Well I am actually thinking about buying both. I am just wondering if due to the gambler having a new pro shaft is worth 200.00.higher asking price than the road agent ...again all other things being equal as to the condition of the cues.
Question about the supply and demand of good quality pool cues.
- Thread starter justinb386
- Start date
Well I am actually thinking about buying both. I am just wondering if due to the gambler having a new pro shaft is worth 200.00.higher asking price than the road agent ...again all other things being equal as to the condition of the cues.
justinb386
Banned
I guess that depends on which Gambler you are looking at. I see that this Gambler retails for around a $100 more then the Road Agent.
https://www.pooldawg.com/meucci-meg03bd-gambler-pool-cue-stick
I imagine that the Pro shaft is not more then a $100 more then the Black dot shaft (which costs $170? retail).
https://www.pooldawg.com/meucci-hall-of-fame-04-bd-extra-shaft
I see that the Pro shaft would only cost an extra $63 (more then a Black dot shaft).
http://www.budgetcues.com/meucci-shaft-the-pro.htm
So, I think the answer would be no, not worth an extra $200. I guess that might depend on which model Gambler the Pro shaft comes with. I think they have made several Gambler models over the years, and they keep getting nicer, and more expensive, right? I still do not think it would be worth an extra $200, because even the latest model Gambler does not cost more then a $100 more then the current Road Agent (with Black dot shaft). So, sounds like around maybe a $150 price different retail. I do not know. So, if they are both in good condition, and priced fair, then sounds like buying both is not a bad deal.
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Also this is the first time I have ever asked this type of question on here. I have always tried to get am idea of the value of a cue before purchasing by looking at sales of similar cues.....but in the end its what I think the cue is worth to me.
I have never worried about the cues actual value as long as the price was reasonably close because I am not a flipper and have never bought a cue with the intention of ever selling it at all. I have always intended to keep every cue I purchased.
So far I have not lost money on the few I have sold or traded and actually have given away more cues than I have sold. Worth noting is the cues given away were low end production cues to people I felt were less fortunate than I was at the time. I went through the custom phase but decided it was not for me and now most of my cues are the 400-600 production variety with a couple 200.0\ used cues and a couple real cheap cues. Also.....i have never bought a cue I did not like...no matter how cheap the price was. Just can't understand you buying all these cues you say you dont like .
My financial situation is not what it once was and I have not given a cue away in quite a while...except one to a young boy at a pool hall.
See .. you CAN find answers when you want to. IJS.
Justin, these folks know you much better than I, and you've probably been told this before but here goes:
Given the financial situation you often seem to be in I have a suggestion. Keep a cue you have (even if it's not your dream cue) for a few months. Put the money you'd be using to by $100 and $200 dollar cues in the bank during that time. Before you know it you'll be able to afford that $1000 dollar you dream of.
There's no shame in shooting with a lower end cue. Most people don't even really check out other people's cues (other than pool hall junkies). Accept your situation for a bit, work hard, and SAVE your money for a while. It's just a thought. I think a lot of folks would actually be glad if you could come on here and say "I did - I saved up and got my dream cue". I certainly wish you luck in that.
u loved him when he was travis
justinb386
Banned
Thanks for the good advice. The cues I really love the looks of are in the $700+ price range. Funny thing is, that the few high end (high end to a poor guy like me anyways) cues that I had in the past, I did not even like (the way they hit). They looked amazing, but they were not great players (for me). They just were not for me. I played better pool with a $50 Phillippine made cue that I once tried out.
justinb386
Banned
Lol........................
Are you trying to buy a cue to play with or to keep flipping?
Find one that plays good, even if it is a cheap one and quit looking for something fancy.
I don't give a damn what a cue looks like or how cheap it is, if it plays good.
Are you out to impress the other players with your "looker" or are you out to impress them with your game?
