will likely start a group buy for that set soon. I am hoping to get denomination requests and design suggestions.

I will update this post with the thread link as soon as it is available.

If peoole still wanted to go for an Atlantic City defunct casino, you could go with Worlds Fair. Yes I know it's another Trump Property, but I like the name. And I'm sure a cool inlay design incorporating "Worlds Fair" could be used.

Another option is Bally's Grand. Maybe just call it "The Grand" on the chip. Or "Atlantis" which is what Worlds Fair was before Trump bought it. But I think there already is an Atlantis chip set out there.

Like I said I won't be doing an order since I have customs coming, but maybe just these ideas can help if people want to do an AC property that's long gone
 
If peoole still wanted to go for an Atlantic City defunct casino, you could go with Worlds Fair. Yes I know it's another Trump Property, but I like the name. And I'm sure a cool inlay design incorporating "Worlds Fair" could be used.

Another option is Bally's Grand. Maybe just call it "The Grand" on the chip. Or "Atlantis" which is what Worlds Fair was before Trump bought it. But I think there already is an Atlantis chip set out there.

Like I said I won't be doing an order since I have customs coming, but maybe just these ideas can help if people want to do an AC property that's long gone
 
Could be drawn in again just a couple of questions.

Are these going to be V7 style with denoms on the outer ring?

Will blanks be allowed for purchase in the group buy (outer ring printed but sans label)? If so any discount for blanks?

Am watching with interest now, having Sal @OldWestPokerSupplies do most of the heavy lifting is worth any added cost involved. I believe some people here will agree with that.
 
Hey guys,
I'm still here. I'm working diligently on getting the seating set group buy completed this weekend. It's very time consuming. As soon as I get that group buy through to the ordering phase I will be concentrating solely on getting this hybrid group buy done.

So give me until about Wednesday for an initial design to be fleshed out and up for your feedback.
 
Looking forward to this after the never ending glowing reputation that you've built yourself, Sal. Couldn't think of a better stateside manufacturer to do this for us.

I'd like to jump on the same wagon as @TheBigTater and ask @OldWestPokerSupplies if there will be any blanks offered for this? I know a handful of us who ran into a certain bulk purchase recently who will be looking for numerous fracs and $500-1,000 denoms in these hybrids. Maybe we can work a mini GB for whatever design comes from this where we can switch labels to match our latest buy...
 
Hey guys!

Well I'm in the midst of the current group buy but I have time now to concentrate on the design for this. So here's what I think we should do.

I think we need to start fresh with a new thread. Always best to start fressh.

We should work on a name for a design/interest thread for this. One that will pull the former interested parties over to this. In order to get the best pricing we need all those buyers of course.

So what should the title for the new thread be? Obviously it has to mention the 43mm Hybrid right?

As soon as we can agree on a title I'll start the thread and we can get started.
 
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