HomePokerChips.com vs. TheChipStore.com

[TenPercenter]

You can vote even if you haven't bought yet. Many of us have dealt with both companies, and you can make a judgement by pre-sale customer service.

Ten

[theWhale]

Thechipstore just flat has better stock art. There is just no question of that in my mind. If you are ordering 500 chips and want a consistent center, the lower art charge would lean me toward thechipstore. Any more than that and homepokerchips.com is probably a better choice.

[Fins]

May be a little premature as I think we've just finalized the design... just need SWMBO's approval but the service & response from HPC has exceeded my expectations. I know very little with regard to TCS but that little wasn't great. I went with HPC over TPC & Chipco due to cost & flexibility with the design not to mention I had read a number of favorable reviews. I wanted the graphic color scheme to change form chip to chip as opposed to just the wrapping and I wanted denominations which in the case of TPC significantly effects the cost (didn't want edge denoms either... thought the chance for them to be slightly off center/skewed was too great & I think it takes away from the edge look). My experience so far with a 5 chip set so the art/setup is $229 has been well worth the money... just keep my fingers crossed that they come out as nice as the other customs I've seen.

Just my $1000+,
Fins

[Johnny5]

Ten,

I think making a judgement based on pre-sale customer service is a big mistake here. Having dealt strictly with thechipstore.com, I know first hand.

Pre-sale, Dan provided great service. We chatted on the phone for hours, and I found him to be very friendly and accomodating. Then I decided to place an order, and that's where the service fell apart. From simple color choices to small design details, I would have to really push to get straight answers. Then, after the design was finalized, proofs were incomplete and never corrected as promised. Emails were ignored. Voicemails were never returned. And it started to get a bit scary when their voice mailbox was full for weeks at a time!

Dan guaranteed my shipment on a specific date when I was going to be in the USA. As that date approached, I was still unable to reach anyone at thechipstore.com. This date passed with still no response to my frantic emails. Threats of complaints to BBB & paypal were simply ignored. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

Finally, a number of weeks after the 'guaranteed' shipment date, I actually managed to get a hold of Dan. He says to me "Oh - I have your chips right here"!!?! [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] WTF!

I finally managed to get the chips, and I really don't have any major complaints about the overall chip quality.

I was overcharged for shipping, and an edge-spot on one chip was incorrect. After receipt of the chips, Dan agreed that he would correct the billing error & address the color issue. He never did.

After several months, I just gave up and let it go. After the whole ordeal (this was just a short version), I was just happy to have my chips.

I don't want anyone to go through what I did, so I have to say - avoid thechipstore.com!

J5

[Duck]

Wow... Johnny5 sounds like a replay of my experience w/ thechipstore.com!

I originally ordered a set of 400 custom chips from thechipstore.com in September 2003. Dan was an awesome sales person, working with me contstantly through the design process. Then the chips took twice as long as they were supposed to. Not a big deal... but i was happy w/ the chips, so much so that i wanted to re-order 100 more.

In March of 2004 I went to Dan, "re-orders take 4-6 weeks" Dan said...again, he was awesome w/ his sales representation. Only this time at the end of six weeks there was no chips to be found. i called him and he ignored my emails and voicemails. I finally got ahold of him and it was "another 4-6 weeks"... after patiently waiting, still no chips. Finally i called Chipco direct (thechipstore.com and homepokerchips.com are sales agents for chipco) only to discover that my reorder was never placed. I went ballistic! I threatened legal action to Dan if i didn't get my chips by xxxx date, etc.

Still no response, so i made formal complaints to BBB, Scottrades, and paypal. FINALLY in august i receive my 100 re-order chips.

The chips are beautiful, but whenever someone asks me for a recommendation for custom chips, i always say go directly through Chipco or try homepokerchips.com...

I must say that Dan's people skills when trying to close the sale is very very good... don't fall into that trap, because once the money is in, his follow up to the end is so poor it's not worth it.

[Fins]

Duck,
Sounds terrible...

Have you posted pics of your chips?

You should! [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

- Fins

[Duck]

I would if i knew how... any suggestions?

[warewulf]

My experience was similar. Gladly, when I paid, I only paid $100 as somewhat of a deposit. At the time I didn't have the full amount because of budget restraints, turned out to be a good thing. He did call me back and email many times trying to get me to decide on a design. I figure this is because he wanted the rest of the money. When I changed my mind and decided to cancel he did ignore my emails requesting a refund. I then realized I still had his personal cell phone number so I decidely called him at a fairly late hour. He refunded my money the next day.

warewulf

[Fins]

[ QUOTE ]
I would if i knew how... any suggestions?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you don't have web space to host the image then you can use: ImageShack

The FAQ has info on inserting into a post.

- Fins

FYI - You can post to this thread ( Chip Pics ) or start a new one if you want.

[Johnny5]

Ridiculous...