I currently have 3 Hemstetters. I use an 87-14 for straight and the 87-4 for everything else. The third one, a 98-6 sits in my closet
I've owned the 87 series for over 30 years and bought them new and came with two shafts. The 98 I got off Ebay about 10 or so years ago.
I had a fourth, a 96-5, I think, that I sold to a buddy I play with. Also was an Ebay purchase.
Pics of all at http://www.priveye.com/cues/
Roscoe
I've owned the 87 series for over 30 years and bought them new and came with two shafts. The 98 I got off Ebay about 10 or so years ago.
I had a fourth, a 96-5, I think, that I sold to a buddy I play with. Also was an Ebay purchase.
Pics of all at http://www.priveye.com/cues/
Roscoe
Send Justin the 98-6, he'll figure out something to do with it !!! lol
justinb386
Banned
Very nice Helmstetter cues. The ones that play by far the best (for me) are the ones with the white joint collar. I think I remember them coming with a 5/16x18 flat faced joint? I might be wrong, but those hit amazing.
justinb386
Banned
I want one of the ones with the white joint collar. I so wish that these cues were not so seemingly rare.
justinb386
Banned
I am pretty sure that it is the 87 series Helmstetter cues that I love the hit of so much. They came with that white joint collar, right? I was never too crazy about the ones that I had with the stainless steel joint. They just did not feel and hit the same as the ones with the white joint collar.
justinb386
Banned
Many people on here say that the joint has zero to do with the way a cue hits. They say that the hit is all in the type of tip that you are using. Well I think they are at least partially wrong about that, because I have played with many cues over the years (most with just standard le pro tips), and they do hit different, based on the type of joint they had. That is just the way I always felt about cues. Schon cues for example are super stiff hitting cues, and I think that is because of the stainless steel joint, the way they come together (extremely tight, in my experience), and the taper of their shafts (which is a very stiff taper, but not bad). I love the way that Helmstetter cues are weighted. They made the butt a little bit shorter, and the shaft just a little bit longer, and it gives a forward balance I think. Anyways, I just think they are amazing (especially the ones with the white joint collar).
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You must like lots of plastic in the joint and whippy shafts.
Schon cues are not super stiff hitting . You are lost in Pluto.
You just need a $50 Meucci sneaky pete at the local pawn shop.
From an article from the late fast Larry
What Dick Helmstetter did, was take an original balabushka, and study it, finding out what did George do, that made this cue to become known as the Stradivarius of pool cues. I know that secret and I don’t disclose it. I found it by having a nuclear scientist study it in his lab, who was a friend of mine, he did a full scientific Xray analysis of the cue. What they accomplished was building a cue, the Helms, the new bushka signatures, which are the same cue, in the late 80’s, that out played the original balabushka. Then, you would have to pay 5K for an original, now you could buy a replica for 350-500, that out played it. Few realized this at the time, and nobody back then, dared claim or say that.
The tip, GB used soft, champions with a red backing, Our modern multi layered tips are totally superior. GB, used an ivory ferrule, they are super hard, an deflect like a mother, our new ferrule is light, thin wall, and very low deflection, totally superior.
The GB cue was 57”, today’s cue is 58”. He did have better wood in his shafts, but Adam always used the best AA Canadian hard rock maple they could fine, so that one is close. The pro taper is the same. The pilot, the stainless steel joints, are the same, so is the real Irish Linen wrap, even down to the bumper. The GB cues were fairly plain, not too fancy, and a lot of the Replica’s copied that, and his designs. The helms were able to go into modern designs, and were much more intricate and nicer.
My favorite was the 86 line, which came out 29 years ago, and my favorite there, was the 86-13, the last one to offer a leather grip. I just sold my last one.
The 86 line offered hand-pressed real Irish linen or calfskin leather grips. Hand-shape le pro tips. Un-breakable cerosite ferrules, hard-rock Canadian maple shafts, offered in 13 and 12mm. The joint is a high standard piloted, with a brass female that fits into the stainless steel collar, and is held rigid by the stainless pin. There is no paint, no surface overlays, no decals. All Helmstetter cues have authentic inlays of ebony, mother of pearl and exotic hardwoods.
