Russ, I hear you. Im thinking its smaller, and a discount is always offered so 1200 is just so you think you got a good deal.
300 is also kind of a magic number to 1200. its what is considered half of wholesale. I used to work in fancy watches. This is the formula I would use to sell my watches on the open market that were used.
Russ, I hear you. Im thinking its smaller, and a discount is always offered so 1200 is just so you think you got a good deal.
300 is also kind of a magic number to 1200. its what is considered half of wholesale. I used to work in fancy watches. This is the formula I would use to sell my watches on the open market that were used.
Sorry, Dizzo what you say makes no sense to me. This discount you are allegedly receiving ($900) is a 75% discount!
The only circumstances that I can think of for when such large discounts would be offered are:
1) The seller knows nothing about the value of what he is selling.
2) There is something wrong with, or a defect in the item for sale.
3) Lets just say people who have spent time in jail or prison can probably provide insight into the third scenario for you....
To compare and contrast your deal with internet sales of high quality chessboards, go on eBay and check out the prices of all the Drueke solid wood chess boards with 1.5 inch or larger squares that are in at least decent condition. Then compare those prices with equivalent brand-new Drueke solid wood boards also sold on eBay by the seller "Druekegames" (this is William Drueke III, the grandson of the original founder of Drueke products). I guarantee you will find no 75% discounts on these used Drueke boards. That should suggest something to you about the "deal" you are getting.
I am not trying to rain on your parade. In fact I hope everything works out well for you. I'm rooting for you to receive a great chess board. I am simply offering a reality check on a deal that doesn't seem to compute in terms of the prices you specified. Either $300 is not a realistic price, or the as-new selling price of the board was/is not $1200.
I personally think WAY too much has been made of the $1200 figure. This is probably a "suggested retail" price, which the original seller probably had ZERO intent of EVER charging. An artificially high price so that the "normal" too-high price will somehow seem more "reasonable". My guess is that the original seller (HoS) probably marked the board somewhere around $800, then normal site discounts probably sold the board at around $500-$600. Maybe the buyer had remourse, or realized he needed a board with larger squares to fit his chessmen. Whatever the case, he listed it at $400 (taking a bit of a "hit" financially, then settled for $300 after getting no bites.
Seems reasonable and above-board (pun intended... 
). I wouldn't worry too much, obtain the board and tell us what you think!
Dizzo - note that chess products sold by HOS are not priced like jewelry in retail stores or new cars.There are not two prices for the item - no MSRP list price and no marked-down selling price, except for when items are put on sale, and that generally occurs when an item is being discontinued. Otherwise there is only one price - the selling price.
I guess this all begs the question. Have you verified the alleged $1200 as-new selling price on HOS, or are you simply taking the word of the person who sold the board to you?
He is probably looking at these:
http://www.houseofstaunton.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=purpleheart
Probably.
Problem is, those are all 2.5" squares... the OP bought a 2" squares board, which will be quite a bit cheaper.
Whatever the case, folks, the OP apparently has bought a 2" squares solid-block constructed purpleheart board for $300. This is a reasonably good price, not great, but pretty good. If he does indeed get the board pictured in the ebay auction page, which seems likely, then he did alright. I think the $1200 figure is probably BS that we should stop obsessing over... let's see how the purchase turns out before getting too out of hand with the negative speculations!
Whatever the case, folks, the OP apparently has bought a 2" squares solid-block constructed purpleheart board for $300. This is a reasonably good price, not great, but pretty good. If he does indeed get the board pictured in the ebay auction page, which seems likely, then he did alright. I think the $1200 figure is probably BS that we should stop obsessing over... let's see how the purchase turns out before getting too out of hand with the negative speculations!
Again the reality is that OP is very likely not getting a solid wood board sold by HOS originally for $1200. That's all. It's not negative. It's reality. You may feel that too big a deal is being made of this, and you are certainly entitled to your opinion. But that doesn't negate the reality of the issue, which is that it is very unlikely that a 75% discount is being received on this item (unless one of the scenarios listed in my post #90 is in play).
The other reality is that we all hope OP receives a nice chess board and is happy with it.
not sure what part of "half of wholesale" doesnt make sense. wholesale of an item is ussualy half of list. half list is half of wholesale. When I worked in the jewelry buisness, I would sell a $1600 watch off my wrist for $400 pretty regularly.
I thought someone here may have actually purchased one of these, HOS luxury boards in the past. I assumed the price listed on the sight was pretty negotiable, but even in jewlelry, its a rareity to be that overpriced.
Dizzoballs.
