Obviously I am not Todd but I can tell you how I get most of my chips. From what I have seen, not everyone goes out and buys the stuff to package. A lot of what I get are recycled materials. Old pieces of cardboard or bubble wrap, cut up envelopes... There are variations but among the best packaged ones are those that are put in some protective packaging and then put into a padded bubble envelope. The two that I received today measured about 5x6. By putting your chip into an envelope, piece of cardboard or other protective sleeve, you protect it from other chips that might be packaged in the same envelope. Chips can chafe against eachother during transit and get scratched or nicked. You could even type up a half or 1/4 page thank you note and fold that around each chip. I got a couple today that listed other chips for sale or the web address of the seller and a request that I check out their other eBay auctions. When I have ordered multiple chips from the same dealer I often get them in cut up chip pages. Similar to the pages that I, a photographer, use for storing slides. Each chip in a separate slot and then folded or simply placed in the envelope flat. In fact, these photo pages might be an appropriate size and they are formulated to be free of the harmful chemicals and acids that harm or age negatives slides and yes, Casino Chips. As I have heard it, the same chemicals that are used to keep some pages pliable are used in the plastics and composits that are used for chips. These chemicals have been mentioned to cause a deterioration, discoloration or bleading of color in some chips. Check your local photo store to see if they have them. If they have them in bulk, you might pick up a few pages and try them. If you are using these pages to cut up and package chips than you don't need to worry much about their chemistry. You would only be using them short term anyways and little damage would be likely to occour in a few days. For long term storage, on the other hand, you might need to make sure that what you buy is safe. I have also received chips in old worn AirTites, taped between a folded piece of an old file folder or in small coin envelopes wrapped in a little foam wrap. I think the foam wrap is similar or the same as put around drinks in the casinos to keep them from slipping out of your hands?

Anyways, it is good to double pack the chips. One just to keep the chip from rubbing on anything else. The other, the bubble envelope, to protect it from anything outside the envelope.

A couple NO NOs that I have received. First, it is obvious, DO NOT PUT IN NORMAL ENVELOPES. I have seen many photos here on TCB of people who got chips in a normal business envelope or UNPADDED cardboard mailer. They frequently come crushed or cracked... The second incident was a person who sent me lots of 10 chips from NYNY and Excal. He stacked them in stacks of 3 and 4 which wasn't that bad. They would support and protect each other He then placed them in a padded envelope. The problem is that he taped the stacks together. Knowing the potential harm I delicately removed the tape and minimized the damage but still noticed a few small areas where the design on the NYNY chips began to lift off the chip. DO NOT PUT TAPE DIRECTLY ON THE CHIPS. If you must package like this, wrap each stack in some printer paper first then TAPE THE PAPER NOT THE CHIP(S). Again you could use a 1/2 sheet of paper and "Fold and Roll" the chips as you might a sandwich. Start with a corner, fold over. Fold the ends in and roll the rest of the paper over.

As for storing chips, there are many methods. Some people like to frame their chips and hang them as art in their den or living room... Check out Cassidy Frames for a great selection of frames. I use AirTite plastic capsules and put them in the cards that fit in small boxes. Others prefer to have their chips in binders in those pages that I mentioned earlier. Check Cassidy and JP's Corner(?). www.jpscorner.com and www.cassidyframes.com to see what they offer. There are other people here on TCB that also sell AirTites and other storage materials. Just make sure you buy something that is safe for chips. Some materials intended for metal COINS may not be safe for your plastic, clay or composite chips.

I have probably gone too long here. Hope this helps.