Chip Trading Tutorial

Welcome to the world of Harley Davidson Poker Chip Trading!

These are the basic how-to's to get you started.  This includes some simple rules to keep you off of the no-trade lists.   

So you want to trade chips?   Have you seen a therapist?  Beware, chipping is addicting!

There are over 800 dealers in the United States.  Some people just collect the dealers in single states, some collect United States only, some people collect from everywhere.  Some people collect "sigs" and others only collect "regulars". 

There are two different kinds of chips.  They are signature chips and regular chips.

Signature chips have the words "Harley Davidson" around the outside edge.  Signature chips usually have colored/black edges. Regular chips have the face card symbols "A" "K" "Q" "J".  The regular chips usually have colored/white edges. 

Signature chip - "Harley Davidson" around the outside

Regular Chip - A,K,Q,J, around outside.

Getting Started:  Go to your nearest Harley Davidson dealership and buy some poker chips.  Give it a start with about 10 chips.  They cost anywhere from $1.00 -$3.00 each depending on your location.  Get different colors.  Take a picture of the chips you have to trade (don't forget to keep one for your collection) and post on your favorite chip trading website.

Keep accurate records.  When someone wants to trade, get their name and address.  Which chip they want (you may have several dealer chips) and the date you sent it.  In the sample below I have the name and address of the person I am sending to,  on the right is the date I sent the chip and the dealer chip I sent.  The underlined part at the bottom is the name of the chip and state I received from them as well as the date I got it.  (These are not real names or addresses - they are just shown for an example of my log book)

 

Mailing the chip:  This is a challenging part! 

Most of the mail we send is processed through enormous sorting machines.  A chip in an envelope makes the chip "non-machineable", because it is no longer a flat envelope and may get hung up in the machine.  We are supposed to write "non-machineable" on the envelope and have to pay an extra .22 cents to ship an envelope with a chip in it.  BUT - sometimes the envelope still gets processed through the machine (despite writing non-machineable AND paying .22 cents extra).  When this happens a loose chip can get pushed right out of the envelope.  The chip is lost forever and you (or your recipient) , get an empty envelope!

An envelope I got last week.  NO  CHIP!!!!

We can help our chips get to their destination by securing it into an envelope or securing the envelope.  TAPE is our friend. 

Don't put tape directly onto a chip.  Tape residue is hard to get off of a chip without damaging it.  Peeling tape off of a chip can peel some of the writing off of it as well. 

Put the chip in a small envelope or wrap it in paper or put it in a small baggie purchased at a Head Shop (if you have to ask, that's another blog...)

Tape the envelope onto a larger piece of paper - like a card or sheet of paper.

An envelope completely taped closed is hard to get into (and practically impossible for the chip to pop out).  You will need scissors to open the taped envelope.

Some types of small containers to put your chip in before taping it to a card or onto the inside of the envelope.  Both work well.

Take your envelopes to the post office to find out what it costs.  A simple card with one or two chips will be covered by the .93 cent stamps (3oz) including the .22 cent non-machineable fee.

I take pictures on motorcycle trips and make my own card with a picture of my bike on the front.  I like making the cards but all you need is a package of small thank-you note cards to start.

Happy chipping!

10-1-2016
There are way to many people getting ripped off by post office Nazi's!  You probably read that my husband works for the post office so he gave me the inside scoop.

Buy stamps!!  The regular "Forever" stamps are good for a regular sized card/letter in an envelope.  To mail a chip you will need a "Forever" stamp and an extra .21 cent stamp because it is non-machineable.  To mail two chips, two "Forever" stamps will cover the cost including the .21 cent non-machineable fee.  If you want to send three chips, it is best to go with a padded envelope.

Make sure you use red ink and write "Non-Machineable" on both sides of the envelope.  If you have more than one envelope to mail, bundle them together with a rubber band around the stack and add a sheet of paper around them that says "Non-Machineable".  This extra step insures that an actual human has to touch them and process them.  Don't forget that tape is your friend, except for directly on the chip.

Recap:
1 chip/1card/1 envelope - 1 Forever stamp and 1 non-machineable stamp .21 cents
2 chips/1card/1envelope - 2 Forever stamps
3 chips - go with a padded envelope, you will have to pay parcel for this one.

