Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 5:07 pm GMT by joelber
I recently purchased a set of chips from Pokerchips.com based on the comments here and the samples I received. After waiting three months to receive my order, I'm honestly disappointed. What I received have in my opinion, some glaring quality problems. These problems are primarily as follows (although there are others as detailed in the pictures):
1) A lot of dirt that won't easily rub off (not the brass dust, actual discolorations)
2) Spots of other chip colors on the chips in varying sizes
The second is the most disconcerting since it effects about 1/3 to 1/2 of the order. (The first is also quite common) I've tried corresponding with Pokerchips.com's customer service to see if these problems are within their normal quality guidelines. Their response is send them back, they won't even tell me if these problems are considered normal or not. I don't mind sending them back for them to investigate, I would just like to know first if I'm being too critical or if others have noticed the same things.
Please take a look at the following link for pictures:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=2135312763&code=13087608&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite
If you are not familiar with Imagestation, when you click on an image, another window is opened with the same image. From there, if you click on the "View Original Image" link, you can access the full resolution picture to better see the problems. (You may need to right click the link and save it to your PC in an image editor depending on your setup)
Thank you in advance for any thoughts or comments you can provide!
--Joel
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Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 5:11 pm GMT by ncskiier
Yeah man, that's definitely f'ed up. I would send them back. I like that color combo though.
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 5:34 pm GMT by slowplayray
I actually finally received my pokerchip.com samples today. They sent me one American Mold plain w/ edge spots, and an American Eagle on the horsehead mold w/ edge spots. Honestly, I am not that impressed at all - I would place them a little higher than Blue Chip on overall feel/quality, but those metallic flecks are very distracting, in my opinion. This now officially makes T.R. King my favorite chips (next to Paulson, of course).
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 5:38 pm GMT by galderon
| joelber wrote: | | I recently purchased a set of chips from Pokerchips.com based on the comments here and the samples I received. After waiting three months to receive my order, I'm honestly disappointed. |
Aw man! I had finally nearly made up my mind on who to go with for my chips...and now I think I'm going to look elsewhere! :x
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:23 pm GMT by Juliea344
| joelber wrote: | I don't mind sending them back for them to investigate, I would just like to know first if I'm being too critical or if others have noticed the same things.
--Joel |
You are definitely NOT being too critical. I wouldn't even accept hair on a Chinese composite.
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:27 pm GMT by MasterShake
| Juliea344 wrote: | | joelber wrote: | I don't mind sending them back for them to investigate, I would just like to know first if I'm being too critical or if others have noticed the same things.
--Joel |
You are definitely NOT being too critical. I wouldn't even accept hair on a Chinese composite. |
Really? You like em shaved?
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:45 pm GMT by warewulf619
| slowplayray wrote: | | I actually finally received my pokerchip.com samples today. They sent me one American Mold plain w/ edge spots, and an American Eagle on the horsehead mold w/ edge spots. Honestly, I am not that impressed at all - I would place them a little higher than Blue Chip on overall feel/quality, but those metallic flecks are very distracting, in my opinion. This now officially makes T.R. King my favorite chips (next to Paulson, of course). |
I've been dealing with Dennis (tr king) regarding the .25 Casbah chips and he's been excellent. I know that I'm a bit difficult to deal with sometimes and he hasn't gotten pissed off. Yet... 
The one difference I can see between tr king and asm chips is the edge spots -- asm appears to be painted on, tr king appears to be cut out and inserted. I definitely like most details about the tr king chips more -- especially the weight when compared to asm.
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:54 pm GMT by slowplayray
| warewulf619 wrote: | I've been dealing with Dennis (tr king) regarding the .25 Casbah chips and he's been excellent. I know that I'm a bit difficult to deal with sometimes and he hasn't gotten pissed off. Yet...
The one difference I can see between tr king and asm chips is the edge spots -- asm appears to be painted on, tr king appears to be cut out and inserted. I definitely like most details about the tr king chips more -- especially the weight when compared to asm. |
I am thinking of expanding my Casbah Club set to able to accomodate cash games as well - does he still have a lot of $0.50s and $1s? I want to wait and make sure I like the chips (w/hot tamping, and not having edge spots - 2 things I am mostly unfamiliar with), but I don't want to miss out on the deal either.
