You're forgetting the most important rule of the free market. A product is only worth what you can get for it. If people will pay boat loads of money for your product, you're a fool if you don't charge just that.
I would say SouthWest,not because of the price but I've hit balls
with 2 of them and neither of them felt like anything special what
so ever.I think after a 10 year wait these cues should have the best
of the best when it comes to the woods used in the butt as well as
the shafts.I just didn't see it in the 2 I seen and played with.
You cannot just hit a few balls. You need to play with it 30-60 days. If you are not used to their taper it takes time to get used to it. I have several and after buying about 40 of the top name cues out there over the last 5 years or so in my opinion nothing plays as good. Except one of my several Maddens. I never understood it when some guy is playing at a hall or league and another guy lets him hit 4-5 balls with his S.W. And I guess they think they will go from a B player to an A player after a couple of hits or something. How many cue builders have tried to copy or model their own cues after S.W.? There is a reason for it.
Iagree with you.I am an A player and can play pretty sporty and have always feltI partly agree with your 30 to 60 day trial period, but when you find the right cue with that special hit, you know it in the first few shots and it becomes more of a "love at first hit" affair. You don't want to stop playing with the cue.
Its like meeting a woman. You might learn to like her in 30 to 60 days, but if she doesn't turn you on the first few minutes you meet her, she is probably not going to turn you on in 30 to 60 days either.
"But I have opinions and I think Americans are some of the biggest fad-chasing, name-dropping, most gullible culture of human beings on the planet."
Maniac
I hit with my teammates cue the other night.
It's a local made custom. It sounded clicky or s--ty so I had to feel it for myself. He shoots pretty damn good with it.
It felt worse than a k mart $10 cue. I just played a rack and handed it back to him and thanked him for letting me try it.
I didn't want to hurt his confidence in the cue, but I had mixed feelings of whether I should tell him he should hit some other cues.
I knew he would probably not take my advice and keep playing with that cue, so I did not provide my experienced opinion.
As a teammate he would probably not shoot as good if I tarnished his confidence in his cue, but he wouldost likely play even better on the long run with a better cue. I offered to let him hit with my cue, but he declined and I didnt force the issue.
Did I do the right thing? He really needs to know his cue has some issues.
His cue has a loose ferrule or joint or something. It might be repairable but it wasn't right or solid. He would be better off with a house cue.
I'm sure there are other players on this forum that love their cue and play well with it but don't know their cue is a Piece Of S--t!
If he was not my teammate I would be happy to know he could improve his game with a better cue. Any Cue!
Too many to list. Don't believe me? Just go over to the Wanted/For Sale section and look at the many cues listed for enormous $$$ that the seller claims "hits a ton", or "plays lights out", etc. Hell, if there is THAT many cues that hit so great, why do they price them as if THEIR cue is the only one made that has a great hit to it (which is 100% subjective anyway)?
Why is one cuemakers wood, veneers, splices, etc. so much more costlier to a buyer than anothers?
Same reason a Hilfiger or Aeropostale $3.00 T-shirt sells for $25.00. It's all in the NAME, baby!!!
And.......us goofy Americans are gullible enough to pay over-inflated prices for almost ANYTHING that has a "name" to it and is the current fad!!!
Maniac
The beauty of your post is all the custom cues and case you list in your signature.
Physician heal thyself.
They are both great cues, but over rated.
Southwest and Balabushka.
This illustrates the point I was trying to make in my post on page 1. Take a Lee Peppers cue (@$600.00 or so) as opposed to a Southwest cue (@$5,000.00 and a ten-year wait). The Lee Peppers cue is made with fine woods, fine materials, has nice veneered points, are beautiful, and play very nice (especially if you like a stiff-hitting cue). A Southwest offers the same quality cue. If you think the difference in workmanship and materials in a Southwest cue are $4,400 better than the Lee Peppers cue, then I've got some fertile farmland near Chernobyl that I'd like to sell you :wink:.
Maniac
How the hell can southwest are overrated.......you pay a 2000$ for a new southwest and year later you can easily sell it for 2500$...
i guess you are absolutelty misunderstood with the "underrated and overrated" idea.