I'll say no more on the subject of the discount. I've said all I need to say about it.
More importantly, we all want things to work out well for you, and that you receive a very nice board!
It will be interesting to hear what you think of your board once you receive it.
Well, I agree that the only important thing is that Dizzoballs gets that board and it makes him very happy, as only a chess board can, really.
Yes, please post pics when you get the board. And let us know what set you end up with to pair with that gorgeous board.
The last time I paid close to the asking, retail price for a luxury board from HoS was my Signature Traditional, Green dyed Sycamore and Bird's Eye Maple, 2.375" one from Frank Camaratta himself when he still owned and ran the company.
Since then I have bought one of their recent luxury boards in Padauk as a Signature Traditional with 2.5" squares. I negotiated with Scott, the manager of HoS, as it was a make an offer deal. I actually called and talked with him on the phone to get the price down to quite a bit less than 40% of the list, retail price. If I recall correctly I think the board listed for something like %799 and I paid something like $280 or $290.
So, yes Virginia there are good prices on luxury chess boards.
Congratulations Dizzoballs. Sounds like you have a winner!. We are anxiously awaiting photos of your pride and joy (chessboard, that is).
Now on to the chess pieces!
Based on all the recommendations that have been posted regarding pieces, and the fact that your board has 2 inch squares, it is advisable that you restrict the base diameter of the king to the range 1.4-1.6 inches. Anything outside that range will appear incongruent on a board with 2" squares. For this King base diameter range, the most frequent choice of King HEIGHT is around 3.5 inches.
An exception to this is the Parker set, on chessstore, with 3.75 inch King height and 1.5 inch base diameter, at $120USD.
https://thechessstore.com/parker-staunton-chess-set-in-ebonized-boxwood-boxwood-3-75-king/
You might be able to get a 10% discount, using the coupon code RCC10, for any chessstore purchase, either online or when calling them. This is a code that I had used a couple of years ago with them. Not sure if it is still valid today, but it is worth a try. In any case, I would suspect that with a telephone call, they would agree to a 10% discount if you ask for it.
You know I must say that it is enjoyable watching this purchase and creation of a Chess set combo.
Dizzoballs did a great job finding this nice of a board at a great price.
And now to see a set that will complement the board is kind of exciting.
I know that when I have bought either a set or a board and then went looking for the other part to match up with what I already bought, it is aesthetically pleasing.
For instance, I bought a HoS Players Series Rosewood set and then went looking for the perfectt board to match the set in both color and style. When I found their Rosewood folding board at a great price (I kind of refuse to pay full retail for anything if possible) and put the set and board together it was fun. And my wife agreed with how nice the setup looks.
What is also nice about this setup Dizzoballs is putting together is that the high quality woods of the board have aged by 5 years or so and have kind of settled a bit in coloring. That Purple Heart will also look really nice with either a regular Rosewood or Black (Ebony or Ebonized) set.
Yes, I look forward to seeing photos of it all when he gets it together.
Good for you!
Looking forward to photos.
Photos of sets that have been recommended, which could work well the 2 inch square board.....note that Parker Staunton set has tallest King (3.75 in.), and Fierce Knight has largest King base diameter (1.625 in).
Paul Morphy set, ebonized boxwood, King height/base = 3.5/1.5 inch, from Official Staunton, price = ??.....
https://www.officialstaunton.com/products/paul-morphy-ebonised-chessmen?variant=2234345281
Parker Staunton Set, ebonized boxwood, King height/base = 3.75/1.5 inch, $120USD, from Chessstore.....
https://thechessstore.com/parker-staunton-chess-set-in-ebonized-boxwood-boxwood-3-75-king/
Fierce Knight set, ebonized boxwood, King height/base = 3.5/1.625 inch, $120USD, from Chessstore....
https://thechessstore.com/fierce-knight-staunton-chess-set-in-ebonized-boxwood-3-5-king/
Dude - pictures or it didn't happen!
Post some pics of just the board then more when you get your set for it. After all this talk about it we want to see it!
I personally think that everyone who enjoys playing chess should have at least one nice wooden chess set in his collection. I recently purchased the Dubrovnik chess set from chessbazaar. Needless to say, I was absolutely impressed by the quality of the set. The feel of the wood, the look of the pieces, and the overall quality of everything is stunning. I couldn't be more pleased. It's in stained crimson and box wood. I used the "DUbrovnik35" coupon code to get an additional 35% discount. I think Dubrovniks are the best reproductions money can buy. They're perfect for playing blitz or serious club games. I'm not saying other reproductions are not nice, but Dubrovnik is exceptionally nice.