One of the problems is that the profit margin is so thin on low-value chips, that additional fees from PayPal can make a sale financially harmful. Imagine you are listing a $5 chip. It is common to list it for $4.99 to attract interest. Don't hold me to the numbers, but eBay charges 30 or 40 cents to list it, and if it sells for under $10 they get another 25 or 30 cents. PayPal charges nearly 50 cents to process the transaction - even more if a foreign exchange is involved. So to break even, the $5 chip had better sell for about $6.10. And then postage should be $1.30 for 1-3 chips, plus the cost of padded envelopes.

Even $25 chips have to sell for more than $30 to break even. And trust me, people who sell on eBay like to make profits. The time, costs and risks of listing make it a necessity. Those who want to give things away at cost already have a resource - Craiglist.

Now, high-value chips can be entirely different. A collectible chip from the 1960s or 1970s will generally sell for much more than face value, and the costs can easily be recouped.

This is why the Chip Board is such a great tool for selling (as well as trading, of course) those common chips. It's much easier to break even, and maybe even get a little gas money. It helps fellow collectors build their collections.