Blue Chip...WORST EXPERIENCE EVER.

[staindsox]

They never responded to my initial email. After repeated attempts, I finally got a reply. I then had to email twice for every response (which took a few days each). They had what I wanted and I told them I wanted the item. I emailed again requesting to order the item and obviously was waiting for a shipping and insurance total. They then emailed me this morning telling me someone else bought the item on Friday. I had been in contact with them for a week and a half over this item and these idiots sell it out from under my nose. I WILL NEVER EVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM AGAIN. I don't care about the prices or provenance. They lack common courtesey, they are unprofessional. I have never ever been so poorly treated by any dealer. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THESE MORONS.

[hblakewolf]

Blue Chip was originally owned by Paul Kinzer (a great dealer with nice Reds equipment). Paul left many years ago, and I'm not sure who owns it now. There was a post about Blue Chip last year that included informaiton about some suspect jerseys. I know I've been contacted about several of their Phillies Majestic jerseys from recent years that have strip tags under the Majestic tag. I have never seen a Phillies jersey with this tag that was either purchased from one of the Phillies auctions or likewise, worn by one of the players at the Stadium. I believe Chris Boyd also commented about Blue Chips Astro jerseys with similar tagging.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[staindsox]

Thanks for that comment Howard because I had dealt with them many years ago and they were excellent back then. I just didn't understand what the change was about. They treated me like crap. Should I have to kiss their ass to buy from them? Maybe I'm lucky I didn't get anything from them. Thanks.

Chris

[hblakewolf]

Chris-
As a side note, I had a great relationship with the previous owner, Paul Kinzer. Paul's Cousin is John Kruk, and as such, Paul sold me some great Phillies and Kruk items. Paul sold the business, and is now an agent for several baseball players including Rafiel Furcal. I was attending the New York Sportwriters dinner several years ago and ran into Paul who was with Rafiel. Paul seemed to be doing well, and said he was working with several top name Latin players.

Sorry to hear about the bad experience. For those of us who had dealings with Paul, I'm sure you'll agree that they were great.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

ALWAYS BUYING PHILLIES, PORTLAND BEAVERS AND PORTLAND MAVERICKS JERSEYS

[hiramman]

Hey Guys,

I'm a local here in Georgia and have had the same experience with Blue Chip. I helped out Paul with sorting inventory and helping at shows years ago and before taking a break from the hobby. I tried contacting them a couple of months ago to see if Paul was still affiliated with Blue Chip and got no responses to emails. I finally talked to the wife of the guy running Blue Chip and she told me Paul sold his inventory to her husband when he went full time as a sports agent several years ago. I asked her to have him call me and to email some photos of jerseys I was interested in and nver heard from them.

I'm not sure what's up with them, but I still see them advertising in Sports Collector's Digest. If I ever get to talk to anyone at Blue Chip or see them at a show, I'll try to find out what's up. It's a shame because Paul was a great guy to deal with besides being very knowledgeable about jerseys & bats, especially Reds items.

[staindsox]

Sounds familiar. They never even responded to my first email. Then they said they couldn't send any photos of anything. They described them via email, but took forever to respond to anything. Then they didn't even respond to me for days after telling them I wanted to buy an item and requesting the total. THEY ARE AN ABSOLUTE JOKE!!!

[skipcareyisfat]

Kinzer was indeed a great source for g/u before he sold BC. One of the few COAs worth keeping. Jim Popham is the current owner. Nice guy, definitely flighty when it comes to running Blue Chip (he's in real estate), and doesn't seem to be much of an expert on most of what he sells. I've pretty much given up on trying to deal with him. He generally doesn't carry what I collect anyway, but I did buy a few bats from him about a year ago and unless I see him and his inventory in person, I probably won't do it again.

Basically I agreed to buy some bats from him and he was going to drop them off one Saturday at a place here in Atlanta. Saturday comes and goes. No bats, no calls, no contact. About two weeks later I leave him a message saying not to bother because I found some other ones from somebody else. Two weeks after that - a month after that first Saturday - I get a message saying the bats had been dropped off at the store. Nothing was ever mentioned about why it took so long. Frankly I have no clue why they have a Web site.

Go BRAVES in '07!!!!!!!!

[karamaxjoe]

I bought a bat from Jim recently without any issues. Previously my phone calls to Blue Chip bordered on stalking when I really wanted something from them. I wouldn't count on good customere service or prompt replys from them. You'll just have to deal with them not really caring if they make a sale or not if you really want something from them.

Mike

[metsbats]

I've dealt with BC before and you do have to be persistant with emails and eventually you will get a reply. They did ship me the wrong bat the one time I brought from them and did rectify the problem in a timely manner.

David

[staindsox]

Isn't the point of a business to make money? Maybe Blue Chip needs to be clued in. They might have a little more success if you didn't have to stalk them to get a response and if you beg them enough, they might be willing to sell and actually mail something to you. What a revolutionary approach!!!