For VIP customers, top players, Dick Helmstetter would make those cues himself, and they would be called the RCH VIP, and there would not be a signature stamp, he personally signed that cue, and I have two of them for sale.
The 87 series, is where they copy some of the popular Meucci rings on the collars, and large bold ivory colored points, now being seen in their HOF series. The Helms used a polymer, that looked so much like ivory, I can’t tell it from the real deal, and I have a lot of cues with real ivory in them. The 87’s were engineered and designed for the more traditional minded player and probably the strongest cues ever built. All Helmstetter cues, have true spriced butts, not just veneers and wood surface inlaid into birdseye blanks. Wood to wood flat face joints on all 87 series cues feature stainless steel pins and brass females. The collar is unbreakable cerosite. All butt inlay work, is meticulously handmade, built for beauty and built to last.
Dick was building his Helms to last 30 years, and Bob Meucci was building his to fall apart in 4-5.
What Dick Helmstetter did, was take an original balabushka, and study it, finding out what did George do, that made this cue to become known as the Stradivarius of pool cues. I know that secret and I don’t disclose it. I found it by having a nuclear scientist study it in his lab, who was a friend of mine, he did a full scientific Xray analysis of the cue. What they accomplished was building a cue, the Helms, the new bushka signatures, which are the same cue, in the late 80’s, that out played the original balabushka. Then, you would have to pay 5K for an original, now you could buy a replica for 350-500, that out played it. Few realized this at the time, and nobody back then, dared claim or say that.
The tip, GB used soft, champions with a red backing, Our modern multi layered tips are totally superior. GB, used an ivory ferrule, they are super hard, an deflect like a mother, our new ferrule is light, thin wall, and very low deflection, totally superior.
The GB cue was 57”, today’s cue is 58”. He did have better wood in his shafts, but Adam always used the best AA Canadian hard rock maple they could fine, so that one is close. The pro taper is the same. The pilot, the stainless steel joints, are the same, so is the real Irish Linen wrap, even down to the bumper. The GB cues were fairly plain, not too fancy, and a lot of the Replica’s copied that, and his designs. The helms were able to go into modern designs, and were much more intricate and nicer.
My favorite was the 86 line, which came out 29 years ago, and my favorite there, was the 86-13, the last one to offer a leather grip. I just sold my last one.
The 86 line offered hand-pressed real Irish linen or calfskin leather grips. Hand-shape le pro tips. Un-breakable cerosite ferrules, hard-rock Canadian maple shafts, offered in 13 and 12mm. The joint is a high standard piloted, with a brass female that fits into the stainless steel collar, and is held rigid by the stainless pin. There is no paint, no surface overlays, no decals. All Helmstetter cues have authentic inlays of ebony, mother of pearl and exotic hardwoods.
For VIP customers, top players, Dick Helmstetter would make those cues himself, and they would be called the RCH VIP, and there would not be a signature stamp, he personally signed that cue, and I have two of them for sale.
The 87 series, is where they copy some of the popular Meucci rings on the collars, and large bold ivory colored points, now being seen in their HOF series. The Helms used a polymer, that looked so much like ivory, I can’t tell it from the real deal, and I have a lot of cues with real ivory in them. The 87’s were engineered and designed for the more traditional minded player and probably the strongest cues ever built. All Helmstetter cues, have true spriced butts, not just veneers and wood surface inlaid into birdseye blanks. Wood to wood flat face joints on all 87 series cues feature stainless steel pins and brass females. The collar is unbreakable cerosite. All butt inlay work, is meticulously handmade, built for beauty and built to last.
Dick was building his Helms to last 30 years, and Bob Meucci was building his to fall apart in 4-5.
Did they have Bushka's A-joint design too ?
Phenolic sleeve and that infamous bolt?
I doubt it but I could be wrong.