As far as the edge spots go, ASM's are real edge spots; they are not painted on. They use the same manufacturing method (compression molding) as TR King, Paulson, and Blue Chip...it's just that the material recipes are all different, and to me, the one TR King uses results in overall superior chips (to Blue Chip and ASM, anyway - and maybe even Paulson, but I have not taken that leap yet).
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:03 pm GMT by X-Files
I have a few problems on mine but it does not seem to be nearly as bad as yours. I have no major chips on my poker chips. I hove some colors where they should not be but not a lot. I did not notice any dirt or hair problems.
Sounds like you have got a bad or sloppy run of chips. I just got mine a week ago 11/22/04. If you send them back and they agree they are bad will they immediately make your chips over? Will they give you your money back if you do not want them redone? I would like to know how their customer service is going to react to this. It will be very important for their business to give good customer service. Even more so for the good press they get from people on this forum and on other review sites.
Sorry you got crappy chips. Keep us posted on your progress.
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:03 pm GMT by warewulf619
He has plenty of .25, $1, $500, and some $100. Definitely out of .50, $5 and $25 though.
Anything that he's out of can be made for .50. I just ordered an additional 75 chips -- $5 and $25. I'll have about 550 total, cash game set.
Back to this topic -- hopefully they don't take another 3+ months to replace the messed up chips! What percentage of chips are bad enough to be sent back?
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:19 pm GMT by joelber
They told me that if I send them back and they find them to be defective, they will reproduce them and have replacements back in about 3 weeks. If they don't find them to be defective, I can return them less shipping both directions. I have no problems with this policy, my concern is they wouldn't give me any idea of what is considered "normal" and what is not. My biggest fear is sending them back, and them saying that they are perfectly fine and all the problems I see are within standards. (Not that large chips and hair should ever be a standard).
To answer Warewulf's question, in a perfect world, I would expect all chips to be flawless. I know that is not a reality, but if 1/3 to 1/2 of my chips are effected by one or many of the listed problems, I think that is way too many. They even sent 3 extras of each color (except for white which was missing) which tells me they expect some to slip through the cracks. Unfortunately, 12 does not equal half of 500!
On a side note, I noticed a picture in a different post where the author's order came with a little card thanking them for their order, how to care for the chips, etc., etc. I did not receive that card which in itself is not a big deal, but it tells me something isn't right with my order.
--Joel
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:17 pm GMT by X-Files
My picture of my case and chips has the thank you/care card.
http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/forum/t5226/pokerchipscom-order?postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15
| joelber wrote: | They told me that if I send them back and they find them to be defective, they will reproduce them and have replacements back in about 3 weeks. If they don't find them to be defective, I can return them less shipping both directions. I have no problems with this policy, my concern is they wouldn't give me any idea of what is considered "normal" and what is not. My biggest fear is sending them back, and them saying that they are perfectly fine and all the problems I see are within standards. (Not that large chips and hair should ever be a standard).
To answer Warewulf's question, in a perfect world, I would expect all chips to be flawless. I know that is not a reality, but if 1/3 to 1/2 of my chips are effected by one or many of the listed problems, I think that is way too many. They even sent 4 extras of each color (except for white which was missing) which tells me they expect some to slip through the cracks. Unfortunately, 16 does not equal half of 500!
On a side note, I noticed a picture in a different post where the author's order came with a little card thanking them for their order, how to care for the chips, etc., etc. I did not receive that card which in itself is not a big deal, but it tells me something isn't right with my order.
--Joel |
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:27 pm GMT by Guest
I don't think you're being too critical, those chips are flawed. It's surprising because I've heard nothing but good things about ASM and FWIW I don't consider the long turnaround time a negative, they've just gots tons of orders so thems the breaks.
A chip or two that have a nick or and odd spot doesn't seem bad but 1/3 of the order is unaccpetable.
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:28 pm GMT by MeridianFC
That was me btw, I don't know why it didn't log me in automatically.
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 10:06 pm GMT by PLZ
Let me start by agreeing that you definitely have a bad run of chips from them. Since I've purchased over 2300 chips from pokerchips.com, in three different orders, I can give you a brief overview of my experience and confirm that your experience is (1) far from my experience, and (2) definitely worth returning them.
My first order of 1000 chips arrived with essentially no flaws at all. I ordered their special eagle chips with edge spots, and waited over 3 1/2 months for them, but there were no off-center inlays, no chipped edges, no hairs (yechh!), and no spots of other colors.
