In mid-December I won an EBay auction for two identical chips from the Westerner. They were orange small crown chips and are listed as R-10 in the C/W guide with a value between $600 and $1200. It was odd to auction two identical rare chips at once and I recalled the same auction in Feb. 2009. I asked the seller (rumphman57) who responded that he didn't know anything about other auctions and that these were the only two he had. I won the auction with a bid of $520 for both chips. I thought that the R-10 rating was incorrect but maybe $260 per chip was fair given the uncertainty about quantity. At least two other collectors asked rumphman57 similar questions with the same answer. The auction closed on Dec. 14th and I paid on Dec. 15th. I got the chips on Dec. 26th (I was traveling) and left positive feedback.
On Jan. 3rd Mike Christensen alerted collectors that two more chips (each auction featured two identical chips) had appeared on EBay and that it was likely that a quantity had been found. Two collectors responded to Mike's posting that they had been emailed second chance offers on my auction. This made me angry. I'm used to sellers being evasive or non-responsive when asked about rarity. In this case the seller told me he had only two chips and then the day after getting my payment he's contacting the underbidders with more chips to sell.
The second EBay auction had a Buy-It-Now price of $570 and had no bidders.
On Jan. 3rd I asked the seller to reverse the auction which he refused. I then went to EBay arbitration and was told that it only mattered if the seller misrepresented the item itself. That he lied about the quantity he had was not an issue that concerned EBay.
I had no intention of publicizing this story until I noticed that another chip (this time only one chip) had just sold on EBay for $877. Naturally the seller referenced the R-10 rarity rating. (All three sellers are in So. Calif.) So in summary:
1) Thanks to Mike Christensen for alerting collectors when it appears that a quantity of "rare" chips have been found. From my perspective it's one of the most useful aspects of TheChipBoard. My main purpose in this posting is to alert the underbidders regarding potential "second chance" offers."
2) Rarity is a major factor in all collectibles but EBay does not feel that lying about rarity is cause for any action on its part.
3) My sympathies to the "winner" of yesterday's auction. I noticed the seller has a no-returns policy. If you are able to not go through with the auction then I'll sell you my extra chip for $270 including insured shipping. My email is alex345(at)gmail(dot)com.