From a consumer viewpoint this is good as it drives competition to come out with a better product as well as potentially quicker lead times with more options, maybe even better pricing.
On the downside it hurts the cue maker having to compete more...this also can be a good thing pushing them to get better...but it can also be a bad thing if it drives them out of business. I never like to see anyone go out of business and I agree they did seem to make decent cues for decent prices.
Yep. And it seems to me, this is only me, but folks are hanging onto their cues a lot longer. Man, 5 years or more ago, everyone was buying a new cue, custom and production, and then buying another one a year later,, soon they had 5 or 6 cues, and sell one every once in awhile to a buddy or something.... It was kind like shoe buying for woman, we didn't need 6 cues, but damn it, we were gonna have them anyways
Now, I can't remember the last time a teammate even got a new cue ? My last cue was buying a used, beat up Willie Hoppe, and paying someone to restore it. and that was over 2 years ago. I have 3 cues right now and 3 break cues. I look in the wanted section for something that strikes my eye and the price is right, but the prices are not right, and nothing has struck my eye