Cue value.

jensen_lover

jensen_lover

Pro Playa'
Silver Member
How much does shaving the shafts down on a cue reduce its value? I have a Jensen with one thin shaft and was considering taking down the other and my Sumrall shaft. Bad idea as far as value? I am definately planning on keeping the Jensen but the Sumrall may have to go. Any advice would be great.
 
Usually on something if I am looking a cue and see that the shafts are under 13mm, I would discount it about $200 per shaft. That is just me, as I am one of those bad old cue flippers that everyone on here says bad things about.

It is very hard to sell a cue, in todays market, and when it has any negative, such as smaller shafts it makes it even harder.

Folks want 2 full sized shafts with most cues.

JMO

Good luck my friend,

Ken
 
i've noticed a lot of guys on here that buy and sell cues seem to shy away from the thinner shafts. IMO i dig shafts slightly under 12.75mm. but i guess you can make shafts thinner but you can't make 'em thicker
 
I got used to playing with my one Schon shaft, 12.35. Have a 12.35 and12.65 Sly shaft
and a 12.75 Pred and OB, so a slim shaft on a for sale cue wouldn't affect my decision to buy it.
 
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jensen_lover said:
How much does shaving the shafts down on a cue reduce its value? I have a Jensen with one thin shaft and was considering taking down the other and my Sumrall shaft. Bad idea as far as value? I am definately planning on keeping the Jensen but the Sumrall may have to go. Any advice would be great.
Click to expand...

There are a ton of players in my area that use thinner shafts. I'm not that familiar with Jensoncues, what makes you think your Jenson cue is valueable? What would it be worth WITH good shafts?...JER
 
You have never heard of Jensens? Wow, Mike Johnson has been making cues a long time. I was trying to sell it for 1000 but his cues are notorios as being great players, but they have dirt cheap resale value. My friend payed 1600. I has very little ivory and a steel joint. The cue hits like a dream though. I find a cue with thinner shaft more attractive especially if the shaving was done professionally. How do you grade cheaper cues? If a 400 dollar cue has two shaved down shafts you can not expect to get it free. I was thinking about shaving the other Jensen shaft down to around 12mm to see if it hits as good as the other. I could not even play with the cue when the shafts were 13mm. I thought it hit like sh*t untill I shaved the shaft down.
 
tapering...

as a collector anything less then 12.75 is basically not there. its as good as no shaft

if a player buys it you can get away with it. as stated before most want shaft more on the full side.

you can have a shaft 13mm and legnthen out the taper and it play good. the prob is not the tip its 12'' down
 
As far as I'm concerned, a cue with turned down shafts doesn't diminish it's value, but that's because of the type of buyer I am. When I buy a cue these days, it's because I'm looking for my own personal playing cue, and not something to sell later. It's similar to cars in my opinion. If you have a car that has been altered from its original state with performance enhancers, lift kits, larger rims or whatever, the person likely to give you your money for it would be the guy looking to drive that vehicle. But take it to a dealer, and you won't likely get what you consider to be a fair price for it.

Same with cues that have been altered from their original state. If a guy is looking for a permanent player, then he is the buyer that you need to seek out 'cause the cue will be worth more to him than it would be to somebody trying to collect or flip it.

dave
 
Tokyo-dave said:
As far as I'm concerned, a cue with turned down shafts doesn't diminish it's value, but that's because of the type of buyer I am. When I buy a cue these days, it's because I'm looking for my own personal playing cue, and not something to sell later. It's similar to cars in my opinion. If you have a car that has been altered from its original state with performance enhancers, lift kits, larger rims or whatever, the person likely to give you your money for it would be the guy looking to drive that vehicle. But take it to a dealer, and you won't likely get what you consider to be a fair price for it.

Same with cues that have been altered from their original state. If a guy is looking for a permanent player, then he is the buyer that you need to seek out 'cause the cue will be worth more to him than it would be to somebody trying to collect or flip it.

dave
Click to expand...

Good point. Thank all of you for your responses they have been very helpfull. I have decided to... dun dun dun
 
dave sutton said:
tapering...

as a collector anything less then 12.75 is basically not there. its as good as no shaft

if a player buys it you can get away with it. as stated before most want shaft more on the full side.

you can have a shaft 13mm and legnthen out the taper and it play good. the prob is not the tip its 12'' down
Click to expand...

I would have to agree with you there Dave. I normally have trouble selling any cue with a turned down shaft. You almost have to price it like it doesn't come with one, unless you can find the right person that likes a thin shaft or you can get a hold of a new or slightly used one. Unless it is a cue that I just have to have, or I can't afford to pass it up, I will tend to shy away from it...IMO;)
 
There are so many 1000$+ cues on here I would buy but I will not be able to shave the shafts down. I almost bought 10 Ginas, Cogs, Scruggs, Southwests, etc. but I know I can not play with a 13mm shaft and they will sit in my case. That may be why I like Jensen's cues so much. 95% of them are not made to be vault queens so I do not mind taking the shafts down. But if I spend 2 grand on a Cog or Southwest I will not take the hit in value by shaving the shafts down.
 
other hand

i am used to playing about 17 years with schon shafts around 13 mm or a tad smaller or bigger ala joss' 13.25 mm shafts. i routinely dismiss any and all thoughts of purchasing any cue with small shafts. so Blue Hog ridr and i balance each other out! cues will sell but honestly just may SAY 1/4- 1/2 potential buyers.
QUOTE=Blue Hog ridr;1824256]I got used to playing with my one Schon shaft, 12.35. Have a 12.35 and12.65 Sly shaft
and a 12.75 Pred and OB, so a slim shaft on a for sale cue wouldn't affect my decision to buy it.[/QUOTE]
 
To me there is a problem when the shafts have been turned down because the taper that the cuemaker uses is " lost" when this is done. When I buy a cue I want the cue to have the feel that the cuemaker intended when he made it. The other is when a cuemaker turns down a shaft he does it in small increments. Others may do it all at once and may cause the shafts to warp.

There are also many buyers that insist on 13 mm shafts but then have them turned down after buying them. These same buyers will want a discount or refuse to buy a cue that has shafts smaller than 13.

Consider buying a 3rd party shaft or another from that cuemaker with the diameter that you want. Then when you sell it you can either keep that shaft to use on another cue or charge extra for 3 shafts.

Remember that buyers will always look for a reason to give you a lower price when you are selling a cue.
 
Probably depends on the cuemaker and the value/collectability. Altering a Jenson is nowhere near the same as altering a Gina, and altering a 1k cue is nowhere near the same as altering a 10k cue. Anyone who desires a Jenson will probably not like what you did to it. If it's a playing cue and no one cares, then no one cares.
 
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