As always - Happy Chipping!!

11-19-16
Just a little update. 

Here is how to post pictures of chips:

Not like this. 

 1

Bandon Trip

My birthday present this year from Dad and Jackie was a bike trip with my dad from Medford, Oregon to Bandon, Oregon.  We left Medford at 9:00 am on July 13 and headed to Crescent City, California through Jacksonville-Wilderville-O'Brien and through the redwoods in California.  It was a beautiful ride.  The weather was perfect!  We stopped in Crescent City for lunch then headed up Hwy 101 up the coast. 

Northern California and Southern Oregon on Hwy 101 is quite spectacular.  The road winds tightly between the ocean and the mountains.  The coastline is rocky with sometimes high mountains next to it.  As you go north on 101, the road winds into the trees and that is pretty much all you see - trees.  Occasionally you can view a glimpse of a small lake or the ocean through the trees.  We arrived in Bandon in the afternoon and checked into the Bandon Inn.

 

We opened the doors to get the ocean breeze and wrapped up in blankets and took a little nap.

 

A view from our room.

 

 

We walked into town, and walked around.  We had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the harbor.  There was a very old shipwreck across the bay.

 

After dinner and a couple drinks, we walked back to the hotel and watched a movie and turned in.  We had some great riding planned for the next day.

 

In the morning we had a quick breakfast in the hotel lobby and headed north on Hwy 101 - more trees to see.  We stopped in Coos Bay, Oregon so I could pick up poker chips at the Harley Dealership (for trade), and continued up the coast into Reedsport. 

 

We turned onto Hwy 38 going east and followed it along the Umpqua River then turned south and took the back roads through Looking Glass, and Winston.  We had lunch in Winston at a little burger drive in then headed back to Bandon via Hwy 42.  We stopped at the Sandy Creek Bridge in Remote, Oregon. 

 

The last part of the ride was rather windy.  We stopped at a local store to pick up snacks and we noted the tree was bent from growing in the wind.

 

We got back to the hotel in the afternoon and relaxed before heading to town.

 

 

Bandon Inn has a cute little gift shop.

A corvette club was staying there from Northern California. 

 

Our favorite.

 

We walked to town for dinner and Dad noticed there were numerous pilings in the bay.  Evidence of old piers. 

 

I had to stop and get a picture of a real phone booth.

 

It still had a working phone inside of it!

 

The afternoon sun was beautiful.

 

We had dinner at Foley's Irish Pub.  It was the first notable food on the trip.  I had the Irish Meatloaf and Dad had the Shepherds Pie.  It was very good food and a very cute place. 

 

The morning of another perfect day.  The tide was out.

 

Dad doing a little reading.

 

 

We had a light breakfast in the hotel lobby again and talked to some of the Corvette folks.  One guy was polishing his lovely car and the reflection of the mirror made a heart on his car. 

 

Dad found a good looking road that cut off from Ophir heading east to Grants Pass.  I'm always up to trying a new road.  We stopped and got some pictures on the coast. 

 

We headed south on 101 finally found the right street heading inland.  We got about 26 miles from the coast and the road we planned to take got very narrow and went straight up hill.  There was a sign that said "Wilderness Road".  We had made an error.  We decided to go to Agnes, Oregon - only three miles away and see about lunch.  Here is the Post Office.

 

There was a cute little restaurant and gift shop with fresh vegetables growing in the back.

 

We asked to use the restroom and the lady directed us to "the little white building around the corner"

 

If you are ever lost and find yourself in Agnes, Oregon, you must have lunch.  The food is great and it is actually quite a busy place.  LOTS of people get lost there.  The little restaurant and gift shop (besides having great food) has made quite a business giving out directions. 

 

We decided the Wilderness Road was not a good choice as it was a single lane 55 mile long twisty road with lengths of unpaved portions, log trucks and caravans of raft boat trailers.  Maximum speed about 20mph.

 

Nope, nope and nope!

 

We headed back to the coast and back into California.  We had to stop and get some more lovely pictures.  The coast is so pretty.

 

Thanks for the great birthday present Dad!

Lets ride again soon!