Here's Mirriam Webster's 2nd definition of the word VALUE: "The monetary worth of something : marketable price"

Now for the purposes of this discussion, I'm willing to exclude high-end chips because perhaps their eBay transactions are not wholly representative of that market in general... as has been said or implied, a very high percentage of these transactions are private and not trackable by the general public and maybe not even by the price guide authors. Instead, I'd like to focus on the value of a few popular chips that seem to have values that are skewed to some degree from those published in the guides with respect to eBay sales.

Let's first talk about the famed Paris Millennium $5. The last four of these chips that I've seen auctioned on eBay have bought an average sale price of $52.89. The OFFICIAL... lists this chip at $20, and it's a "C" in TCR... granted TCR had seen less of the action on this chip prior to publication, but the going rate had been in the $30-35 range as far back as April and had steadily escalated.

At some point you have to ask where the real value is established, and I contend that, especially with respect to the OFFICIAL..., having seen probably 30 to 40 transactions on this chip in the range steadily escalating from $30 to $50 over the course of 6 months prior to its publication, the arbitrary $20 figure there is not an accurate representation of real life, and certainly not of the value of this particular chip.

I believe that the sales price of this chip will not drop off between now and the publication of the next round of OFFICIAL... and TCR... Is the Paris Millennium going to be a "J" or $50 chip next issue? Bet not.

Let's take a look at the final-issue Blue and Orange Sands, LV chips. TCR has the Blue as a "B" chip and the Orange as a "C". The OFFICIAL... has them both in the $12 range in perfect condition. I've noticed them available on websites for $8 apiece.

So how are they doing on eBay? Well, the past 12 auctions for the blue chip have yielded an average of $17.33 for the sellers... the past two last weekend went for $26.00 and $26.52.

The past 5 auctions for the orange chips have averaged $21.60, with the one this past weekend going for $31.01.

What is the true value of these chips? I contend that since people are willing to pay, and are in fact paying "F" prices, that these are not "B" and "C" chips. If you wait to find a blue chip on eBay for a "B" price, you'll be waiting a long time.

This action did NOT start this summer, but had been going on since I started tracking in April. Why, then, would the price guide values be more valid than the going rates on eBay?

A final example is the $1 Playboy AC chip, which books (OFFICALLy...) at $20 in Very Fine condition, which is what I've been seeing on eBay. Would it surprise you that the past 24 auctions of this chip have averaged out at over $34.00... 70% over book. This, too, has been going on for at least 6 months... why no adjustment and, more to the point, who's value is more valid?

I think at some point you have to acknowledge that for lower-end chips, which comprise the vast majority of chip transactions, the market VALUE (ie: price) IS established on eBay. Trends tend to continue, and no-reserve auctions that start at, say $1.00, always seem to find the level at which they belong... further enforcing the concept that there really are no more steals on eBay.