My second order of 1,000 the same chips, to supplement my existing set and add some new colors, wasn't as flawless as the first. The main problem was about 40 chips with off center inlays -- this drives me nuts -- and some mild spotting of other colors (maybe about 20 chips or so), which doesn't bother me (I actually rather like the lack of uniformity as long as the off color spotting isn't too pronouncced). But the set contained NO chipped edges, no hairs, etc. This order also took about 3 1/2 months, and pokerchips.com replaced the off-center inlays two or three separate times, without resistance, and without my needing to send back the defective ones.
My third order was about 300 additional chips of the same design. This order arrived in three weeks (maybe they were in stock?) and contained a small number of off-center inlays and dirty chips (maybe about ten total), but also included a hefty overage which I used to replace the defective chips. Again, no chipped edges, hairs, very few off-color spots, but the color fidelity relative to the first two orders was slightly off, but not enough for me to consider a problem.
I would absolutely send back the entire order. I would also recommend that you tell them that you've read a lot of good things about the quality of their chips, seen pictures online, and have to believe that your own order is just one of those rare occurrences where a bad batch managed to get through their usually solid quality-control procedures. Finally, I would tell them that as anxious as you are to get the replacements, you're willing to wait the extra time it may take to insure that your chips are of the same high quality as all the other orders you've read about.
The fact is, ASM screwed up, but I'm certain that if you give them an opportunity to fix things, they will.
BTW, I personally like the brass flecks in the chips. I find other manufacturers' solid color clay chips appear a little monotonous without the brass flecks. You'll also find that with use, the oils from handling them will deepen the color of the chip and lessen the appearance of the brass flecks.
Good luck.
Posted Mon Nov 29, 2004 10:35 pm GMT by joelber
X-Files,
I took a look at the new pictures in your post and I noticed something. There appears to be spots or discolorations on the black, green, and purple chips. Is that brass dust, gunk from play, or something else? If it is not the brass dust or gunk, is it on a lot of the chips or just a few?
BTW, great taste in cards and case. I purchased the Elite 550 and have a set of Copags with the same backs. I love 'em both. One of the online shops that sells Copag is local so I was able to play with them a little bit before purchasing. Great cards for the price.
--Joel
Posted Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am GMT by PaulsonChips
SEND THEM BACK!
I have over 8000 ASM chips and I have to say they are the best when it comes to quality. (Even better than Paulson)
However, they are a VERY small company and they may not be having a good time processing the many orders.
I am sure that those are defective and they would send you new ones.
Thse are nice colors BTW.
GOOD LUCK!
Posted Tue Nov 30, 2004 9:37 am GMT by Nut Flush
If you do decide to send them back(which I think you already have), I would take the time and seperate the bad chips from the good ones. Package each bad chip in it's own baggy, envelope, whatever you have and label them! Example: "this one has hair stuck in it", "this one has red spots and it's only supposed to be white and green", "this one has a huge chunk missing", etc... I know it may take you some extra time, but I would feel more comfortable knowing I was pointing out all the flaws to whoever has to look through them when they get back for review.
Posted Tue Nov 30, 2004 10:15 am GMT by Grumbler
On the 24th I received my order for 1000 chips from PC.com. They were all custom chips. I had TWO chips with misaligned inlays and the extra chips they sent me covered all the chips which have a little spot of the wrong color in the wrong place. I was very picky in tossing out chips and I went through each one wiping it down.
Bottom line is that in all but one chip color I had more than enough "perfect" chips to replace any with flaws. My $500 chips were 3 short after culling the bad chips. I haven't decided whether to ask for replacements or let it slide. I pulled 3 chips back from the culled pile and all is well.
NutFlush's idea about seperating the bad chips out is a solid one. Why send back "good" chips and pay the postage. My experience with PC.com has been a great one and I would not hesitate to purchase anything from them in the future. As they say, one bad experience gets told to at least 10 people, who tell other people etc.
Sorry your deal did not go as well as mine.
Posted Tue Nov 30, 2004 5:08 pm GMT by joelber
Thanks to everyone who responded telling me I'm not insane. :D I decided to send them back per everyone's suggestions. I'll let you know what I hear back and how the CS is.
--Joel
Posted Tue Feb 15, 2005 10:41 pm GMT by joelber
I realized when I saw this post: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1739660&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=14&fpart=1 that I never followed up with a response. I responded on that thread if you are curious as to what happened.
--Joel
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